30 Weeks Bump Update

*Originally posted May 10, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*

30 weeks down, 10 more to go!

10 weeks ago, I looked like this....

And at 10 weeks prego...

WOW. Seeing the progression of my pregnancy through pictures and knowing that I am growing a little tiny human being is just so crazy to me. A good crazy. Like amazingly crazy. Miraculous. I have heard women say it but of course, I couldn't truly understand the feeling until I've experienced it myself. And I'm so lucky I've been blessed with this opportunity... and I'm lovin' every minute of this process.

What Is Baby P Up To This Week?

• She is roughly 15.7 inches long and weighs almost 3lbs - which is about the size of a head of cabbage.

• A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will shrink as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus.

• Her eyesight is continuing to develop, though it's not very keen. After birth she will keep those little eyes of hers closed for a good part of the day and will respond to changes in light.

What's Been Happening With Me This Week?

Weight Gained: Well... I feel like I've gained a ton. I feel like an elephant... and occasionally I waddle like a duck. But honestly, I don't know. I will know in a couple of weeks when I go for my monthly checkup. I'm just hoping for healthy weight gain.

Workouts: Just walking a million miles a day at work. Hubby was sick with a stomach bug all week so I spent my free time nursing him back to health... so no workouts at all this week.

Symptoms:

• An aching lower back

• Some hip and leg pain from sleeping on my side all night long (not all the time but maybe one or two nights this week)

• No room for food. Yup... Baby is taking up too much room in my belly and I have to lessen my food portions even more.

• Baby P loves to push up into my ribs on my right side which makes sitting or laying down very uncomfortable. And nothing I do relieves that pain.

• And then, of course, I'm just tired ALL THE TIME.

Food Aversions: None!

Food Cravings: Frozen yogurt, chocolate, and coffee.

Sleep: Surprisingly enough, so much better because of the body pillow. But still getting up every hour to pee. *sigh*

Any Baby/Pregnancy Related Purchases? Nope. I've been good so far. I've done a lot of window shopping for Baby P but no purchases yet. Waiting till after the baby shower to do some major damage.

Stretch Marks? None so far and I am so grateful. Using lotion and olive oil. Since I can't use cocoa butter. And most stretch creams contain cocoa butter or cocoa in it. Totally hoping I stay stretch mark free till Baby P arrives!!!

Miss Anything? Being able to wear whatever I want. I'm seeing all these cute clothes I'd love to sport this summer but I can't. Not yet anyway. I know I will eventually be able to... but for not, it's all about comfort and trying to be fashionable at the same time. I've actually been wearing yoga pants to work. Yup... don't judge me.

Belly Button In or Out? I have an outtie!!!!

Wedding Rings On or Off? My wedding rings are definitely still on. No swelling.

Happy or Moody Most of the Time? For the most part, I'm happy as can be. Still "glowing", everyone says. But I did have a moment of insanity when, on Monday on my way home from work, the hubby tells me over the phone that he doesn't feel well and wanted to throw up. And then when I came home, I heard he had been throwing up since I got off the phone with him. My poor hubby. I got mad at him like it was his fault that someone gave him the stomach bug. I just didn't wanna end up getting what he had... my doctor had warned me at my last appointment that a stomach bug was going around and being pregnant, I'd be more susceptible to getting sick because pregnancy weakens the immune system. But thank God I didn't get sick... and I apologized to the hubby for blaming him.

Any Movements? She is quite the busy bee. She loves to kick, roll, dance... every part of the day. And it makes me smile to feel her... and at night, I love to watch her move. It's such an amazing feeling.

Looking Forward To: My baby shower. My sister worked on the invitations and sent them out... and my sisters-in-law have been planning it all out. I can't wait to spend time with friends and family and just celebrate this awesome occasion.

Tags: #firstpregnancy #thirdtrimester #30weekspregnant #30weekspregnancyupdate #babybump #20weeksbump #10weeksbump

29 Weeks Bump Update

*Originally posted April 29, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*

I swear it feels like I just posted my 28 week update.... but here we are! 29 weeks and feeling GREAT!!!!

Check out this belly one more time....

Can this belly even get any bigger?! I know Baby P's still got some growin' to do... but geeeeez...

What Is Baby P Up To This Week?

