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Showing posts with label second trimester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second trimester. Show all posts

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Pregnancy Update! 2nd Trimester

Hey there!

Just when I thought I could bounce back into the blog, mother nature had other ideas. I caught some sort of flu virus last week. I knew it wasn't just a cold because it started as more of a dry cough and then I had a slight fever. Luckily it never got higher than 99.5, and Tylenol got rid of it pretty fast. I really do try to avoid any medication during the pregnancy but sometimes the risks of not taking it could be worse. Plus Tylenol is on my "approved medications" list from my doctor's office.

So that kept me pretty much on the couch for a couple days...I didn't even leave the house from Thursday evening to Sunday! This week I felt better, but of course now I'm just dealing with a lingering cough and stuffy nose...fun. I normally have a pretty strong immune system but bring pregnant diminishes that somewhat... you know, so your body doesn't fight off the human being growing in your belly! ;)

Anyways, this has made for a very lazy couple of weeks!

Brian's been a great care taker though :) Last Friday when I was home from work, nothing we had in the house was appealing to me (but I did have an appetite!) so he made a Whole Foods run on the way home from work... I got a green juice from the juice bar, chicken soup, a slice of pizza, and gelato :) Which reminds me...we need to break out the juicer again!! Such a great way to get in lots of nutrients from veggies, especially when you might not feel like eating them.

He even went to our Bradley birthing class last Sunday by himself! I was starting to feel better but didn't want to risk getting the other pregnant ladies sick. So picture this: Me sitting on the couch able to watch the end of the Patriots game, and he was off to birthing class :) He's the best.

I got a full recap when he got home. The best news he passed along was that someone in class asked about the icky glucose drink we're supposed to take for the gestational diabetes test. Basically asking why this chemically drink was the only option especially for those of us who liked to eat REAL clean food. I haven't even drank soda since high school...needless to say I wasn't thrilled with the idea and knew my test was coming up soon!


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Our instructor knew of one place that had a food alternative, so when I went for my midwife appointment this past Monday (26 weeks!), I asked! And guess what??? I don't have to drink that crap!

I don't think they just offer it up to everyone, but since I asked, my midwife happily said "yes!" They have a sheet with 2 options on it:

2 slices of bread + 8 oz. orange juice OR 1 slice bread + 8 oz. milk + 1 banana


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I think I'm going to go with option 1...OJ and bread. She obviously reminded me not to go put jelly on the bread...but I can have a little butter. Toast, butter, and OJ sounds WAY better to me than a bottle of super sweet orange drink!

So for you other preggos out there... just ask! The worst they can say is no. I go for this test a week from Monday...I'm on the 2-week schedule now for my midwife appointments.

Can't believe I'm almost in my 3rd trimester!! Crazy!

So here's one of those pregnancy list updates!

How far along: 26 weeks + 6 days (27 weeks if you’re reading this on Monday!)

Weight gain: Last Monday I was up a total of 11.5lbs! Right on track to gain about 1lb/week until the end. So far I feel like I've been just gaining in the stomach area which is nice. Who knows if it will stay this way, but my midwife says that me staying active is great and that I've been gaining weight at a good rate...so yay!

Workouts: Still crossfitting 3x/week...well I haven't been in almost 2 weeks now due to my illness but hopefully I'll be back at it this week. And yes I STILL plan to write a full post all about working out during pregnancy.

Clothes: I have some maternity clothes, but I still prefer regular clothes. Well except for my maternity leggings...those are my favorite and I think I need to get a 4th pair. I really need to find some good maternity jeans though...that DON'T FALL DOWN! I have 2 pairs from the gap...1 full panel and 1 low panel and while both fit great and are comfy, once I start walking around I constantly feel like I need to pull them up. So I mostly wear my normal jeans, with an elastic through the button hole and a belly band over it.

Anyone have a good recommendation for maternity jeans??...I prefer the full panel.

Sleep: Still good! Well again, this cough isn't helping, but that's not pregnancy related. I broke down and bought a snoogle a couple weeks ago because while I felt fine sleeping I'd sometimes wake up with lower back pain. I prefer sleeping on my back so having the snoogle to lean against helps. I also haven't had to deal with the middle of the night bathroom breaks either...maybe I have a strong bladder? I do try not to drink too much water right before bed.

Leachco Snoogle® Maternity Total Body Pillow Replacement Cover - Navy
The Snoogle!

Stretch Marks: Nope! not yet anyways! I know for most if it happens it will happen at the very end. I am using Clarins Tonic Oil and Clarins Stretch Mark Control cream over that to help prevent! Last time I bought my oil the lady informed me this is what Angelina Jolie used... ;)

Food/Cravings: No cravings really. In fact I haven't had really any cravings this whole pregnancy! In the first trimester when I wasn't feeling as great, sometimes there would be only 1 food that sounded appealing so we'd go seek out whatever that was... but I wouldn't really call that a craving. I'm eating pretty normally, but also letting myself eat what I want and whatever sounds good. Not going crazy, but might as well enjoy this while I can.

