29 Weeks

29 Weeks

        Only 8 more weeks until the next big milestone: Full Term! The idea that we will have a newborn baby in the house again still seems like some foggy, far off idea. I just can't reconcile the little alien bouncing around in my belly with the visions of a newborn little girl in my arms. I'm so excited for next weekend when we get to see her on the ultrasound again. Getting to see her looking more like a miniature newborn instead of an alien or blobby shadow makes it seem so much more real. We are taking the whole day as our little "babymoon" too which is exciting. Roxas is going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa while Kenny and I enjoy a day of just us gallivanting around Vegas. That's something that hasn't happened for...gosh...more than a year. Yup, now that I think about it we haven't had a whole day of just us together since Roxas was born.

       It's funny, much of the things I've read about second pregnancies say that you tend to be more relaxed than with your first. For me, it's been the complete opposite. With Roxas I was cool as a cucumber, but then again I had an almost perfect pregnancy. This time I've become what I never wanted to be: the worry wart patient. This pregnancy has been so completely different for me and anything different makes me wonder if that's supposed to happen. Now, I like to think I'm pretty well read when it comes to pregnancy. I swear I could probably teach a course on it at this point. I have endlessly researched what is normal, and what isn't but that doesn't stop me from worrying. I'm starting to think the Dr. might have put a big "crazy preggy lady" sticker on my chart, the caller ID at the office probably reads "That patient".

       Thanks to my worrying we ended up having a little monitoring done Monday evening to check things were alright. They were, of course. Sunday afternoon brought with it some regular braxton hicks that were bothersome but nothing terrible. That evening they got worse, and I started having severe back pain and some cramping in between the braxton hicks among other things that you probably don't want to know about. I chalked it up to the stress of the holiday weekend and decided that if things didn't resolve by tomorrow afternoon I would call the nurse and get her opinion. Throughout the day on Monday I still had cramping and despite increasing my fluids and rest they didn't seem to want to go away completely. Once I talked to the nurse she really wanted me to go over to labor and delivery to get checked out. Everything checked out great, and I felt like a total nimrod for wasting everybody's time.

        Anyways, Lucy is pretty much finished with her major development so the next task on the list is weight gain. The last 2.5 months is when one half of the baby's weight  is gained! This means she needs all the nutrients she can get which is why my appetite seems to have shifted to high gear. If I'm not eating, I'm looking for food. So far my weight gain has been pretty minimal, a nice even 10lbs, but that's all about to change over the next three months. She is busily laying down layer upon layer of white "energy" fat now. Lucy weighs about 3lbs now and is around 17in tall. She's almost at her full birth height! Her head has begun to grow a little more as it accommodates her ever growing brain. Fingers crossed that her head is a little smaller than her brothers. That brain has now gained the ability to control her body temperature although she will still need a little help once born. Space in her fluid home is starting to get a little cramped so she can't do quite as many amazing somersaults but not to worry, she can still ram elbows and knees into me. She also recently tried out what it was like to hang out lower in my pelvis, but thankfully decided it wasn't as comfortable. It is really common for second babies to engage and then float back up multiple times. When they do this though it tends to make mom really uncomfortable...well more uncomfortable than they were.

       I can't wait to meet her, and I'm anxious as can be to just have her here. The last few months truly are the hardest part of pregnancy. Three months seems like an eternity when you're waiting to meet your baby. Although some of those nasty contractions bring back memories of labor and I'm not all that excited to go back to that place in just three months.

Until next time...