• She is now the size of a butternut squash

• She weighs in about 2.5 - 2.9 lbs and is a little over 15 inches long

• Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and her head is growing bigger to make room for that developing brain.

• To meet Baby P's increasing nutritional demands, I'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, and iron. And because Baby P's bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I need to make sure to consume a lot of calcium. During this trimester, about 250 mg of calcium is deposited into Baby P's hardening skeleton each day.

What's Been Happening With ME This Week?

Weight Gained: Not a clue. And I'm okay with that.

Workouts: the usual - walks around the neighborhood and squats. I'm hoping to do a little more strength training at home next week but we'll see how well that goes.

Symptoms:

• Lower back pain

• Mild cramping in the lower ab area from walking around too much (Braxton-Hicks contractions maybe? Idk)

• Super duper tired (story of my life)

• I get winded easily (stairs are just the worst!)

• Just being plain UNCOMFORTABLE whether I'm sitting or laying down

• And I've just found more varicose veins on the back of my thighs. Yuck. They are gross. So much for looking cute in a bikini this summer.

Food Aversions: Nothing that sticks out in my mind...

Food Cravings:

• Coffee (because I know I can't have any anymore)

• Crackers (weird but true!)

• Fried Chicken (yup, that one will never go away)

• Cinnabon

• And one of my favorite dishes as a kid - eggplant fried in an egg batter.

Sleep: It's gotten a little better since I bought that body pillow... but it's still difficult to get comfortable. I know "uncomfortable" is what I'll be for the next 11 weeks, but hey... I got this.

Any Baby/Pregnancy Related Purchases? Some maternity tank tops from Old Navy. I don't want to keep on buying more maternity clothes but at least I'll still be able to use these tanks after Baby is born. They're comfy and casual and I got them for $6 each. So that makes it okay :-P

Stretch Marks? Nope! :-)

Miss Anything? Yes!!! I miss coffee!!! And I miss working out hardcore. I thought taking advantage of being pregnant and not working out like I'm used to would be like taking a vacation... but I find myself wishing I could just get to the gym and just start lifting heavy weights. It'll be a few more months before I can get back at it.

Belly Button In or Out? It depends on the time of day. And what I eat. As strange as that sounds... but on some days, it's a complete outtie. Especially when I eat a lot or if my stomach is full of food. And then on the days where I don't eat a lot of heavy meals, it's not as much of an outtie.

Wedding Rings On or Off? Still on!

Happy or Moody Most of the Time? Extremely happy and feeling blessed. As uncomfortable as I am... I know it's only temporary and totally worth it for my little human being to continue to bake inside my growing belly.

Any Movements? A LOT of movement. It's becoming more visible each day and it's just the coolest thing ever. She responds to gentle pokes/nudges on the belly and I absolutely love it.

Looking Forward To: Going on maternity leave. I wanted to be Super Woman and work all the way up to the last possible week I can, but I realize that this growing belly is adding so much weight to my body that it's just too hard to keep up with the demands of my job. So I can't wait to finally be able to just relax and "nest" once I'm given the OK to take my leave.

I am going to be 30 weeks prego tomorrow. Which means 10 more weeks to go. Which means AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!! :-)

Tags: #thirdtrimester #firstpregnancy #29weekspregnant #29weekspregnancyupdate #pregnancyjourney #babybump

28 Weeks Bump Update

*Originally posted April 22, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*

And we are officially in the 3rd trimester! Just 12 more weeks till we meet our little princess.

What Is Up With Baby P This Week? (According to my Baby Center App)

• She is the size of an eggplant

• She weighs about 2.25lbs and measures about 14.8 inches from head to heels

• And to add to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths, Baby P can now blink her eyes and may even be able to see the light that filters from the outside world into the womb

• Her brain is developing neurons and continuing to gain more fat to fill in her cute lil body

• Her sleep now includes REM (rapid eye movement) phase - which means she could be dreaming already!

What's Been Happening With ME This Week?

I had a prenatal appointment this week for my 28th Week checkup:

• Was cleared of gestational diabetes (wooohooo!)

