29 weeks and a 3/D experience

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I'm 29 weeks and today I got to get a free 3/D 4/D ultra sound. Not only was it free, I got paid $80! Unfortunately, Kaydriana was not participating very well. Her hands kept blocking her face and her head was rubbing in my placenta, but we can see her nose and in some shots of her lips and ear. I think her nose looks like mine and her ears are more shaped like Tim's than mine. I wish we could see what color her eyes are gonna be, but I suppose there are some things we must be patient with. She is currently face down with her head in the lower left side of my belly with her spine facing the left and her extremeties are on my right side.

For her being 29 weeks she should be 17 inches long and three pounds. She sure has been kicking and moving a lot. I've been using my Bebe Sounds listening thing to listen to her kick me. I've only been able to hear her heartbeat once, but it's still neat to listen to her move. I look forward to hearing her have hiccups. If she is anything like me and her dad, she'll definitely have hiccups.

As a reward for her hard work being a model today I bought what I think will be her going home outfit. If it's too big I'll save it for her to wear during the Morris/Jacobson family shower after she is born. I also bought her a little Mariners outfit. They didn't have any pink ones and Tim thinks she'll look like a boy, but nothing a little headband won't set straight. So now she has a Seahawks, Huskies and Mariners outfit for her. If Daddy couldn't have his little boy first, at least his daughter will support his favorite teams.

Here is a picture of her going home or shower outfit:

And here is a picture of me at 29 weeks:

Yesterday I got a much needed pedicure. My poor feet were needing some TLC. And although they are puffy looking things, they are so much prettier. I must vow to myself I will not let them get so beat up! They are pretty swollen right now because after the ultra sound, we went and had our taxes done(Can't wait to be able to claim a dependent next year!) then I went to Target to update our registry. Most of of the stuff we want/need are at Babys R Us, but it's not a store that is very convenient for many people so I wanted an alternative. But Target kinda sucks when it comes to selection so I mostly registered for diapers and clothes at Target. Its hard to register for clothes. Everything right now is springy and summery and because it's going to be summer for her first 4 months of life I primarily registered for new born and 0-3 months. However, when I found long sleeve stuff I registered for 6 months sizes since it will be November when she's 6 months.

Well, I think thats it for now. 10.5 weeks to go! :)

3rd Trimester, 7 Months, 28 weeks...

Whatever you call it, I’m 2/3rds through this pregnancy!

I know things will only get more difficult with Kaydriana getting bigger and bigger along with my belly so three months won’t feel like a short time. But in the span of things, it really is. Especially considering I’ll be considered full term in less time.

After not hearing back from my glucose test last week, I finally called the doctors office to get my results. Everything came back normal which is great news. However, my iron levels dropped dramatically. When I first had my blood drawn during my first trimester my iron levels were great – 36.5. Normal is 35. They have now dropped to 30. My doctor asked if I’d been feeling tired and sluggish and I responded with, “Well, yeah! Isn’t that normal during pregnancy?” She explained that it’s primarily caused by low iron so I need to start taking supplements. I've taken the supplements for 3 days now. I don't know if I feel any different since work has been really tough lately, but I do look forward to starting to feel a bit more normal.

Oh and bonus on taking iron supplements? They cause constipation! Woo Hoo! So not only am I taking iron everyday, I also take all this other fun stuff to try to keep from getting backed up. Sorry-TMI, but hey isn’t my blog full of it? :)

I’m officially retaining water now. It’s pretty clear in my face and just this past weekend I noticed I can’t see my ankle bones anymore. Wearing socks and stockings have been uncomfortable and after a long day wearing them, I have very pronounced indents.

Here is beautiful foot (sans ankle bone):

Here is my 28 week pregnancy update from WTE:

Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward. Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already. Though his lungs are nearly fully mature (so both of you might breathe a little easier if he were born now), your baby still has plenty of growing to do.

While it's good news that your baby is settling into the right position for childbirth (since you're now entering the third trimester), the potentially painful news is his head — plus the weight of your uterus — may now be sitting on your sciatic nerve, which runs through the lower part of your back, buttocks, and legs. This common condition (called sciatica) can cause sharp, shooting pain and/or tingling or numbness, starting in your rear end and radiating down the backs of your legs.


I think I posted it in the past that my sciatica has been bugging me for weeks.


