Week 28: The Belly Goes to Billings

Stats update!

Me: I had my glucose test this week. That involved drinking a really sugary drink, waiting an hour and then a blood test. They were testing for gestational diabetes. I passed, but I if didn't they make you do a three hour test after fasting for like 12 hours. So thank goodness I didn't have to, or I probably would have died of starvation. All my other stats are good too, blood pressure normal, no swelling. My weight gain was about 7 pounds these four weeks, so I am at 28 pounds up. I don't think I'll manage to stay in the 25-35 range but that is fine by me and my doctor.

Symptoms: My hormones are making me run warm all the time now. I was in Billings, MT visiting my sister with my dad last weekend for her birthday when my body really stepped up the temperature. This week at work the office apparently was really cold since everyone was turning on their space heaters and wearing their jackets at their desks. I was more than happy to have my short sleeved dresses on and no tights or leggings and just heels and not boots on. I think this will work out well since I can barely button my coats at all and most of them it is just the one button above my belly that I can button. So if I am warm and it stops being cold out, I won't have to worry about coats any more. On the belly button front, I am starting to think I will lose the "no outie" battle.  Granted I am writing this in week 29, but my belly button is almost flat! Can't win them all I guess. Oh and the heart burn is definitely most of the day every day but totally manageable with tums and Zantac still.

Me: I had my glucose test this week. That involves drinking a really sugary drink, waiting an hour and then a blood test. They are testing for gestational diabetes. I passed, but I if didn't they make you do a three hour test after fasting for like 12 hours. So thank goodness I didn't have to, or I probably would have died of starvation. All my other stats are good too, blood pressure normal, no swelling. My weight gain was about 7 pounds these four weeks, so I am at 28 pounds up. I don't think I'll manage to stay in the 25-35 range but that is fine by me and my doctor.

Symptoms: My hormones are making me run warm all the time now. I was in Billings, MT visiting my sister with my dad last weekend for her birthday when my body really stepped up the temperature. This week at work the office apparently was really cold since everyone was turning on their space heaters and wearing their jackets at their desks. I was more than happy to have my short sleeved dresses on and no tights or leggings and just heels and not boots on. I think this will work out well since I can barely button my coats at all and most of them it is just the one button above my belly that I can button. So if I am warm and it stops being cold out, I won't have to worry about coats any more. On the belly button front, I am starting to think I will lose the "no outie" battle.  Granted I am writing this in week 29, but my belly button is almost flat! Can win them all I guess. Oh and the heart burn is definitely most of the day every day but totally manageable with tums and Zantac still.

Baby movement: He is moving more and more throughout the day. Now that I am 28 weeks we start kick counts. Mostly that just means I need to be aware of how often he moves and make sure he is moving when he should be. If I am concerned he hasn't been moving, I need to eat or drink something sugary, and lie down on my side for an hour or two and feel 10 kicks or movements in one hour. I have not really had any times yet where I have needed to this but it may come in handy for peace of mind. Also, this heart rate is 134, which is right in the middle of where it should be for his "age".

Belly growth: We had our second child birth prep class this week and I am just shy of first place in terms of most belly. There was a new couple that joined this week that are due April 7th (which is like 3 weeks! That would super stress me out! I am glad I am doing the class with 13 down to 10 weeks before I am due!) and I am definitely bigger than the girl due in three weeks, which just goes to show you that everyone carries so different! I have really enjoyed having a very distinct belly though :)

Other stuff: In our class this week we learned about different positions for labor and we practiced our breathing. In order to give us some pain to focus on we were each given two clothes pins to put on our arms.  Obviously it is nothing like a contraction but it helped to make me focus on breathing correctly (instead of laughing with Dylan...). I have also started on the rug for the nursery and just need to be less busy so I can actually work on it!

Dylan's thoughts: Well he is doing his "baby moon" with one of his best friends this weekend, it mostly just means his friend came in town and they are utilizing my designated driving skills a lot :) Dylan had his birthday on the last day of week 28, so he is now 28.  Him and two of his other friend have the exact same birthday and are all three having kids this year! One is due in like three weeks, we are due in 12 and we just found out about the last one being due in September! (These are not the same friend that is in town, but the same group of friends).  So I think it makes him feel appropriately adult since he is now the age he will become a father and two of his friends are having kids at the same time.  That does not help with his wanting to move back to Nebraska though... He wants to even more now that there will be another baby. But that is a whole other conversation.

That covers week 28! We now have appointment every two weeks so you will get more stats. It is also a good thing I am starting to transition all my stuff at work for while I am gone since I will have more appointments and other stuff going on!

Baby movement: He is moving more and more throughout the day. Now that I am 28 weeks we start kick counts. Mostly that just means I need to be aware of how often he moves and make sure he is moving when he should be. If I am concerned he hasn't been moving, I need to eat or drink something sugary, and lie down on my side for an hour or two and feel 10 kicks or movements in one hour. I have not really had any times yet where I have needed to this but it may come in handy for peace of mind. Also, this heart rate is 134, which is right in the middle of where it should be for his "age".

Belly growth: We had our second child birth prep class this week and I am just shy of first place in terms of most belly. There was a new couple that joined this week that are due April 7th (which is like 3 weeks! That would super stress me out! I am glad I am doing the class with 13 down to 10 weeks before I am due!) and I am definitely bigger than the girl due in three weeks, which just goes to show you that everyone carries so different! I have really enjoyed having a very distinct belly though :)

Other stuff: In our class this week we learned about different positions for labor and we practiced our breathing. In order to give us some pain to focus on we were each given two clothes pins to put on our arms.  Obviously it is nothing like a contraction but it helped to make me focus on breathing correctly (instead of laughing with Dylan...). I have also started on the rug for the nursery and just need to be less busy so I can actually work on it! As I mentioned I went up to Billings with my dad to visit my sister in her new place. It was so much fun to see her and fun to help organize her place for her a little bit. I did push myself a little too far on Saturday since I put together a pantry/shelf thing and we also were running around doing things the rest of the day, so my hips/lower back were achy. But I was fine the next day, and I feel like I do that like every other weekend.

Dylan's thoughts: He is doing his "baby moon" with one of his best friends this weekend, it mostly just means his friend came in town and they are utilizing my designated driving skills a lot :) Dylan had his birthday on the last day of week 28, so he is now 28.  Him and two of his other friends have the exact same birthday and are all three having kids this year! One is due in like three weeks, we are due in 12 and we just found out about the last one being due in September! (These are not the same friend that is in town, but the same group of friends).  So I think it makes him feel more adult since he is now the age he will become a father and two of his friends are having kids at the same time.  That does not help with his wanting to move back to Nebraska though... He wants to even more now that there will be another baby. But that is a whole other conversation.

That covers week 28! We now have appointment every two weeks so you will get more stats. It is also a good thing I am starting to transition all my stuff at work for while I am gone since I will have more appointments and other stuff going on!