23 weeks

Today I'm 23 weeks. According to "what to expect when you're expecting" this is the beginning of the 6th month. But some books and websites say month 6 begins at week 25. I hate that everything contradicts when it comes to pregnancy. I'd have to say that the 9 month time span is still the general understanding of pregnancy even though it's wrong according to the medical community. I'm not sure where it got started. The pregnant women should have a movement to teach the world that it's really 10 months. Pregnancy is 40 weeks and if you were to assume that each week is 4 weeks, since you cant be exact, then week 23 would be the 3rd week of month 6. But if i was to tell people i was 9 months pregnant at week 33-36 (as it should be) then people would assume i was almost ready to give birth when in fact i have the whole month 10 ahead of me.  But it doesn't really matter to me how you count it. I just wish it was consistent. Week 23 my baby is as big as a papaya even though I haven't gained an ounce yet. Tom was really proud that I ate all my dinner last night. I can't remember the last time I ate that much food. Tom's stir fry is always the best!

I'm starting to feel the stretching sensations in my belly. I also kept feeling tightening in my belly all around. This must be the round ligament pain. It's pretty uncomfortable and makes me not want to eat. It feels like a full feeling after you've just eaten a big meal. It also feels a bit like someone just punched me in the stomach. The heartburn is still going strong! Tums have become my new bff. Pepcid complete didn't work any different or any better for me. My heartburn only hits about an hour after I eat and it doesn't persist for hours and hours so I don't feel like it's necessary to take a medicine that last for hours if my symptoms don't even last for hours. Plus berry tums taste better.

The other day I shoveled my sidewalk. I'm not sure if that was allowed since I'm not supposed be lifting heavy stuff. It didn't look heavy but those inches sure do pile up to something heavy. I got winded easy while doing it. I don't think that's pregnancy related. I think that's me being out of shape. I miss running on warm summer nights. I miss the way I'd sweat so bad I thought it would never stop. I miss that meditative time to myself outside with the sun and the road and me. We were best pals, kinda like I am with my tums these days. I can't run with my placenta so low. I suppose I could walk or jog but that aggravates my sciatica and then I can't even get off the couch. I feel like an old lady. What a terrible things we have to go through for our lovely little babies.

So I got to thinking today and I got immediately frozen at the fear that my child will be ugly. Tom and I are both non-ugly so you'd think this would not be on my mind. But unfortunately some people are just born ugly. I don't want my child to be picked on. I'm sure this is a completely normal mommy thought. But it's bothering me that I am growing her inside me and I can't see her. It's so incredibly unfair. I wish I had a see through panel where I could peek in and check on her like maybe an oven door. I just want to know that everything is cooking ok. I know i get to see her in ultrasounds but the ultrasounds are lame and all you see is a freaky skeletor looking child. And of course the ultrasound tech didn't warn me so my shock was sudden and loud when she came up on the screen. I have another ultrasounds on saturday to check the heart and the placenta. I'll see if I can get an "it's a girl" view printed out from her this time. You'd think that would be automatic when they tell you the news but apparently it's not. I'll work on it. 

Honestly Pregnant,
Jen

"WHY ARE YOU LOSING WEIGHT?"

My sciatic pain has eased up quite a bit....thankfully. With that pain gone this pregnancy has been much easier to tolerate. I can actually say I'm starting to enjoy feeling her squirm around and kick. They are still very light kicks and light squirms but they are getting a little bit stronger everyday and I feel her move more and more. At this point, other than the mild sciatic pain, I'm in a really good happy pregnant place for once. I went to the doctor yesterday for my monthly preggo check-up and I lost another pound! I'm down 3 pounds from my first prenatal visit. Not a good thing this far in but not terrible either. It's only a few pounds. My doctor was like "WHY ARE YOU LOSING WEIGHT?" But I didn't have an answer. Sorry doc. After I left the appt though I thought about it and realized that I was so concerned about getting proper nutrition to my body that I accidentally went on a diet. Now, I am making no apologies for eating well. But I found the explanation at least. Instead of coke I'm drinking water. Instead of large foaming yummy starbucks lattes, I am drinking tiny drops of coffee. Instead of rum and vodka on the weekends, again water. I'm eating well rounded meals. I'm going easy on the butter and sauces. And I'm just trying to feed my body the healthiest foods possible. So again I make no apologies. It's for the better. It's not that I'm not eating. It's just that I stopped overeating and I cut out junk because who needs junk anyway?




The doctor also ordered another ultrasound for me. The tech didn't get a clear picture of the heart chambers last month so we have to repeat it. I started panicking in the office but she said she was pretty sure she just didn't get the right position to see it. She also said my placenta hasn't moved one bit. So I'm still on pelvic rest and we have to have another ultrasound at 28 weeks and if it hasn't moved by then, they'll check again at 36. And then they'll check again at 37 just to be sure and send me for a c-section immediately. So Laurens birthday could potentially be aprox May 27. I'm not happy about taking my child out of the womb before 40 weeks. I feel even though she won't be considered a premie that it will put her at a higher risk for immunity issues. It makes me even more fearful of vaccines. Good thing my "vaccine book" just came in the mail so I can get to reading so I can make the best choices on when and what brands to give her of each vaccine. I do want her to be vaccinated after all. I just don't want all the vaccine side effects just for possible or partial immunity for diseases that are rare and aren't fatal. I know some are quite serious but rubella, flu, chicken pox? Come on! We all had chicken pox!!! Ok.... I'll wait to rant till I read the book so I can make an informed decision.