Well, I think thats it for now. Here is my 28 week photo:

27 weeks

So many fun things to post today. Lets see where to start? Well, how about what WTE says about 27 weeks. Apparently my uterus is the size of a basketball. Crazy! That seems so huge... how does it fit? All I know is the last few days Kaydriana has been really low and tucked away since my stomach doesn't seem so big or hard. Honestly it's a relief because during last weekend and all day Monday she was sitting so high I hard the hardest time breathing.

Anyway, WTE also says that our baby is 15 inches long and her weight is creeping up the charts as well, coming in at just over two pounds. More big news: baby may recognize our voice by now.

Some other fun stuff: this past weekend I saw her move for the first time. I noticed out of the corner (or bottom) of my eye that my stomach was making funny movements. Everytime I felt her move I could SEE her move! So fun! Last night I woke up at 12:34 am (yup today at work was hard!). I finally gave in, turned on the light and pulled out the baby listening toy I got a couple of weeks ago. I listened to her kick and punch me and finally after about 15 minutes I found her heartbeat! I just layed there and listened to it for a few minutes. So amazing!!!

I've lost a lot of my appetite. I'm eating very little in comparison to how much I've needed to eat the past few months. If I eat too much I feel like I'm going to be sick. Maybe it's because Kaydriana is starting to really take up a lot of room.

I just cannot believe there is only 3 months to go. In one sense it's not long at all, but the fact that I'm having many hard days and knowing there will be more and more as we get bigger makes me a little nervous. My sciatic nerve bugs me on almost a daily basis and now I'm worried about the days I wake up and she's sitting up in my lungs. But I also try to keep that stuff in perspective. I've got a healthy pregnancy and many people have it worse off so I should be grateful.

Oh and I'm still waiting to hear the results of my glucose test. I had to drink that thick, sugary syrupy crud yesterday. I don't really think I'll end up having gestational diabetes, but my Great Grandpa had it, my uncle and my mom have it (regular diapetes not gestational obviously)... so I suppose it's not out of the question.
Anyway, I think I've captured everything. Here is my 27 week photo:

As you can see my face is getting chubby! I'm not so happy about that, but nothing I can do. I just don't wanna dislike the maternity photos I'll be doing with my sister in March. I wish I could just work out my face and neck. Oh and a tan would be nice.... hmmmm

25 weeks

So I'm 25 weeks and I'm feeling it! Its getting harder to put my socks and gym shoes on. Thankfully my pregnancy Yoga and Pilates DVDs are helping with my back so thats nice.

Here are updated photos from today: 25 Weeks

I had a Drs appointment today. Dr. Graham says everything is going well and I look good. In two weeks I'll be going for my gestational diabetes test. I'm not worried about it at all except to say there will be a 3 hour period where I can't eat. That might be difficult... hmmmmm

Tim and I finished the nursery. Well, for the most part. The painting is totally done and so is the crib - all the hard stuff. Here are more photos:

Here is how our little princess is developing: At nine inches and more than a pound and a half in weight, your baby is taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other, and almost as heavy as four of those little boxes.
Your baby's skin is turning pinker. No, not because he or she's getting overheated (in fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate controlled, keeping your baby at an always comfortable temperature), but because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But at 25 weeks pregnant, those lungs are still very much works in progress. Though they are already beginning to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs expand after the baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when she exhales.

The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths. (Of course since there's no air in there, your baby is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?)

Kydriana has been kicking me like crazy the last two days. Its pretty cool and still catches me off guard. I'm so looking forward to the foot in the ribs ;)

What a day!

So I had today off as my MLK day and was looking forward to running a few errands and then relaxing. But that didn't begin to happen until 7:30 tonight.

The first order of business was going to the DOL since I lost my ID a month ago. I tried to do it online, but had to update my address as well so they make you come in to do it. Then I was going to go to Bellevue Square to spend my Bump gift certifcate and finally quench my craving of Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls. Last order of business was to go pick up a crib my friend was giving us. Sounds easy enough, right? Pfft.... yeah right.

So I completely do my hair and make up for the sake of my licence photo-something I hate doing on my day off. I get to the DOL and it's closed. Like shut down for good. They refer me to another facility in the city but I don't have a GPS or internet on my phone. So I decide to give up. Screw it. I have my passport and a paper copy of my license-I'll do it some other day.

