Baby P #2 Bump Watch: 27 Weeks Preggers

*Originally posted July 8, 2017 on Fab . Fit . Me*

27 Weeks

What is up with Baby P #2 this week?

• Baby P weighs almost 2 lbs and measures about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended...so about the size of a cauliflower or head of lettuce.

• She sleeps and wakes at regular intervals, opens and closes her eyes, and could potentially even be sucking her fingers.

• She is super active now which means her brain tissue is continuing to develop.

• She is breathing (amniotic fluid) but her lungs are still immature but would be capable of functioning (with a lot of medical help) if she were to be born now.

• And it is very common for her to have episodes of baby hiccups (that rhythmic movements I am feeling from time to time) that lasts only a few moments.

What's been happening with ME this week?

Weight Gained: at my last doc appointment on June 30th, I found out I was still at 17 lbs gained since the start of this pregnancy. Totally didn't gain anything but maybe a few ounces since my last appointment about 3 weeks prior. I also still feel like that's a lot but my doctor didn't seem too concerned. So I guess I shouldn't be either.

Workouts: not a damn one. Just the hustle and bustle of my work life.

Symptoms:

• Mild leg cramps at night...especially when I was up visiting my mother-in-law over the weekend. Not exactly sure if it's because of the altitude since she lives in the mountains.

• Lower back pain

• Exhaustion

• Hot flashes

• Some headaches

Food Aversions: it's been pretty good lately.

Food Cravings: sweets. Junk food.

Sleep: fine except for all the trips to the restroom.

Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? First baby gift from my favorite sister in the whole wide world!!!

The Sea Punk Tokidoki print Jujube diaper bag. The BRB (Be Right Back). Super cute!!!

Stretch Marks: still the same ones

Miss Anything?: I miss being able to just walk without waddling or feeling like I've done a million squats. I'm barely about to enter into my last and final trimester and I'm already feeling like I can barely move.

Belly Button In or Out? Out

Wedding Rings On or Off? On! But I noticed my fingers were a little puffy over the weekend. Must be the heat.

Happy or Moody Most Of The Time? Happy! Not as irritable this week as the last one.

Any Movement? She seems to be rolling a lot more than kicking and punching. I guess she's still got plenty of room to be rolling around in there. Her kicks and punches have been pretty mild.

Fun and/or Interesting Things from the Week?

Took a trip up north to get Ella. Had a good time just relaxing and enjoying nature. Spent some time sightseeing in Tahoe.

And then came back home in time to celebrate the 4th with my father in law and the rest of the fam. Oh! And since Ella was up at her grandma's house on her birthday, we had a little celebration for her on the 4th as well. It was a pretty awesome weekend.

Looking Forward To? Shopping this weekend for our maternity family photo shoot next week! Yup.

Tags: #secondpregnancy #secondtrimester #27weekspregnant #27weekspregnancyupdate #pregnancyjourney #babybumpwatch #babybumppics #summervacation #LakeTahoe

Baby P #2 Bump Watch: 26 Weeks Preggers

*Originally posted June 28, 2017 on Fab . Fit . Me*

26 Weeks

What is up with Baby P #2 this week?

• She now weighs about 2 lbs and measures 14 inches - about the length of a scallion or as big as a head of kale - and she continues to put on baby fat.

• Her eyes are beginning to open! They've been closed up until now. And she can see what's going on now! Kind of. She can see light coming from outside of the womb!

• Her ears are better developed and more sensitive than before. She could very well be able to hear both my voice and her daddy's as we converse.

• Her brain-wave activity is gearing up at this stage of development which means she can not only hear noises. She can now respond to them.

• She's also inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid which is essential for the development of her lungs.

What's been happening with ME this week?

Weight Gained: At this point, I feel like I weigh as much as a blue whale. And people's reactions to my growing belly every single day reaffirms my pregnancy weight gain.

Workouts: I walk and walk and walk all day at work. 5 days a week. Occasional long walks when Hubby takes the dog out in the evenings. Key word: Occasional. SoCal temperatures make me want to stay indoors as much as possible.

Symptoms:

• Braxton Hicks contractions. I never felt them before with my first pregnancy. But totally felt something going on in my belly this week. At work, after running around and moving stuff, I sat down at my computer for a bit. And I just felt my lower abs contract. It was the strangest feeling ever. It wasn't painful. But they were "flexing" without me making them flex.

• Mild swelling in the feet/ankles. Not quite Flintstone feet yet but getting there!