But for now, I am thankful for a period of time with no horrible pregnancy symptoms. I am even more thankful for a baby that is measuring perfectly and jumping around in my belly everyday.



Honestly pregnant,

Jen

Priceless Peeing Possibilities

I am under the impression that stretch marks are hereditary, therefore they are impossible to prevent. However, that is not going to stop me from desperately trying everything in my power to stop stretch marks in their tracks!! I already have stretch marks from a growth spurt in high school on my boobs and tiny ones on my thighs. I was using bath and body works body butter because I needed something quick and I was at the mall. That was back when I was extremely sick from morning (all-day) sickness and I wasn't thinking clearly about what I was putting into my body. That is very unlike me. You know what I mean if you know me well. So after I ran out of body butter, a friend bought me burt's bees mama bee belly balm which is loaded with fantastic moisturizers like olive oil, bees wax, pumpkin seed oil and soy bean oil. It doesn't have any parabens or icky stuff like that. I liked it so much I bought 2 more of them. But I then read that the secret to helping stretch marks (not eliminating) is vitamin E. So I bought burt's bee mama bee nourishing body oil. It has almond oil, lemon peel oil, rosemary, soy bean oil, canola oil and vitamin E. I started putting the body oil on as layer 1 and then the belly balm as layer 2 at night. And then after a shower in the mornings I am going to use just the oil. The belly balm is too thick to walk around during the day in. So that's my skin ritual. I'll let you know how it works out.




My wish came true that I wanted Tom to feel Lauren kick. Last night we were sitting on the couch and she was bopping around in there and I said "I wish you could feel her from the outside". I said "you can try it but I don't think it's strong enough yet" so Tom put his hand on my belly and waited. It was like she knew his hand was there. She was like POW! And the look on Tom's face was priceless. She kicked 2 more times for him after that. He seemed so proud. I'm glad he was the first person that felt her (besides me or course). It was pretty amazing. For the rest of the night she kicked around like the tiny little soccer player/dancer I hope she becomes, although it's up to her. She can be whatever she wants to be....as long as I can afford it. :-)



Today I was hit with a revelation. Because of my sciatica I stopped walking for exercise, but my trips to the bathroom have been increasing every week so do I really need to walk for exercise? At 1230 I made a mental note that I have walked back and forth to the bathroom 7 times already and it's not a short walk. And that silly book "what to expect when you're expecting" promised me that I would have relief in the second trimester from the bathroom. Is 7 times to the bathroom in 6 hours really considered relief? All you mama's out there might be thinking "this is only the beginning, Jen" but I am tired of walking!!! If only I could trade my office chair for a toilet.... Hmm that's an interesting idea. Sure I'd have to be pantless all day but think of the priceless peeing possibilities!!!

Honestly,
Jen

Green Baby

I plan to raise my child as healthy and organically as I can. I believe it is very important to eat a proper diet without all that gunk that makes our food shinier, bigger, brighter, prettier or grow faster. I also plan to keep away all bad plastic from my little one that I possibly can. I understand she will end up with unhealthy foods and plastics in school, friends houses and so on but I plan to limit this to the best of my ability so that I know I did the best I could. The big concerns I have are high fructose corn syrup, pesticides, metals, and hormones in dairy and plastic. I'm always looking for new brands and generic alternatives to organic foods and body products. Any extra suggestions on websites, mommy tips and helpful hints are appreciated. My little girl will appreciate it too. I'm currently reading
Dr. Sears' Happy Baby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months. The book assumes that I've already given birth so a lot of the information is for further in the future. But this Friday I will be buying Dr Sears' Vaccine Book so I can learn how not to play russian roulette with my baby's tiny life. I won't debate vaccines here because I want more information first. I would also recommend You: Having A Baby by Dr Oz. It was a nice reference type book to flip open on specific subjects for graphs and charts and drawings. What To Expect When You're Expecting is also a good reference book to see what is going on inside week by week. It also tells you what kind of symptoms to expect month by month. It's nice to keep bookmarked on your month and read it at the beginning of each week. But it's not very detailed information on your own body. It tells you a symptom but doesn't explain why or how to remedy the pain. Dr Oz was very good at explaining all that stuff. I wish I could catch Dr Oz in a jar with a holey lid, a stick and a leaf and keep him forever as my little "information station in a jar".

So far the past few weeks have been a horrible pain in the ass, literally. Oh the "joys" of pregnancy sciatic nerve pain. The fact that the doctor looked me right in the eye and said, "the only cure for you is to give birth" with the most serious face you ever saw just really breaks my heart. Good thing I love this little mango inside me with every breath I take or else she'd be right in the naughty corner the second she pops out for all this pain she's causing. Luckily, today I had a break from the pain. It randomly went away and I hope it stays that way. Word on the preggo street is that it will continue to come and go. Another thing happening that doesn't seem to benefit me or baby is acne. Yup, I FEEL like all those kids LOOKED back in school. I never had the pleasure of a chronically zity face, thank goodness. But I'm getting payback for it now. The terrible part is that I can't use any zit cream or spot treatment. I guess I have to suffer being both fat and filled with pimply bumps... thanks nature.


Honestly Pregnant,
Jen