After some delay, here are belly shots for weeks 17-22! :) Wow - I thought I was big at 17 weeks, but things are really starting to change!
Oct 14, 2009
Week 22: Feeling a bit down & swollen feet!
This past week I have been feeling a bit down... and a bit panicked about everything that is coming up. I have gone through my second period of time of feeling rather big, but this time I got VERY upset (ie, cried) about my growing limited mobility. Over the last about week and half or so, I have found it getting harder and harder to bend over... as in to pick up stuff from the floor, put on pants (I usually step in, now I have to sit down), put on knee-highs, etc. I HATE not physically being able to do things. I don't like scuba diving because I can't move around the water like normal and this is getting frustrating. Plus - my back/butt is hurting and it's like being sore ALL THE TIME!!!! :(
So, I got very upset and cried. Poor F - he didn't know what to do. Thankfully he pretty much hung around for a bit and then left me alone. (that's exactly what I need- to cry and be upset and get it out without drawing much attention to it while I'm crying)
He did ask why I don't ask other people how they handle the 'comfort' and so far I really just see things that is - 'this is pregnancy' and it's going to get worst. It's not painful - just very uncomfortable at every point of the freakin' day!! I also can't really ask my mom because I know that because she is on the other side of the country, she will worry about things because she is not here. (also, I don't think she would give any hints - so far it a 'deal with it' sort of thing because she didn't get advice during her pregnancy and doesn't seem to know what the doctors did either) Any advice? I asked my cousin (kinda' got stuff I already knew, plus to wear small heeled shoes), but I've also been just changing the way I move and walk and that is helping...
He did ask why I don't ask other people how they handle the 'comfort' and so far I really just see things that is - 'this is pregnancy' and it's going to get worst. It's not painful - just very uncomfortable at every point of the freakin' day!! I also can't really ask my mom because I know that because she is on the other side of the country, she will worry about things because she is not here. (also, I don't think she would give any hints - so far it a 'deal with it' sort of thing because she didn't get advice during her pregnancy and doesn't seem to know what the doctors did either) Any advice? I asked my cousin (kinda' got stuff I already knew, plus to wear small heeled shoes), but I've also been just changing the way I move and walk and that is helping...
Good thing - this weekend we got a bunch of hand-me-downs and that is such a mental relief to have that here and not have to worry about choosing the 'right' one of things. Whew! We got a rocking chair, nightstand, changing table/dresser, and crib!!!! Yay to my family!!!! I know that it's nice to buy your own stuff, but buying stuff can be so overwhelming - it's nice to have the stuff and now I have an idea of what colors to decorate around! I found a few things that I like at Buy Buy Baby - I'll probably register there and some smaller stuff at Babies R Us. My babyshower will be in California in about a month and they don't have Buy Buy Baby over there, but hopefully registering with BBB will make everyone mail stuff to our house and not bring it to the shower!!
Other new thing of the week: I had a long (8-10 hours) drive to get the hand-me-downs and my feet swelled!!! First time for that - I thought it was pretty interesting ;) I think it was more the heat than the car ride because it didn't swell so much on the way back home. The swelling just felt like extra pressure - I was told that when I fly to walk as much as possible because the air pressure will also cause swelling... fun. :P The funny thing is that my feet are now a bit tight in my shoes, but otherwise don't really seem swollen...
Swollen feet after 8 hour drive... (actually, from this angle it doesn't look that different from my other foot picture - but I felt the difference!!!)
Oct 2, 2009
Week 21: Doctors Apt
Today I had my monthly doctors exam... I getting into the swing of things with these. I go once a month, they weigh me, check my pee, check my blood pressure, say hi, listen to the heartbeat (it always seems to take a few minutes to find this!), ask if I have questions and done! All in all, it takes only about 20 minutes maybe. Pretty quick!
I am in a group practice for my OBY/GN - I choose them initially because they are close to my house and the nearest hospital... of course, then I find that they only deliver at one that about 30 min away (no traffic), but I decided to stay with them. (they deliver at the further one because they prefer the staff and their epidural people... I have heard that if anything is 'wrong' with me or baby they would have to transfer me to this hospital anyways, so that's fine)
Because it's a group practice, they want me to meet with all of the doctors before I give birth. The doctors rotate who is 'on call' at the hospital so that someone is always there for delivery. Good idea, I think! :) I prefer female doctors usually because they better know what things feel like, but I'm not opposed to male doctors (I just find that they aren't as gentle or warm up instruments before sticking them in you; and they don't stick in quite as well as females). So, today I met the first of several male doctors. And I LOVED him!!!