I head to the mall and try on a bunch of skirts with my GC. I had to buy a large :( Stupid skinny pregnant boutiques. The skirt was $105!!!! But thats all I could find that I needed. Thankfully my GC covered the cost. I asked the employee if she can point me in the direction of Cinnabon and she said that its right across from the store. All I see is a white wall. I said, "really?" She looked and exclaimed that it looks like its been shut down. WHAT!? I finished my transaction and felt the overwhelming feeling of sorrow come over me. I became depressed. I've been craving a delicious warm, gooey Cinnamon roll for three weeks! I decided to get a slice of Dulce de Leche cheescake from Cheesecake Factory as a consulation. But I vow to find the perfect cinnamon roll to take care of my cinnamon, butter, frosting craving!

Tim calls me and I tell him I'm giving up on the DOL. He talked me out of it, after all, he also need a CDL book. So he sent me directions to the still open DOL. *SIGH* Thankfully it wasn't a long wait. It just stunk in there.

So I finally get home and Tim and I head out to his parent's to get his dads truck to head to Seattle to pick up a new (to us) crib. We already had one from his sister. However the one we were getting from my friend was white (which I preferred) and a convertable bed. We pick it up with no incident and get home. We were going to take apart the other one and bring it to his parents for them to sell. Well, Tim didn't have the right tools so he decided we'll just sell it. We drive all the way back to his parents to drop off their truck. On the way home we stop by Lowes to pick up crib screws, picked up Red Robin for dinner and make it home. Tim rebuilds our old crib so I can take photos of it to put on Craigs list. Thats when I discovered the crib that we've had is also convertable. Anyway we clean off the new crib and start putting it together. Turns out the screws don't work, we don't have the directions and it's just not working.... Grrrr. Theres nothing else we can do. So we take it back a part, take it back down stairs and start moving our original crib back up stairs. What a waist of time, effort and money!
We decided we will pain the other crib white. Great! More money to spend, more effort (to paint) and now we gotta figure out what to do with the "new" crib.

Seriously today was SO ANNOYING! Oh and if anyone wants to come bring a Cinnabon Cinnamon roll I'll be eternally grateful!

24 Weeks

Wow, I’m 24 weeks – that means I only have 16 weeks to go, which is only 4 months!

There is still lots to do, but we have plenty of time. I “finished” painting the nursery this weekend. Tim might claim he helped me, but if you compare his 15 minutes of help to my 5 hours of work, I don’t think saying “we painted” is really accurate :). And when I say “finished” I think I want to add a 2 inch brown trim between the pink and green on the walls. But I’ll tackle that later.

Although Tim’s sister gave us a nice crib that both of her kids used, my friend wants to give us her daughters convertible crib that converts from a crib to a big girl bed. We’re going to pick it up this weekend.

The crib set I ordered was on back order so we should be getting that in the next two weeks. We have registered for and still need a glider, a swing, book case and changing table for the nursery to be considered, “complete”. Oh and I still need to get shelves and the valance in place… hmmmm I’m sure I can add a lot more to my “to do” list.

Here are some pictures of our progress:

My grandma, lil sis and I went to the fabric store this weekend to pick out fabric for the baby quilt. My grandma has made quilts for all of her grand kids for their 18th birthday. And although I’d like to think she’ll be around for all of her great grandchildren’s 18th birthday, she makes them a quilt for when they’re born. She does an amazing job and I’m excited to see this finished quilt.

Overall I’m feeling really good. I feel energetic although I still love my naps if I can fit them in! The only problem I’m having is my sciatic nerve in my back. Some of you may recall when I was in high school (and a few times after) my legs would give out and it would be pretty painful and have trouble walking. Well it’s back with a vengeance. I know what causes it: picking up anything with a bit of weight to it. When I did a lot of furniture moving and painting during my vacation, my back was out for the next day and a half. When I finished painting on Saturday it bugged me a bit on Sunday. It worries me a little bit that I still have 4 months to go and I’ll only be getting bigger which would put my pressure on my back.

Speaking of getting bigger I’ve already gained 23 pounds! And boy do I feel it! I gained a lot of weight during my vacation because I was pretty sedentary, made myself a heaping breakfast every day and made elaborate dinners. Oh and I had TONs of holiday treats to eat. I huff and puff going up the stairs and since I’ve always been active and in shape, I’m really not liking this extra weight. The last week and ½ I’ve been a lot more active and not indulging as much. I know I can’t realistically lose weight but I’m gonna try and slow down the gain.

Here is the baby update:

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll when you are 23 weeks pregnant. This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too).

You have probably heard your developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb!

Your baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from his or her little body at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than the fat develops during fetal growth. But don't worry. By the time your baby is born, he or she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks to chubby toes.

23.5 weeks