• Was ordered to get more blood work done to check my iron levels to see if I will be needing to take iron supplements in this last and final trimester

• Was vaccinated for the whooping cough

And then it was time to hear Baby's heartbeat... the favorite part of my doctor visits. But this time, it didn't turn out to be as exciting as I had hoped. My midwife detected a bit of a murmur. As a precaution she referred me to a fetal specialist to see if it's something serious. So the next day, I came back to NST for a screening. I was hooked up to the monitor and we listened for a good 15-20 minutes. Baby's heartbeat remained strong and no arrhythmia was detected (whew!). But I still needed to get another complete ultrasound to check Baby's heart. Anyway, long story short... the fetal specialist says Baby is absolutely PERFECT. She was moving around a lot, her heartbeat was steady and strong, and she is already approximately 2 lbs 12 oz. Wow. Yeah, nothing to worry about. She is healthy and so very active. No signs of distress. Yay! However, the doctor did tell me that I can no longer drink coffee, eat chocolate, or use cocoa butter for the rest of my pregnancy. *sigh* Totally worth it though.

Weight Gained: Ok so if we are going based off my very first prenatal appointment, I've gained a total of about 16 lbs. BUT! I was already like 10 weeks at my very first appointment and I'm not sure if I gained much in those 10 weeks. My last regular doc appointment prior to that was maybe about a month before I found out I was pregnant and I weighed in 6lbs less than that. (Hope you're able to keep up hehe). So if we are going off of THAT weight... I've gained 22lbs this pregnancy so far. AND, I have to add, I ate like a pound of food for lunch right before my appointment AND I was wearing tennies. But hey... it is what it is. 16-22lbs gained. Doc says I'm on target...so that's all that matters!

Workouts: okay, so not much. 2 days of walking around the neighborhood and 1 day of leg workouts - I know, I know... I am totally slackin'.

Symptoms:

• Lower back pain

• Appearance of spider veins AND varicose veins on my legs

• Slight nausea from chewing regular gum

• Still tired

• Frequent trips to the bathroom (and I'm talkin' like every 15 minutes - or so it feels that way)

Food Aversions: Panda Express. The thought makes me gag. It's been about a couple of months since I've had it but the last time I ate it, it grossed me out BIG time.

Food Cravings: Anything sweet!!!! Where in the world did this sweet tooth come from? Breakfast burritos, pancakes with lots and lots of syrup, fried rice, kalua pig (yeah that one was totally random), and slurpees. Totally had to get a slurpee right after my doctor appointment.

Sleep: And I finally gave in and got me a Snoogle Total Body Pillow. My regular pillows just weren't doin' the job anymore. I'm just at the stage where I am just completely uncomfortable. And I have to say... the body pillow has actually helped. The only time I ever really get up during the night is to use the bathroom. So hey, totally worth it. And I will probably use it still postpartum, so that's a plus.

Any Baby/Pregnany-Related Purchases? yeah.... see previous question and answer.

Stretch Marks? Nope! My midwife even complimented me on it after taking my belly measurements and said my belly looks PERFECT!

Miss Anything? Being able to wear whatever I want to wear! I love showing off the baby bump but I seriously don't wanna have to buy more maternity clothes. The stuff I bought last week were non-maternity stuff that I can wear after Baby P is born but I need maternity tops. Going "larger" in size won't work for me because I'm still small on top. Big tops don't look flattering on me. *sigh*

Belly Button In or Out? It's a little bit of an outtie! Just a little!

Wedding Rings On or Off? Still on! No swelling yet.

Happy or Moody Most of The Time? Mostly happy.

Any Movements? She never stops! She is one active Baby. She rolls, twists, turns, kicks, punches, and does somersaults in there. The feeling is amazing and I love it... but it definitely is something new! And now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, I need to monitor and keep track of these movements from here on out! Baby P needs to be moving/kicking/dancing/something at least 10 times in an hour.

Looking Forward To: Nesting. Believe it or not... we kinda nested at the beginning... made some room for baby. Sorted thru our stuff - looking to see what we needed and what we should get rid of. We got some hand-me-down clothes, toys, and gear from my sister-in-law that needs to be sorted thru and put away... yeah there's a corner in our room full of baby stuff that's just sitting in boxes and bags. So I'm hoping to go thru them really, really soon.

So that's what's been going on with Baby P and me this week. Tomorrow I will be 29 weeks prego and I am just blown away by how quickly these weeks are flying by! Before you know it, our little baby girl will be here and I cannot wait!

Tags: #firstpregnancy #28weekspregnant #pregnancyjourney #28weekspregnancyupdate #babybump #pregnancypillow #secondtrimester