Week 24 ~ October 29th

So not much to report other than what I've already posted this week...I'm hoping that this weekned Chris will be able to finally feel some of the kicks I've been feeling for a few weeks now. Last night a few of the harder ones made my belly move...freaked the cat out I think because he was looking for a lap to sleep on and the decreasing size of mine (now added with the occasional 'bump') is only frustrating him more and more.

I've been getting some great advice - anything from the good kid friendly cookbooks (not sure I'll be able to make the beet pancakes no matter how good they taste!) to helpful hints about what to stock in the nursery for the first month - it's nice to have someone say "I wish someone told me..." Highlight of the day - I get to go to yoga tonight, ahhhhhh.

For those of you tracking my progress with my food comparison reports - here's what I've got for this week (see below). I can honestly say the soccer ball comparison is just about the right size for my belly and on my next visit I get the 'yummy' glucose drink - oooo can't wait!

Your baby’s growing steadily…having gained about 4 ounces since last week – that puts its total weight at just over a pound. Since it’s almost a foot long – roughly the size of an ear of corn – it cuts a pretty lean figure at this point but every day its filling out proportionally and will soon start to plump up. In the past few weeks the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. Most women will have the glucose screening test between now and 28 weeks.

Being creative....

…so dealing with the fact that my enhanced belly is here - and here for a few more months - I have come to discover ways that it comes in handy – I’m not talking about the good parking spots at the grocery store and strip malls for “expectant mothers” but I’m talking physically how it can come in handy….let me explain…

1. Normally when we are riding the car, to be comfortable I usually have to keep my arms crossed in front of me – Chris mistakes this for me being cold which might be the case 1 of out 10 times. Now, with my belly – I have a place to rest my hands – and feeling the baby kick and move around is just an added bonus.

2. With my nice stiff fingers that I have for the morning hours of every day – squeezing shampoo bottles, toothpaste – and my newest challenge – a new bottle of conditioner, is sometimes a difficult task. HOWEVER, as I discovered this morning – the conditioner bottle, which regardless of my stiff fingers is a hard bottle to squeeze with one hand – I can use both hands and use the belly as a table – squeeze what I need onto the top of my “table” using BOTH hands on the bottle (I just need to be out of the stream of water from the shower so my conditioner doesn't get washed away!) – problem solved!

As I come up with more uses (or hear of other uses - it's fun hearing pregnancy "war stories") I’ll be sure to add them to my list…..

The baby has been to Mayberry

Another addition to the baby's travel log - we spent the weekend in Mt Airy - better known to some as Mayberry. Not having ever watched the Andy Griffith show I was a bit clueless about some of the "main street attractions" but it was fun. We visited two great winery's - Elkin and Shelton - and although I had to skip the wine tasting I did get to enjoy two great dinners with some great friends! I would highly recommend both places if you are heading that way. Here's my week 23 picture....

Ahhhh...yoga.....

So – my first prenatal yoga class – my first yoga class period – was wonderful! It’s through the hospital (Rex) where we’ll be having the baby. There are six of us in the class, one was missing last night…going across the row, what each of us was having, we have – boy, girl, boy, boy/boy, girl – I’ll tell you what I’m not for sure…I’m NOT the boy/boy – identical twins – whew! I will give you a clue…I was one of the ones next to twins (won’t tell what side!) for those of you still trying to guess!

Anyway – what a joyful hour that class was – so nice and relaxing and nice to be around people who are dealing with the same things I am RIGHT now – swollen fingers, finding a comfortable way to sleep, etc. It made me feel good too – one lady was at 20 weeks and another was at 25 and me being right in between at week 23 – if you looked at our bellies size-wise – we looked like a natural progression.

Our instructor is a mom of three and grandmother of seven! She’s been doing yoga for eight years and was wonderful. It was interesting to watch her get into the position she wanted us to get into and think “ah – not hard” – however, I tend to momentarily forget about this beach ball belly that I’ve grown and the difference in my muscles so yeah – not to easy! It made me want to try yoga once the baby is born when my “normal” body/muscles are back.

We learned all about the nice hormone relaxin, did cat/cow (which we did in Pilates so that was nice and familiar!) and then triangle and then ended with the best part savasana - I sort of saw it as getting the baby ready for nap time in day care! Because we are not supposed to be on our backs we do this pose on our sides – so relaxing…amazing how good certain exercises can make you feel. It was so nice to do something other than walking or riding the stationary bike – I’m so excited for next week already!

Week 23 - Let's vacuum!!

Another belly picture from our trip up north a couple weeks ago...



So...week 23...about the only thing new to report is the baby's favorite spot to PUSH and settle - right side, just under my ribs - pushing on my ribs & lungs. I've had this "ache" on the right side of my chest for a couple of weeks now but only recently since the baby has really started kicking did I realize it was the baby. I just assumed I pulled a muscle! The sensation makes me feel like I've just finished a run as I get an out-of-breath sensation. One of the girls I work with said to try and "massage" the baby out of that area and so far it has worked! However, as soon as the baby moves it goes straight to pushing on my bladder so I've go a choice - out-of-breath or bathroom every ten minutes.



My new craving - wanting to be able to go for a run. I see people out for a run in the morning and uh, I just want to put my sneakers on, turn on my iPod and hit the pavement. Seeing runners on the sidewalk mezmerizes me...with the weather changing these cool mornings and afternoons - it's my favorite time of the year to be outside and exercise. We went to Umstead Park this past weekend - Chris rode and I walked, which felt great, but it killed me to see all the runners flying by - so jealous!

