Friday, May 11, 2012

Preggo Update: 18/19 weeks ish!

Our baby's approximate size: Nearly 6 inches, roughly 7 ounces.

How Far Am I: As of today, 18 weeks and 4 days

Baby's Gender: We *may* have a chance of seeing this on May 23rd, at our ultrasound! If not, surprise :)

How Much Weight Have I Gained: +1 As of this week Tuesday, 1 pound and that's all so far! I have plenty of reserves, so I am not too worried about my weight gain.

Cravings: My other pregnancies, I never really had cravings much. It was all about what I could keep down. This time, it's mostly about good, clean food- LOTS of fruit and veggies. The occasional bowl of ice cream. Nutella (when is that not a craving, pregnant or not?!), and pizza from Mellow Mushroom are also up there on the list. Drinking lots of water, some milk, and not much else.

Baby Movement: Feeling his or her little swooshie movements for a few weeks now, and last Thursday I felt the first "Hello, I am a baby and you ARE really pregnant" kick. I am feeling it more and more frequently every day, but not strong enough that any one else could really take notice without being way to close for my comfort.

Body Changes: If you didn't know me well, you would probably have no clue I was pregnant. You would just think I had some bad habits. If you know me well, you can tell there is a belly starting. There is no denying it's there. No real pictures yet to put up- it's not a cute enough bump too yet!

Sleep Habits: As long as the kids aren't scheming against my sleep plans, I am getting around 7-9 hours a night. I usually drink a lot of water in the evening because I have realized that chasing kids around all day, I have forgotten to drink. That means I have to wake up almost every morning around 4 or 5 to pee, and hopefully the animals/kids/boogy men let me go back to sleep.

What Micah (5) /Levi (15 mos) Think of the Baby: Levi has no idea what is happening, but we are pretty sure that when the time arrives he will be one jealous sucker. He has had nothing but mommy pretty much every waking moment, with a few exceptions. It's going to be an adjustment. Micah, on the other hand, is stoked. He goes back and forth now between wanting a boy, a girl or both at the same time (I had to politely tell him to get that idea out of his head). He has informed me that he does NOT want to be there during the birth, just see the baby after when it's clean, because having babies is "gross, Mom."

Baby Prep So Far: I have started going through our diaper inventory, and making a list of upcoming needs. I am going to make a registry list on the site that we buy our diaper stuff from so that people who want to get me something have no question as to what to pick up. We have also started considering vehicle options, since there is no way our current vehicle will hold a booster seat, a forward facing car seat, and an infant car seat. We might as well join the 7 passenger club now, and keep it for a while! Other than that, there is not much prep to do yet. Levi will eventually move in to Micah's room, but I can imagine that won't be until after the new baby is here. And now, for a new category... 

Birth Prep: So much has changed in my mind during this pregnancy. I have goals, I have ambitions, I have a real vision of what I want birth to be like. I absolutely adore our midwife, Jyl; you would think I don't because every time I see her my BP jumps about 15 points. I have white coat syndrome- ridiculous, since I am a nurse, and even more so since we meet our midwife at her house for our appointments and there is nothing white coat about it. Jose and I have pretty much figured out why I have such a jump in my BP when I see her- I have such a fear that something is going to go wrong, that I will "risk out" of having a home birth, and then have to see the doc who delivered Levi and basically traumatized me in to wanting to ever go through birth in the hospital again. At home, my BP is generally at least 10 points lower than when I see her. So what am I doing to combat this? For one, lots and lots of prayer and meditation time on scriptures having to do with power...not having fear...trusting God...God's promises....etc. Secondly, I am reading positive birth stories constantly, and reaffirming to myself that birth is normal, natural, and not an emergency.  I am studying child birth books like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery (both fantastic reads, by the way, if you want a natural birth). Jose and I are watching birthing videos of women and husbands birthing at home with their midwifes and having good out comes. I am so ready to surrender to the power of birth, and I know that God did not make my body a lemon; he made me with the ability to have a perfect, natural birth no matter what pushy MD's like to tell you otherwise.

Name Ideas: Cosette. Adrienne. Norah. Celeste. Amabel. Stella. Darby. Fiona. Harper. Hannah. Hattie. Lucia. Maite. Marlee. Tessa. Scarlet. Doggone it, I can't get girl names out of my head (premonition, me thinks?). English, Spanish, or otherwise. It's so hard to think about names when you are not sure what sex you are planning on. I have a running list of girl names that gets added to daily; there is really only like 3 names I like for a boy so far (Gavin, Ben, Beau, and possibly Liam). I told Jose if we have a surprise we should pick a gender neutral name that could go either way, and I don't think he thought that was too cool of an idea. Usually I am such a planner, but this time we are reversed!

Plus Sized, Nursing, and Pregnant: Ahh, plus sized...maternity jeans are hard to shop for. You already feel like a lard being pregnant. And when all Ross carries are size M maternity pants, you decide to just call it a day and wear one of the pairs you have had for the last 2 pregnancies. I might as well figure out that I am going to be pregnant more times than this, and just invest in the nice, Motherhood Maternity stuff.

As for nursing, HOLY COW. Well, more like POOR PREGNANT COW'S TEATS. In the beginning, breastfeeding hurt. Let's not be shy or candy coat it. But after the first 3 weeks, it was completely fine. Pain went away, skin healed, lovey dovey nursing moments and bliss all around. Now, however, is a completely different story. You know when you get your lovely visitor once a month, and your boobs kill you for a few days? Take that, multiply it by 10 (seriously, your progesterone levels are crazy compared to a period), and then add in the factor that you are probably nauseated and on the edge because you are, well, pregnant. I have never felt such an aversion to being touched or nursing. Thank God that he has basically cut back to twice a day, and at that, he nurses for maybe thirty seconds a side, and is done. He had "weaned" for 5 days and I did a victory dance, until his molars started coming in and he started wanting to again to make his mouth feel better. Jose had to work 4 nights in a row, slept during the day, and quite frankly I could not take the crying any more so I let him. I have just put limits on it so that it's not so hard on me or him. He may quit all together, or quit and restart like he did, but I am playing it by ear and going at his pace.

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