Pregnancy Update: 29 Weeks

Hey all! So I'm one week into the third trimester at 29 weeks. After having an amazing second trimester, my pregnancy symptoms are starting to act up now hitting the third trimester. It's funny how each of the three trimesters are true to the symptoms they're known for. The first trimester I had major naseau, food aversions and fatigue. Once I hit 12 weeks, or the second trimester (to the day), the naseau went away, I regained tons of energy and felt amazing. On the very day I hit the third trimester and at the present, my energy levels decreased and I began to feel lethargic. Not only that, but other third trimester symptoms like heartburn and swelling started creeping in. Literally to the day! Below are more of my pregnancy stats now that I am rolling into the final trimester.  FYI Baby weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is around 15 inches long. Crazy!

Weight Gain: 15 lbs to 16 lbs. I have maintained this 15 to 16 pound weight gain for about the past month. While I would normally be concerned that I'm not gaining the recommended 1 pound per week and have remained so constant at 146 lbs., I am still right on target for a 25 to 35 pound weight gain. Again, last pregnancy I gained 20 pounds in the last trimester, so I wouldn't be suprised if that happened again. Given that baby still needs to pack on roughly 5 pounds or so, I will at least gain 5 plus pounds - hopefully a little more.

Exercise: My energy level has officially tapered off at 29 weeks. I am so thankful that I've felt energized throughout the majority of my pregnancy, but unfortunately I've hit a point in which my energy levels are at an all-time low. Currently, our family is in Aspen, CO for Christmas, so in all fairness, the altitude might also be affecting those energy levels. However, if the altitude isn't to blame, I'll place the blame on third trimester pregnancy symptoms. It may just be hormones at this point or the extra energy used to grow and carry baby.. whatever it is, I am super lazy as of late. Generally, my personality is to get up, energized in the morning, ready to seize the day, especially after having a bit of caffeine, which I am still incorporating into my diet (especially now!). The past few days, I have gotten up in the morning, feeling like I don't want to get out of bed. And when I do get out of bed, I am not looking forward to tackling the day only because of how lethargic I feel. All I want to do is crawl back into bed and regain energy, but even if I crawl back into bed, I am not rejuvinated from a nap or relaxation. Boo. I'm hoping this is just a little phase I'm going through and that I will regain that energy as my body adjusts to the third trimester symptoms. As it relates to exercise, I am not motivated AT ALL to workout. I do notice, though, when I do workout I gain energy (duh!).. it's just tough to get to the point of getting myself to exercise at this point in the game. At this point, yoga/streteching, pilates, and toning classes are what I have been focusing on. Also, walking on the treadmile at a brisk pace and on a slight incline has been helpful and low impact, while also helping increase my heart rate.

Nutrition: My eating habits are all out of wack at 29 weeks pregnant. I think it's fair to blame this on the shrinking size of my stomach paired with acid reflux. Lately, it feels as if I have no room in my stomach and thus, have no appetite at all. I am used to eating certain portions throughout the day and knowing my hunger cues extremely well, but when I eat those same portions, I fill up WAY faster than usual. To top it off, I literally never feel hungry, but also know that I need to eat, so I feel like I'm kind of shooting in the dark. I start to eat, but then stop quickly because it feels as if there is no room in my stomach to fit any food. Even with small quantities of food, I get acid reflux, which also makes me want to stop eating. You'd think the silver lining would be that I feel leaner because I'm not eating as much, however, it feels the opposite. Because of the acid reflux, I feel that full, disgusting feeling, as if I've eaten too much. I'm one of those people that hate overeating - it makes me feel super nasty - so, I have this constant feeling like I've eaten a huge meal when in fact I've just eaten a small portion of a meal that I would normally eat. So bizarre! Thanks, third trimester pregnancy symptoms...

Pregnancy Symptoms: Acid reflux. I'm still practicing my warm lemon water in the mornings but it's not working like it used to. I'm really having to incorporate portion control and eat tiny tiny meals (more like grazing) throughout the day. Hoping this acid reflux goes away! Also, itchy skin. The skin on my belly is definitely thinning out as my belly expands, creating that itchy feeling. I don't have the line on my belly yet (it's called something - linea nigra or something). I developed this around 8 months with Lincoln, so we will see if it happens with baby number two. Fatigue - yes! Ugh, I dislike being tired. Also, restless leg syndrome. I notice I get this later in the evening, generally when we are driving home from a dinner out. It doesn't bother me when I'm asleep at night or anything like that; only certain times while driving in the car.