• Bloating. And gas. Yup I said it! Baby is taking up so much room now that there's not enough room for food. And I still eat like I'm starving so my uterus pressing up against a full stomach doesn't help. The gas just happens. 🤷‍♀️

• Mild leg cramps. Maybe because I need to drink more fluids. We have officially entered the summer season and it is hot here in SoCal. So yeah, I need to drink more during the days because at night, I barely roll over and I can feel my calf muscles tighten.

• Trouble sleeping at night... mainly because I can't get comfortable enough laying on my side. It's starting to hurt. My pregnancy pillow just isn't doing the job. I've added more pillows to the mix.

• Lower back ache.

Food Aversions: nope

Food Cravings:

• Grapefruit sprinkled with salt

• Anything coconut flavored - I had a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks with coconut milk. Totally worth the extra $0.60. Soooo yum.

• And all things sweet. Nothing in particular. Just anything sweet. I maybe had 3 servings of something ice cream this week. Maybe.

Sleep: Just okay considering the uncomfortable-ness that's starting to happen. Frequent trips to the bathroom doesn't help. And now that the weather is heating up... it gets pretty stuffy. I don't like to sleep with the AC on... but maybe I'll go buy a 2nd fan just so this pregnant lady doesn't get too hot.

Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? Finally made a pregnancy related purchase!!! And this first purchase was for ME!!! Yup, just purchased 2 wrap dresses from an online boutique. I've never bought anything from them before, so I'm hoping the dresses fit and and actually look nice on me. If they do, I'll try my best to "model" them and take some pics to post on here. But still no purchases for Baby P just yet. I'm still in the process of "nesting" here... but maybe after the baby shower, I'll have some stuff to show off on my blog.

Stretch Marks: None yet... but at the rate the belly is growing, I think it's just a matter of time before some new ones appear.

Miss Anything?: Being able to eat (pig out) without feeling like a stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

Belly Button In or Out? Out!

Wedding Rings On or Off? Still on! But mild swelling is happening because of this heat so maybe it'll be coming off in the coming weeks. Eeek.

Happy or Moody Most Of The Time? Moody in the beginning of my gestational week - I realize that people at work easily annoy me now. I'm usually pretty good at not letting things get to me, but this pregnancy has definitely made it difficult to tolerate that stuff. But happy towards the end for sure!

Any Movement? She's just as active as her sister was, if not more! I'm talking non-stop ninja warrior action.

Fun and/or Interesting Things from the Week? Not fun but definitely interesting. As mentioned in my last post, I said I'd keep you updated on my whole thyroid nodule situation. Well, results came back Stage 3 Undetermined. It means they can't conclude if it's benign nor malignant. I have to go back in 3 months after the Baby is born for another biopsy. This is what happened the very first time I had a biopsy. I went in 3 different times before they could conclude that it was benign. Anyway, trying to remain positive! For now, I'm just going to focus on continuing to grow this Baby. No time for negative thoughts right now.

And!!! I also went in for my 3-hour glucose test on Saturday. The lab at my clinic is open on Saturdays so that's where I spent my morning. I had to fast - couldn't eat anything past 10pm the night before - and tried to get to the lab at 8. Yeah I couldn't get myself to get out of bed. But I got there about 8:45. Got my first blood draw right away and then drank the glucola. Flavor this time? Lime. They didn't have the orange flavored. It wasn't so bad. Tasted like a very syrupy Sierra Mist. But thank God they chill these drinks because I don't know if I could drink it warm. 😖

My 2nd blood draw happened at 9:52, the 3rd around 10:52, and the 4th and final at 11:52. By the end of it I was sleepy and hungry! Came home and just started shoving food into my mouth. I probably exceeded the recommended calorie count for the day but whatever. I was starving and shaky. Anyway, got the results same day and guess what? No gestational diabetes for this chick! Woooohoooo!

Looking Forward To? This coming up 4th of July weekend!!! Friday, after my prenatal doctor visit, Hubby and I are taking a road trip up to my mother-in-law's to pick Ella up from her 2-week vacation away from us! We also plan to spend the weekend up there and then drive back Monday, in time to celebrate the 4th back home before we go back to work the next day. Probably the only "vacation" I'll have this summer and before Baby P #2 comes.

Tags: #secondpregnancy #secondtrimester #26weekspregnant #26weekspregnancyupdate #pregnancyjourney #babybumpwatch #babybumppics #babybump

Baby P #2 Bump Watch: 24 Weeks Preggers

*Originally posted June 13, 2017 on Fab . Fit . Me*

And here we are. 24 weeks gestation and getting bigger by the day.

Whoa.

24 Weeks

And, of course, a shot with my monster...

What is up with Baby P #2 this week?

