30 weeks + 2 days
Well, I’ve never been very good or consistent about journaling, so I suppose it makes sense that I would be in my seventh month of pregnancy before I’d get around to writing up a blog post.
(Holy cow, seven months!).
My plan is to go back and fill in some of the exciting and mundane details, probably during the month of August when I’ve sequestered myself in the only room in the house with air conditioning, but today I’m thinking about where we are now, and the fact that in approximately two months we’re going to meet our little bug.
How is it possible for seven months to go by simultaneously so fast and so slow? I remember feeling so much apprehension waiting for the first milestones: 6 weeks, then 12 weeks, then hearing the heartbeat at 13 weeks. I’m a scientist at heart, and hold my statistics near and dear, so the knowledge that passing 12 weeks and hearing a heartbeat drastically reduced the odds of having a miscarriage brought my stress down a lot (just ask my amazing, patient wife). And now, suddenly, I’m at the end of my seventh month.
What this month has meant for me:
• Lots of kicking, rolling, and hiccuping. There was a 24 hour period where I think Bug was awake and wiggling the entire time. The following day we had a prenatal and Bug was in the LOA position (Left occiput anterior – the best position for labor). I’m convinced that Bug was in there doing somersaults to show off for the midwives.
• Heartburn on and off. Pregnancy is the first time I’ve experienced heartburn. The first time I thought I was dying. Okay, that’s a little overly-dramatic, but as those who suffer from it know, it does feel like your stomach is trying to digest your esophagus. Fixes: Tums (quick fix, readily available – don’t use too often because it can cause stomach problems when used a lot/for a long time), raw almonds (thank you midwives for this awesome tidbit!), and sleeping with an extra pillow.
• Continuation of being tired. Exhaustion has been my number one negative symptom. I can sleep for 12 hours a night and still take a nice nap in the afternoon.
• Mild insomnia, lots of night-waking. I currently wake up anywhere from 2 to 6 times per night. Sometimes it’s a three minute-waking, sometimes I lay awake thinking about the best option for cloth diapers for two hours.
• Lots of comments about my size. After 30 years of being low/underweight for my height and body type, one might think this wasn’t a big deal. But it’s actually really annoying. Yep, I’m small for 30 weeks, visually, but my midwives say I’m right on track and so is Bug. And frankly, if we weren’t right on track it’s really not likely that a random person I run into once a month is the one I’d want to share with that something could be wrong.
• To follow off the last point, weight gain! I’ve added 23 lbs to my body since the start of this pregnancy. Seeing that number rise and knowing that it means Bug is healthy and growing makes my day every week.
• Finally, I’ll leave you with one last thought: colostrum. Yeah. Already.
Less than a week left before starting month 8. Looking forward to watermelon and a burst of productivity at work that gets a paper out the door before I go into labor!
Well, I’ve never been very good or consistent about journaling, so I suppose it makes sense that I would be in my seventh month of pregnancy before I’d get around to writing up a blog post.
(Holy cow, seven months!).
My plan is to go back and fill in some of the exciting and mundane details, probably during the month of August when I’ve sequestered myself in the only room in the house with air conditioning, but today I’m thinking about where we are now, and the fact that in approximately two months we’re going to meet our little bug.
How is it possible for seven months to go by simultaneously so fast and so slow? I remember feeling so much apprehension waiting for the first milestones: 6 weeks, then 12 weeks, then hearing the heartbeat at 13 weeks. I’m a scientist at heart, and hold my statistics near and dear, so the knowledge that passing 12 weeks and hearing a heartbeat drastically reduced the odds of having a miscarriage brought my stress down a lot (just ask my amazing, patient wife). And now, suddenly, I’m at the end of my seventh month.
What this month has meant for me:
• Lots of kicking, rolling, and hiccuping. There was a 24 hour period where I think Bug was awake and wiggling the entire time. The following day we had a prenatal and Bug was in the LOA position (Left occiput anterior – the best position for labor). I’m convinced that Bug was in there doing somersaults to show off for the midwives.
• Heartburn on and off. Pregnancy is the first time I’ve experienced heartburn. The first time I thought I was dying. Okay, that’s a little overly-dramatic, but as those who suffer from it know, it does feel like your stomach is trying to digest your esophagus. Fixes: Tums (quick fix, readily available – don’t use too often because it can cause stomach problems when used a lot/for a long time), raw almonds (thank you midwives for this awesome tidbit!), and sleeping with an extra pillow.
• Continuation of being tired. Exhaustion has been my number one negative symptom. I can sleep for 12 hours a night and still take a nice nap in the afternoon.
• Mild insomnia, lots of night-waking. I currently wake up anywhere from 2 to 6 times per night. Sometimes it’s a three minute-waking, sometimes I lay awake thinking about the best option for cloth diapers for two hours.
• Lots of comments about my size. After 30 years of being low/underweight for my height and body type, one might think this wasn’t a big deal. But it’s actually really annoying. Yep, I’m small for 30 weeks, visually, but my midwives say I’m right on track and so is Bug. And frankly, if we weren’t right on track it’s really not likely that a random person I run into once a month is the one I’d want to share with that something could be wrong.
• To follow off the last point, weight gain! I’ve added 23 lbs to my body since the start of this pregnancy. Seeing that number rise and knowing that it means Bug is healthy and growing makes my day every week.
• Finally, I’ll leave you with one last thought: colostrum. Yeah. Already.
Less than a week left before starting month 8. Looking forward to watermelon and a burst of productivity at work that gets a paper out the door before I go into labor!