third trimester
We kicked off the third trimester last week with 4 days of face-to-face meetings. In those 4 days I think we spent over 40 hours in face-to-face discussions and another 10 or so hours eating and visiting outside of the meeting room. By Friday, I was exhausted and slept most of the weekend. Sunday, my throat was sore so I drank cup after cup of hot peppermint tea and orange juice. By Monday, my sore throat was gone but my energy was still low. I have several action items from the meetings that I need to complete this week and am trying to pace myself.
Needless to say, that's why I haven't written much even though there's been several notable changes in the last couple of weeks.
One of the highlights from last week's meetings was a surprise baby shower! J and I had the committee over for dinner on Wednesday (we ordered out from the local Thai restaurant). After folks had finished eating, a pile of gifts appeared on our couch! Special thanks to LGR who arranged it and for everyone who contributed. Some people brought gifts from home (including a very cool Japanese t-shirt from Tokyo, beautifully illustrated books, a gorgeous white hooded suit) and others contributed to a fund that LGR used to purchase a whole stack of beautiful clothes, books, blankets, and a nifty sling. [BIG thanks to J who left work early to clean the house and had the ambiance perfect by the time we arrived after a long day of meetings. smooooooch.]
I've been meaning to write about the sudden change in movement that started on 9 October and has continued since then. I remember sitting on the couch (probably watching a "Battlestar Galactica" episode) when a couple inches of my belly protruded about 1/2 an inch. I felt the bump - it was solid and triangular. Was it a heel? an elbow? I'm not sure, but I pushed a little harder and he pushed back. Our first communication?
Since then, my belly distorts into a variety of shapes and protrusions throughout the day. Most of the time it's amusing but every now and then, it hurts! He's got quite a punch or kick.
As of last Friday, the doctor has asked me to keep "kick counts." Every day around 4 pm I drink some water or juice then lay down. I am supposed to count at least 10 movements in one hour. If I don't, I'm supposed to drink more water or juice and if I still don't feel 10 movements in one hour, I'm supposed to call my doctor.
I've been doing this for almost a week and each time I've felt 10 movements in 5-15 minutes. I've also been doing this other times throughout the day when he is active. The movement should settle down as he runs out of room - over the next couple of months - but I'm enjoying the feelings until then.
I really want to know what part of him I'm feeling and how he's positioned. I asked the nurse if we'll have another ultrasound, so I can take a peek, but she says they'll only do one if they need to. Looks like I'll have to keep guessing. Sometimes it feels like his feet are towards the right of my belly button and his arms are down near by bladder. Othertimes, it feels like his butt is to the right of my belly button and his head is to the left - there are two big mounds and my belly looks stretched sideways.
I find myself wishing for the ultrasound t-shirt that J and I "invented" back in week 20.
I can't believe we only have 11 weeks left. It seems so short and so long. I really can't wait to meet him. But, we have so much to do! This weekend is the Halloween party that we're throwing with ZJK for 10 3-5 year olds. The following weekend we'll begin cleaning out the laundry room to move my office down there, then we'll need to buy the crib, curtains, and other items for the nursery. I can't wait to organize all of the gifts that we've received so far. CS suggested last week that we sort all of the clothes by size otherwise, something that is smaller may not be discovered until after he's already outgrown it. Right now, everything baby related is spread out on our guest bed. I go down there every couple of days, sort through things, and imagine a tiny body filling them up...
My weight gain has slowed down. As of today I've gained 22 pounds. Assuming that I'll continue to gain one pound per week, I'll probably gain a total of 30-35 pounds - which was my goal. It's funny - for a while I was concerned I was gaining too much, now I'm concerned I'm not gaining enough. :) There always seems to be something to worry about. I'm working to replace my fears with unrelenting faith.
We plan to take more photos this weekend. I took bare-belly self-portraits on 6 October and again a couple nights ago. There is a notable difference in the size of my belly. I'm not growing out, but definitely up. He should be about 15 inches long now and weigh about 3 pounds!
We've also been out in the garden. We planted bulbs by the driveway: hyacinth, daffodil, tulip, and bearded iris. They are all in the purple, white, and red color scheme. Phase II of the garden is starting and should be complete around mid-November. In this phase we have one more tree to move (a maple from the porch to the driveway) and lots of decorative grasses and herbs to plant across the front fence and along the front walkway. Thanks again to J for helping with all of the bending, pulling, and digging.