Update on what's happening with the baby...



Week 23...Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With its sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that its more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large MANGO), you may be able to see it squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in its lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing it for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze it when it hears them outside the womb.

Sad day...

So not even the cheering of a future fan could pull the the Sox through (Chris picked up this shirt on our last trip up north) - it just wasn't their year....positive thought to come out of it - at least the baby won't be born in a year that the Yankees are the defending world series champs...it will be born into a world of baseball where teams like the Red Sox and the Rays top the charts!

A cup of tea for a Friday giggle....

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.
       
Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.
       
My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.
       
Then she says, (as only a mother would know... :)
'Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?'

Now I ask you...

Ok...so one of my maternity clothes purchases has been a black pencil skirt and I love it! It's plain and simple goes with everything and is one of the the maternity pieces that I will probably wear it out long before 40 weeks comes along.

Everyone knows - even those who have not been pregnant - the key to maternity clothes is the STRETCH - so WHY on earth - I ask all of you - would a maternity skirt be made of a stretchy material but then have a liner INSIDE that is not stretchy? I've been sitting here all day and wondering just that - then my eyes fell on my scissors....needless to say I just performed surgery on my skirt in the bathroom and whew! so much more comfortable...I would guess that this skirt was designed by a man as the material is not one that even needs a liner as it is thick! Problem solved and liner is history....I can now breath a bit easier....

Last vacation before baby ~ October 14th

So last week we headed north to Cape Cod – a vacation with NO set schedule and cooler temps. It was wonderful! Chris ran on the beach every morning while I walked and watched the seals & birds. Walking has become my exercise of choice and as long as I move my arms or even hold them over my head (yeah looks funny!) my fingers don’t swell too much. Each day after our morning exercise we set off to find something fun to do. We toured all over the cape – Provincetown, Nantucket, Woods Hole and ate lots of seafood! By the end of the week we both wanted burgers and fries! We shopped in all the small towns and found lots of fun stuff for the baby! Books like “Good Night Cape Cod” and “A Vermont Alphabet” now are part of our growing library collection and even an onesie from Cape Cod Potato Chip factory – so cute!

The baby really started moving around last week – lots and lots of rolling and kicking – nothing strong enough yet for Chris to feel, but I was assured at my doctor’s appointment yesterday that the strong kicks would start soon. Thankfully right now the baby wakes up when I do and seems to quiet down around ten o’clock at night. The fluttering and small kicks I feel are a great wake up call and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can enjoy full nights of sleep for a while still.

My measurements and the baby’s heart beat both were right on track. The only bad symptom I am having is really, really stiff fingers and hands in the morning when I wake up – I told the nurse that it felt like my hands had aged 50 years. My finger joints just ache and running my hands under cold water and rubbing them is about all that helps. Thankfully the discomfort is not in my wrists as carpal tunnel syndrome is very common during pregnancy due to all the extra fluid in your body. Tomorrow I hit 22 weeks – my 21 week update provided the following estimates and I also added the 22 week info - here's my week 20, day 6 picture....



21 weeks - Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long – the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like its practicing martial arts as its initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to its activity.



22 weeks - At 11 inches – about the length of a spaghetti squash - and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Its lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and its even developing tiny tooth buds beneath the gums. Its eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair that covers the body and the deep wrinkles on the skin, which the baby will sport until a padding of fat fills them in. Inside the belly, the pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Last day of Pilates....so sad ~ October 2nd

So yesterday I hit 20 weeks and came home to TWO huge boxes of clothes (THANKS AUNT DORI it was like Christmas!!!!) While there were a few items that just didn't work (no matter how hard I tried my 5'2" frame just doesn't make it into the clothes from a 5'10"? frame) - most will make the next 20 weeks a lot more comfortable and a lot more stylish! It's amazing how well maternity t-shirts fit better than regular t-shirts - ahhh, the small things in life (like a bit more extra fabric and elastic) make me so happy!

Sad day today...my last day of Pilates for I'm not sure how long. I start my prenatal yoga classes in a few weeks, which will be nice, but I'll miss my morning sessions with Amy and the girls (Mitzi & Donna you better stay in touch!). It's amazing how much better I feel after thoses class - right now it's the one exercise that doesn't make my fingers swell up like sausages! Considering I've gone at least once a week since like May of 2005 it's going to feel really weird not going for a while. I'll miss you girls!!!

So each week in class I got the question from Mitzi - how big's the baby this week? Thus as I get my weekly emails that equate the size/proporations of my growing child to that of something in the fruit or vegtable world I'll do these posts in honor of her....



Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now and is also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana.

Althought we got the measurements of about 7 inches and 9 oz last week at our appointment this is probably about right on. Also the weekly email has this funny tidbit of info in it...good for a laugh if nothing else!

Count your blessings
• The penis of a rhinoceros is 2 feet long.
• The penis of a mosquito is a hundredth of an inch long.
• The praying mantis bites her mate's head off while he impregnates her.
• Elephants are pregnant for two years.
• Many animals give birth to a dozen or more babies at a time.
• Your baby won't be born with hooves.

Last but not least...YEAH!!!! Some cooler air has arrived in the south - the blast of fresh cool air has already made me feel about 10 lbs lighter than I really am! It's so much easier to breath and as much as I'll miss the few items of clothes that I'll have to put away due to the cooler temps - its nice to have Fall arrive.

Finally...GO RED SOX and keep your fingers crossed that NCSU has a better game this weekend against BC than last weekend....