Movement: Yes! I have an anterior placenta (meaning its right in front between my belly and baby, so I didn't really feel anything until around 21 weeks as my placenta was acting like a cushion to the baby's movement. But now I feel them all the time! Brian has even felt it a couple times. It's so crazy when they are strong enough that I can see my belly pulse!

Belly Button: Still in! I think I have a really deep belly button so I'll be curious to see if it ever turns into an outie!

Am I forgetting anything?

Here are some bump-updates!

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p.s. I still feel like I look so much bigger in these photos than I do in real life haha….not sure if that’s a good thing?

I hope I don't jinx myself but this has been a really easy pregnancy for me so far! I mean the 1st trimester wasn't great, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I've heard from others. Then this 2nd trimester I feel completely fine! If it wasn't for this bump sometimes I wouldn't even know I was pregnant. I'm so grateful that I'm feeling this good and can really enjoy this time in my life :)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Big Gender Reveal

I can’t remember the last time I anticipated an event like I did with our 2nd trimester anatomy ultrasound!


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I was going to find out if my baby was a girl or boy!  It seemed so crazy to me that I was going to know this information, and it was one step closer to making this whole baby “thing” seem more real!

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18 weeks (and a few days)…this was the day of the ultrasound! 

The weeks leading up to Wednesday were the longest I can remember.  This was like right up there with my wedding day.  I didn’t even think I’d be able to sleep the night before…it felt like the biggest Christmas Eve of my life!!

My appointment was at 10:30am, but there was no way I was going into work beforehand…it would have been pointless.  Not like I’d be able to concentrate. 

The drive there, checking in at the hospital, waiting to register, then waiting in the ultrasound waiting room, then even waiting through the beginning of the ultrasound!!

WAITING!! 

Our ultrasound tech was a really nice woman and she asked if we wanted to know the gender, then got started.  First she started by looking at some of my anatomy, then the baby starting with the head and working her way down to make sure everything was there and measuring ok! 

Then we got to the goods.  I knew from seeing pictures of ultrasounds on BabyCenter that we were looking at that area, and I was trying to figure out if I could see anything before she said it.

Then she says: “see those 3 little lines, that usually means its a girl, but let me look around a little more to be sure”

2 seconds later

“yup, that’s definitely a girl!”

A girl??? A GIRL!!!!!  I didn’t freak out or anything, but as she continued with the ultrasound I was just kind of sitting there with a huge smile on my face trying to absorb that she just said I’m having a GIRL!!!!

So many people asked me ahead of time whether I had a “feeling” for what it was, and honestly I had no idea.  I never got that “feeling” you all speak of.  Never had any dreams of one gender.  Nothing. 

I did notice that Brian and I both would sometimes refer to the baby as “he” or “him”.  So I guess a little part of me, if I had to pick, would have thought it was a boy. 

Being a girly girl myself, I think I always pictured myself with a daughter, although once I was actually pregnant I was getting excited at the thought of either a boy or girl. 

But I’m SO EXCITED NOW!!!!!

It all just feels so much more real now!!  All my family is pretty excited for a new little girl too!! 

Now I can start shopping, and thinking of nursery ideas, and NAMES!  Oh man, I have a feeling a name is going to be the hardest thing for me.

And no I’m not sharing until she’s born ;) 

Mom and I had a blast on Black Friday looking at all the cute baby girl clothes :)  But I was good and only bought one thing.

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It was on sale!

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says “love to shop” very fitting if you ask me.   

And there SHE is

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She’s kind of smiling in that picture!  It’s still so weird to officially refer to her as a HER! 

Oh and everything else looked great!  10 fingers and toes.  We saw all 4 chambers of the heart…so cool!  Even saw her stomach which was full!  So she’s already a good eater :) 

Other than that the long weekend consisted of family time at Thanksgiving, shopping time with mom on Friday, family time with Brian’s family on Saturday and some delicious food today.

Almond-Coconut pancakes for breakfast

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Mmmm cappuccino.  So happy my love of coffee returned!  Still I don’t have one everyday. 

Stuffed pork chops for dinner

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One of my favorite Giada recipes…  Pork Chops stuffed with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Spinach.  Mmmm and goat cheese ;)

I also made a batch of quinoa salad to have for lunches with some grilled chicken.  This was basically:

  • quinoa cooked in chicken broth
  • chopped: red pepper, cucumber, red onion, celery
  • chick peas
  • spinach (baby spinach rough chopped)
  • Feta!
  • dressing of:  olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic

Mix all together.  Add chopped grilled chicken.

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In summary:

Hope you had a great weekend.

It’s a girl!!!

Let the fun begin!!