Enough babbling for today...more soon.
Needless to say, that's why I haven't written much even though there's been several notable changes in the last couple of weeks.
One of the highlights from last week's meetings was a surprise baby shower! J and I had the committee over for dinner on Wednesday (we ordered out from the local Thai restaurant). After folks had finished eating, a pile of gifts appeared on our couch! Special thanks to LGR who arranged it and for everyone who contributed. Some people brought gifts from home (including a very cool Japanese t-shirt from Tokyo, beautifully illustrated books, a gorgeous white hooded suit) and others contributed to a fund that LGR used to purchase a whole stack of beautiful clothes, books, blankets, and a nifty sling. [BIG thanks to J who left work early to clean the house and had the ambiance perfect by the time we arrived after a long day of meetings. smooooooch.]
I've been meaning to write about the sudden change in movement that started on 9 October and has continued since then. I remember sitting on the couch (probably watching a "Battlestar Galactica" episode) when a couple inches of my belly protruded about 1/2 an inch. I felt the bump - it was solid and triangular. Was it a heel? an elbow? I'm not sure, but I pushed a little harder and he pushed back. Our first communication?
Since then, my belly distorts into a variety of shapes and protrusions throughout the day. Most of the time it's amusing but every now and then, it hurts! He's got quite a punch or kick.
As of last Friday, the doctor has asked me to keep "kick counts." Every day around 4 pm I drink some water or juice then lay down. I am supposed to count at least 10 movements in one hour. If I don't, I'm supposed to drink more water or juice and if I still don't feel 10 movements in one hour, I'm supposed to call my doctor.
I've been doing this for almost a week and each time I've felt 10 movements in 5-15 minutes. I've also been doing this other times throughout the day when he is active. The movement should settle down as he runs out of room - over the next couple of months - but I'm enjoying the feelings until then.
I really want to know what part of him I'm feeling and how he's positioned. I asked the nurse if we'll have another ultrasound, so I can take a peek, but she says they'll only do one if they need to. Looks like I'll have to keep guessing. Sometimes it feels like his feet are towards the right of my belly button and his arms are down near by bladder. Othertimes, it feels like his butt is to the right of my belly button and his head is to the left - there are two big mounds and my belly looks stretched sideways.
I find myself wishing for the ultrasound t-shirt that J and I "invented" back in week 20.
I can't believe we only have 11 weeks left. It seems so short and so long. I really can't wait to meet him. But, we have so much to do! This weekend is the Halloween party that we're throwing with ZJK for 10 3-5 year olds. The following weekend we'll begin cleaning out the laundry room to move my office down there, then we'll need to buy the crib, curtains, and other items for the nursery. I can't wait to organize all of the gifts that we've received so far. CS suggested last week that we sort all of the clothes by size otherwise, something that is smaller may not be discovered until after he's already outgrown it. Right now, everything baby related is spread out on our guest bed. I go down there every couple of days, sort through things, and imagine a tiny body filling them up...
My weight gain has slowed down. As of today I've gained 22 pounds. Assuming that I'll continue to gain one pound per week, I'll probably gain a total of 30-35 pounds - which was my goal. It's funny - for a while I was concerned I was gaining too much, now I'm concerned I'm not gaining enough. :) There always seems to be something to worry about. I'm working to replace my fears with unrelenting faith.
We plan to take more photos this weekend. I took bare-belly self-portraits on 6 October and again a couple nights ago. There is a notable difference in the size of my belly. I'm not growing out, but definitely up. He should be about 15 inches long now and weigh about 3 pounds!
We've also been out in the garden. We planted bulbs by the driveway: hyacinth, daffodil, tulip, and bearded iris. They are all in the purple, white, and red color scheme. Phase II of the garden is starting and should be complete around mid-November. In this phase we have one more tree to move (a maple from the porch to the driveway) and lots of decorative grasses and herbs to plant across the front fence and along the front walkway. Thanks again to J for helping with all of the bending, pulling, and digging.
Enough babbling for today...more soon.
posted by sp1ral at 2:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home