• Baby P is definitely growing (as you can tell by my photos above). She has gained approximately 4oz since last week, probably weighing about 1 1/3 pounds

• She is measuring almost a foot long - which is about the length of an ear of corn and about the size of a cantaloupe.

• Her body is pretty lean but filling out proportionally and will soon start to plump up.

• Her brain is also growing quickly and her taste buds are continuing to develop.

• Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant - a substance that will help her air sacs inflate one she is in outside of the womb and in our world.

• Her see-through skin is gradually becoming more opaque and is taking on a fresh, pink glow because of the small capillaries that have recently formed.

What's been happening with ME this week?

Weight Gained: I had my doctor's appointment FINALLY and found out that I am up 15 lbs from the start of this pregnancy. Yup. 17 lbs in 24 weeks. Not bad, but I was hoping the number would be less at this point in time. I still have a ways to go, and because I was heavier at the start of this pregnancy than I was with Ella, my expected weight gain is supposed to be in the 20-25 lbs range as opposed to the 25-35 lbs range. But my doctor doesn't seem to be concerned. I just need to continue to make sure I'm making healthier choices and not just giving into my cravings.

Workouts: Lots and lots of walking. Not extracurricular type of walking. Just a lot of walking and sometimes running around at work trying to get setups done.

Symptoms: Nothing new from last week. I'm still experiencing:

• backaches

• mild swelling in the feet

• round ligament pains - especially when I stand up from having been sitting for longer than 5 minutes

• sore leg muscles (thighs especially) as my work day comes to a close which makes for some duck-like waddling.

• fatigue, of course. This one will probably never go away. Ever.

Food Aversions: none

Food Cravings: I am obsessed with sweets. I'm trying not to over indulge but sometimes I just can't help it! I've had Jamba Juice, ice cream...junk food, you name it. So bad.

Sleep: pretty darn good. I'm usually a side sleeper but for some reason, I sleep most comfortably on my back... which I shouldn't be doing this late in my pregnancy. I may have to go back to sleeping with my pregnancy pillow again. I had used it early on but because it's so big and bulky, I stopped for a bit. But I think I may need to start use it again so I stay off my back when I'm sleeping.

Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? Can you believe I haven't splurged yet? I'm quite proud of myself, actually. Maybe in the coming weeks though. Hubby is pretty much done with school and Ella will be off to spend a couple of weeks with Grandma so we'll have time to do some major financial damage.

Stretch Marks: No new ones yet. Belly hasn't started to itch yet either so maybe we're good for now. If I get any bigger, I'm sure they'll start to appear...

Miss Anything?: At this point, I've learned to just deal with being very pregnant. I'm by no means complaining about it at all. But thinking about fitting into skinny clothes again or working out or anything about my pre-baby/pregnancy life just seems like a waste of energy so I'm just living in the moment. Taking it all one day at a time.

Belly Button In or Out? Definitely still out.

Wedding Rings On or Off? Definitely still on.

Happy or Moody Most Of The Time? Depends on who you're asking. If you're asking me, I will definitely say I'm happy!!! But if you ask my team at work and especially the hubby, they will probably tell you I'm moody. Let's just say I'm very hormonal this 2nd time around. Maybe because I've already been pregnant so I'm not so fascinated with the changes as much as the 1st time. And I just seem to get annoyed pretty easily.

Any Movement? Yup. She's probably more active than Ella. I hate to say it, but I'm gonna really have to figure out how I'm gonna be able to keep up with these 2 girls as they grow up and this mama gets old and frail.

Fun and/or Interesting Things from the Week? Nesting! Well, starting to nest. We went through our storage of crap that we've accumulated for the past 15+ years and got rid of some stuff. Stuff that I hadn't sorted through since I was in college. And we were able to sort of sort through Ella's baby gear that she hasn't used since forever which, by the way, Ella enjoyed. She wanted to play with everything we brought out. Things that she hated as a baby, she seemed to really love now. It was cute.

Ella this weekend...

Ella at 9 months old when she hated being in her walker

And then we also took Ella to "movie night" at the Park in the City of Rialto where her daddy grew up. They were screening Moana and we thought we would take advantage of the nice weather and opportunity for more family time with cousins, aunts, uncles, and great grandma. Ella, I think, enjoyed the pre-show activities more than the movie itself, but overall, it was a fun time.

*Click arrow to see more photos*

Looking Forward To? Nesting some more. Splurging on some new baby stuff. And shopping for myself. I need some new clothes.

Tags: #secondpregnancy #secondtrimester #24weekspregnant #24weekspregnancyupdate #pregnancyjourney #babybumpwatch #babybumppics