Happy New Year everyone! Or, as the Germans say “Ich wünsche dir ein glückliches neues Jahr” and “Einen Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr 2011!”
I hope you don’t mind a totally pregnancy-filled post. I have been meaning to post something like this for months, and now that I’m this far along, it’s kind of now or never. So, in the style of Ashley from Our Little Apartment, I give you my pregnancy status update!
How far along: 28 weeks 5 days
How big is baby: According to BabyCenter, he’s about 2.25 lbs. I haven’t been told an estimated weight by the doctor since I went for my big ultrasound at 21 weeks or so. At that point, he was just around 1 lb. I sure hope I get another ultrasound before this pregnancy is over. I miss them.
Total weight gain: +20 lbs
Maternity clothes: Pretty much always. I can pull off a sweater sometimes, but I certainly cannot wear non-maternity pants. In fact, I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans the other day “just for fun torture,” and you need the Jaws of Life to get those sucks off my hips and butt. This is why my pre-pregnancy pj pants are so uncomfortable. I only have one pair of maternity pj pants, because I didn’t want to spend the money on more, but now I’m seriously considering in ordering one more pair. Oh, and although I can pull off a pre-pregnancy sweater sometimes, they must have been really long to begin with, because some of my maternity shirts are even getting a little short.
Sleep: Once I stop getting up to go to the bathroom (usually 1-3 times after I’ve gotten in bed), I fall asleep pretty easily. I don’t have a body pillow, but I like my system better. We tried a body pillow. His name was Fred. He lasted about 30 seconds with me. I didn’t like him. Instead, I put one pillow between my knees, hug another and have two under my head. It’s nice. I also wake up at least once a night, and it’s usually around 4 AM. I fall back asleep pretty easily, though. The only time I don’t fall back asleep quickly is when I wake up drenched in sweat. Thank you, hormones. Oh, one more thing, I have been getting slight Charlie Horses every now and then. I hope they don’t get any worse. It’s pretty miserable to wake up in the middle of the night with a tight calf muscle!
Movement: I really noticed an increase around 26 weeks. If I’m paying attention, I now notice him moving at least a few times an hour. I can definitely tell he’s bigger! Luckily nothing hurts yet – no pounding on ribs or anything, but it does feel odd sometimes. Last night, I was watching my stomach jump and wiggle around. I swear, it’s better than watching TV.
Food cravings: Every now and then I come up with something I’d really like to eat, but I don’t think it’s much different than when I’m not pregnant. The one exception was early on, during the first trimester I think, I really wanted sour cream and onion Baked Lay’s, and they don’t sell them here. Luckily, my awesome sister sent me a box of them. The three bags were gone in about 2 weeks, and when I ate the first few chips, I danced around the kitchen and laughed manically. True story.
What I miss: My pants not rolling at the waist. My demi-panel maternity pants are constantly rolling down. My full panel pants are now too tight on my belly and create two pregnancy bellies (ok, it’s not quite that bad, but I don’t think it’s very cute). I also miss sleeping through the night (see you again in 18 years…maybe), not being in pain when I roll over in bed, being able to sleep on my stomach or back and a glass of wine with dinner. Apparently sleep and wine are important to me right now, but the lack of each really is worth it.
What I am looking forward to: Hopefully at least one more ultrasound! I am also looking forward to my next appointment (next Tuesday!) to finally get an update on the baby. I haven’t seen my doctor since before we went to Texas. That means I haven’t seen him since mid-October. A bit ridiculous, no? The appointment after that was my glucose screening, and I just saw a random doctor afterward who went over the results, took my blood pressure and weighed me. That’s it. So I’d say I’m a bit antsy to get an update on our progress.
Milestones: Monkey got the hiccups on Christmas day! John and I were eating dinner, and I noticed Monkey was moving rhythmically, and all of a sudden I exclaimed “he has the hiccups!” I was so worried I’d never notice them. I haven’t noticed any since then, but it was really cute when it did happen. Our other big milestone, as I already announced last week, is that we’ve hit the third trimester. Eep!
At 27 weeks, wowzas!