He was pretty funny, very laid back and easy to talk with. All of the doctors in the practice (and nurses) have been this way and so I'm glad the men (so far) is like this too. I'm pretty laid back and enjoy people explaining things to me in rather... flippant ways, I suppose! ;) Everything seemed normal to him - my blood pressure was good, the heartbeat of baby Z (her nickname starts with a Z!) was good (between 145-50s), ... good! I asked 3 questions this time: (I'm paraphrasing his answers)
1. I have gained about 11 pounds (176 lbs) since last month. This is pretty high, is there anything you recommend?
- Yes and no. I wouldn't worry too much about this - mainly the more you gain, the larger baby will be and big babies can mean c-section as opposed to vaginal delivery. But, one month at 11 lbs is nothing to really worry about. Perhaps if next month you come back and gained another 10 pounds, we may want to talk about what you are eating :) Try to avoid the cookies and cakes and stuff with sugar. Fruit juices (apple juice, orange juice) has LOTS of sugar, so watch that. I think that because you are aware of this, you won't gain that much through next visit.
2. What's your opinion about the H1N1 shots?
- You MUST get the shot. About 6% of the pregnant women who get H1N1 die - much higher than the normal population. While the CDC and our office is kinda' eh about most years and the flu shot, this year we are VERY insistent that pregnant women should get both the flu shot and the H1N1 shot - and your husband too. They are starting to distribute the H1N1 vaccine, but we don't know to whom yet or how many. Call around and find SOMEONE to give you the shot!!!!!
3. I have been getting these dark... bubbles of skin on my nipples? ...???
- That's just your ducts starting to (shot, what did he say?) grow/fill up (?). Very normal :)
So, that was my fun appointment this morning. This week I did start to track my food intake - I had stopped for this past month- and hopefully that will help me be more aware of what I eat and control things :) I'm also planning to try to swim AT LEAST once a week - I don't get a chance during the week to do much, but weekends are good for this sort of thing. Oh - at the start of my pregnancy I was around 148-50 pounds (I have actually gained about 10 pounds this past year!) and I'm now at 176. You can mostly tell in my face I think, although my husband thinks I still look good... he says I'm trying to catch up with his belly size ;)
Wish me luck!
I am in a group practice for my OBY/GN - I choose them initially because they are close to my house and the nearest hospital... of course, then I find that they only deliver at one that about 30 min away (no traffic), but I decided to stay with them. (they deliver at the further one because they prefer the staff and their epidural people... I have heard that if anything is 'wrong' with me or baby they would have to transfer me to this hospital anyways, so that's fine)
Because it's a group practice, they want me to meet with all of the doctors before I give birth. The doctors rotate who is 'on call' at the hospital so that someone is always there for delivery. Good idea, I think! :) I prefer female doctors usually because they better know what things feel like, but I'm not opposed to male doctors (I just find that they aren't as gentle or warm up instruments before sticking them in you; and they don't stick in quite as well as females). So, today I met the first of several male doctors. And I LOVED him!!!
He was pretty funny, very laid back and easy to talk with. All of the doctors in the practice (and nurses) have been this way and so I'm glad the men (so far) is like this too. I'm pretty laid back and enjoy people explaining things to me in rather... flippant ways, I suppose! ;) Everything seemed normal to him - my blood pressure was good, the heartbeat of baby Z (her nickname starts with a Z!) was good (between 145-50s), ... good! I asked 3 questions this time: (I'm paraphrasing his answers)
1. I have gained about 11 pounds (176 lbs) since last month. This is pretty high, is there anything you recommend?
- Yes and no. I wouldn't worry too much about this - mainly the more you gain, the larger baby will be and big babies can mean c-section as opposed to vaginal delivery. But, one month at 11 lbs is nothing to really worry about. Perhaps if next month you come back and gained another 10 pounds, we may want to talk about what you are eating :) Try to avoid the cookies and cakes and stuff with sugar. Fruit juices (apple juice, orange juice) has LOTS of sugar, so watch that. I think that because you are aware of this, you won't gain that much through next visit.
2. What's your opinion about the H1N1 shots?
- You MUST get the shot. About 6% of the pregnant women who get H1N1 die - much higher than the normal population. While the CDC and our office is kinda' eh about most years and the flu shot, this year we are VERY insistent that pregnant women should get both the flu shot and the H1N1 shot - and your husband too. They are starting to distribute the H1N1 vaccine, but we don't know to whom yet or how many. Call around and find SOMEONE to give you the shot!!!!!
3. I have been getting these dark... bubbles of skin on my nipples? ...???
- That's just your ducts starting to (shot, what did he say?) grow/fill up (?). Very normal :)
So, that was my fun appointment this morning. This week I did start to track my food intake - I had stopped for this past month- and hopefully that will help me be more aware of what I eat and control things :) I'm also planning to try to swim AT LEAST once a week - I don't get a chance during the week to do much, but weekends are good for this sort of thing. Oh - at the start of my pregnancy I was around 148-50 pounds (I have actually gained about 10 pounds this past year!) and I'm now at 176. You can mostly tell in my face I think, although my husband thinks I still look good... he says I'm trying to catch up with his belly size ;)
Wish me luck!
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