How far along are you?
39W5D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
- itchy belly/chest.
- contractions.
- occasional sharp pains from down below.
- losing my plug. (sorry guys– shouldn’t read if you don’t want tmi!)
- fun bathroom issues!
- moodiness.

How are you feeling?
the past two weeks i am finding that i’m reeeally uncomfortable even though i’m not noticing much of a difference in size. this past week i have been really moody and quick to freak out (ask mark!). as i’m nearing august’s due date and fearing that he’s going to come late, i can’t help but worry that he’s not going to make his due date. it’s not so much that i am worried because i am being impatient and needing to have him right now. i actually don’t want to be annoying and seem selfish of my little bug’s time to develop within me. i want him to come when he’s ready. but i also really want him to come in time so that mark and i can meet and spend a day or two with him before all of our guests come in town. even more important than that is i want all of the guests that have spent a good amount of money on plane/hotel tickets to come visit us to actually get to meet little one before they head back across the country/world. if august comes two weeks later than his due date, there are going to be people missing him and that concerns me a little even though i am well aware that that pressure is not mine to take on considering i have chosen to not do a planned c-section and do not plan to get induced unless there are complications that warrant an induction or he is two or more weeks late.

Any doctor’s appointments this week and how did they go?
had one last week. wrote all about it here. we’ll have another appointment with a midwife this wednesday around 4 PM PST. hopefully, my body and baby have shown some progress!

Anything big going on in your personal life (family, work related, moving, etc)?
not so much. mark and i have been pretty on top of preparations for baby. baby clothes/blankets/etc. have been washed and put away, baby’s section of the room is all ready, bags are packed and in car, car seat is installed, house is ready for guests, we’re just waiting for baby! the fact that, within a couple of weeks, we’ll be holding our little one is a pretty big thing in itself!

Any questions?
no.

Any belly pictures?
yes.
(more…)

How far along are you?
35W6D.

this is pretty freakin’ crazy to me:

What symptoms are you experiencing?
- swelling and aching in my feet and ankles. the swelling’s thankfully gone down some but there’s still some aching and tingling if i’m on my feet for too long.
- braxton hicks contractions pretty constantly. lately, i get them so frequently that i’m kind of worried that i might not be able to tell the difference between one of those and a real contraction!
- a bit of lower tummy cramping.
- peeing all of the time.
- i think i got a little stretch mark on my hip but mark is insisting it’s a vein.

How are you feeling?
despite the crazy symptom list, i feeling pretty good. a lot better emotionally. been a little bit funny and anxious about seeing people i know. i just kind of want to coop myself up in the apartment where i’m comfortable and wait the rest of this pregnancy out! of course, i don’t mind escaping for a late night trip for ice cream or a late showing at the movie theater as i know that is something mark and i won’t be able to do spontaneously for a long tiiiiiiiime but, yeah, i’m kind of ready to have this baby already. one more month!

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
not this week but i have an appointment to meet with our midwife in exactly one week.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc.)?
not so much. we’re trying to keep activity to a minimum.

Any questions you want to ask?
this morning i woke up and my right hand felt swollen. whenever i try to make a fist, it gets all numb and tingly. i’m not one of those people that are constantly popping their knuckles but i do so every one in awhile, and when i tried to today, i couldn’t even do it! i guess, my question here is, is this common? i’ve heard of common feet/ankle swelling that i’m experiencing now and attributing to being on my feet a lot this week, but i am not sure where the sudden swelling/tingling in my hand is coming from. so strange.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes… (more…)

How far along are you?
33W5D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
slight swelling in feet and hands, insomnia/weird sleeping patterns, heart burn, peeing constantlyyyy.

How are you feeling?
generally good…HUGE.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
no, but i’ll have my monthly check up with the midwife tomorrow and i’m pretty sure, after that, i am going to begin seeing the midwife every two weeks.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, etc..)
not really. just trying to prepare (ourselves and our home) for this baby.

Any questions you want to ask?
nope, nope.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

How far along are you?
31W1D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
braxton hicks contractions, sore muscles, insomnia, mild nausea.

How are you feeling?
still nesting. been feeling a bit “off” lately…especially if i am not getting adequate sleep and eating when i should. also feeling as if baby’s about to explode through my belly. always fun. for the first time, i am feeling like i am ready to be done with this whole pregnant thing BUT i want august to stay in and bake as long as he needs to.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
nope. almost scheduled one for yesterday after i freaked out over some pretty intense braxton hicks contractions but i ended up cancelling as i was feeling better and didn’t want to blow extra bucks on co-pay.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, etc..)
other than my stomach…not so much.

Any questions you want to ask?
nope.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

last night, while cooking, i, without really thinking about it, used my belly to nudge a bowl away from the edge of a counter.

mark happened to catch this and joked, “already putting the baby to work! good.”

How far along are you?
29W5D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
fatigue, mild nausea (could be caused by the warmer weather), cramping, nesting, loss of balance.

How are you feeling?
tired and worn out. the reality that will be here in just a little over two months is finally starting to hit me.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
we have an appointment with the midwife tomorrow morning. we start taking birthing/breast feeding/newborn care classes provided by kaiser starting next week.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, etc..)
we just got settled into the new place and got through entertaining an apartment full o’ relatives this past week. that was pretty eventful and fun but it took a lot out of us. we’re still recovering!!!

Any questions you want to ask?
not really any questions so much as a concern. mark and i watched the business of being born last night and at one point in the documentary, there was concern that one of the babies was breech. one of the ways the doctor knew this was by asking the mother if she was feeling fluttering around her vaginal area to which she answered yes. after they did an ultra sound, the baby was, sure enough, feet down. this made me a bit nervous because i’ve been experiencing quite a bit of fluttering down below in addition to what feels like kicks. and after thinking about it more today, the bulge that i’ve been feeling around the top of my belly feels more and more like it could be a head. i’ll just have to talk to the midwife about this tomorrow.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

How far along are you?
27W1D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
itchy dry skin (especially on my hands), i’m starting to feel aches around my lower ribs and around my back in the same area, stronger kicks and more profound movements.

How are you feeling?
been nesting and feeling schleepy and achey if i push myself too hard but, over all, i feel pretty great. less moody.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
i won’t have any until the 28th. i do have a dentist’s appointment on monday. i don’t think i’m getting enough calcium because i had a tooth pretty much crack in half. thankfully, there’s no pain there but i still need to get it checked out.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, etc..)
mark and i just moved this past week. we only moved ten minutes away from our old place but it’s been a bit of a handful getting things together and working on making this place a home. it’s been good though. we’ve been blessed.

Any questions you want to ask?
i guess my only concern is that i feel “too big.” it seems strangers are surprised to find out i’m not going to have my baby any day which concerns me a little. i want august to be a healthy baby and grow as much as he’s supposed to in nine months but i don’t want him to explode out of my belly!

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

How far along are you?
25W2D. looks like i’m going to be doing every other week updates from now on as the past few weeks have been hectic and this next month isn’t going to be any less busy (it’s all good, though!).

What symptoms are you experiencing?
slightly sharp pains on the sides and bottom of my abdomen if i switch positions too quickly (believe it or not, i think sometimes i forget about the mass in front of me!), weird muscle pains in my left hip/upper leg area. not sure what that’s about. oh, and moodiness. can’t forget the moodiness. definitely know mark can’t. i’ve been really emotional and moody– having some extremely high and low moments and, sadly, the lows seem to outnumber the highs. :i

How are you feeling?
see above. over-all, i’m happy just exhausted. i have one more week of work, though and then i can take it easy. really looking forward to that.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
nope, but i have an appointment to be tested for gestational diabetes on monday.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc.)?
mark and i are going to be moving into a slightly bigger apartment this coming week (1st). this coming week will also be my last week of work and, well, that’s huge for me.

Any questions you want to ask?
yesterday morning i was hearing this tiny bubbly sound (kind of like bubbles ascending) on the left side of my belly. it went on in about three second intervals for about five minutes…same exact noise in the same exact spot. i’m not concerned about it because, later in the day, august was very active and i know that it’s not unusual to hear belly grumbles from the outside but i’d never heard anything like that…and as consistently. i’m just wondering “what WAS that?”

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

How far along are you?
24WEEKS. (i’ve been meaning to do this all week but haven’t had time and haven’t had access to my camera to upload my belly pic from last week!)

What symptoms are you experiencing?
congestion (however, not sure how pregnancy related this congestion is as it’s seeming to go with a cold/cough), feeling pretty tired a lot, and aching muscles.

How are you feeling?
as far as pregnancy goes– great. however, this congestion and cold are not doing me any favors.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
no.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc.)?
mark and i just started going to a community group from our church (our first day was yesterday). it feels different introducing and preparing ourselves to emotionally open up to a group of people we aren’t really familiar with but we are hopeful that God will do good things there. and are thankful for the start of some sort of community.

Any questions you want to ask?
not really. i guess i am really waiting on when baby will be strong enough to move around in such a way where i can actually see him move from the outside. i’ve been feeling him move daily and mark has too but we never catch it when my shirt or our hands aren’t covering it. it’s gonna’ be crazy when i can actually determine what exactly i’m seeing move based on the shape i’m seeing potrude from my stomach. that’s actually really creepy if i think about it too much. like twilight zone creepy.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)

How far along are you?
22W6D.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
dry skin (particularly on my hands and legs), felt, what felt like my first braxton hicks contraction this morning.

How are you feeling?
pretty good. just tired a lot. today, i’m having an unusually energetic day, though…which means i’ll probably crash at like seven.

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
no appointments this past week but i’ll be having an april check up on friday where i will also get tested for gestational diabetes. little nervous about that one as my sweet tooth has been pretty much taking overrr.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc.)?
not really. i’m currently working as a nanny and talked to my boss about finishing out the rest of april before quitting to prepare for this baby. thankful i’m able to do that. it will be a huge blessing.

Any questions you want to ask?
no.

Any belly pics from this week?
yes…
(more…)