Fetal Movement: This baby still likes to move, but isn't moving quite as much as he/she had been a few weeks ago. I'm actually thankful for this because I was starting to think that my baby was going to be super hyper, and as a mom, I don't think you want two super active kiddos haha!! Baby has also gotten the hiccups a few more times, but certainly not as much as Lincoln had gotten them. He hiccupped all of the time.

Predictions About Baby's Gender: Initially, I thought we were having a girl without a doubt. I gravitated towards all things girl, including nursery decor. Not only that, but I haven't gained the weight I did with Lincoln. I have been eating a heck of a lot healthier this time around but in my first pregnancy, I definitely didn't pig out (even though I wasn't as strict with my diet) - and ended up gaining 60 lbs, when I feel like I really shouldn't have put on that much weight given my diet. So the lighter weight gain makes me think it may be a girl? Or maybe I'm just luckier this time around. Also, in the beginning with this pregnancy, I was a little defensive when people would tell me they think that I'm having a boy - as if to protect the fact that I'm having a girl, which was the reverse of what I felt in my first pregnancy. I would get defensive when people said I'm having a girl. But truth be told, at this point, those feelings have subsided majorly and I feel equal towards each gender in all ways. I even think that it may be a boy at this point, which would be super exciting. Two little boys would absolutely rock my world. Who knows!! Either way is a huge blessing.

Thoughts About Delivery: My new OBGYN is all set and ready to go. I also know the hospital I am going to deliver at, although I have yet to visit and check out the premises. I also haven't pre-registered or done any of the delivery preparation stuff. It's funny because in my first pregnancy, I had all of this stuff done wayyyyy before it needed to be done (like a crazy person); second pregnancy, you are much more relaxed and go-with-the-flow. But I really do need to start getting prepared for delivery, including doing a tour of the hospital facility, pre-registering and doing things like driving and knowing the route to the hospital, making preparations for family to come out, designating someone to watch Lincoln through my delivery, etc. All of this I haven't really given much thought to, and like I said, last time I had excel spreadsheets, word docs and powerpoint detailing every step of my delivery plan lol. I will say that I do know that I am going to get an epidural. During my last pregnancy, I knew I would get an epidural, but also wanted to try and go as long as I could without getting one to let my body progress naturally. Once those contractions kicked into high gear, I'm telling you that I have never felt a pain like that. I don't say this to scare people, only to make it real that contractions are no joke. I am a tough girl and have a decent pain threshold, but contractions are insanely painful in a unique way that almost makes your body go out of control. Now, the thought of not getting an epidural is a little bit silly to me. I am absolutely getting an epidural. I'm not sure about timing - when I will get one, i.e. at what phase. It worked perfectly during my first delivery (and I will do a post on my delivery story with Lincoln). Essentially, my water broke and I started having mild contractions. We booked it to the hospital and the contractions gradually started getting stronger (but not unbearable), then they started to get stronger and stronger and then it seemed like out of nowhere, I was in a state of uncontrollable and out-of-body pain from the contractions. The epidural gal had come by asking me if I wanted the epidural earlier (before the pain had gotten to this point), and I told her I was fine - because I thought that I was! However, knowing what the contractions feel like at around 5 to 6cm dilation is a whole different story than at 2 to 4 cm dilation. Ideally, I'd love to get the epidural right around 4 cm dilation, but I know that timing this can be quite tricky. I expect that my delivery with baby number two will be even faster than with baby number one - which was around ten hours total from my water breaking to deliverying my son. They even had me "labor down" for about an hour and a half which I thought was unnecessary (although I'm not sure) -- because I'm pretty sure the nurses and doctors were attending to other patients lol. So all in all, I had a quick first delivery. That said, I WILL be getting an epidural with this baby, it will just be a matter of when. There is a part of me that almost wants and likes to feel the pain to know that I made it to the point of pain, and then to get an epidural. I don't know why but it makes me feel like I in fact "labored." If I get the epidural too soon and feel no pain at all, it may be weird to me to have not felt that pain. SO WEIRD. I know. I don't know why I feel this way. Why torture yourself when you can easily get an epidural right away? We will see what I ultimately decide, but I do need to start thinking about it.

​Preparation for Baby: So the nursery is coming together slowly but surely. It's harder than I thought to plan a nursery because Lincoln is going to use the baby's crib until the baby outgrows the mini crib we have for him/her. Once Lincoln outgrows the crib, he will hopefully be ready for a toddler bed - we got him the cutest bunk beds!! But until then, it's all about logistics. So as of now, the baby's crib is in Lincoln's room, so it's hard to plan a nursery without having a crib as a centerpoint. I trust it will all come together soon, but I am running short on time with only 11 weeks to go. Not to mention, I have an entire home to furnish!! Other than nursery interior design, I do have a lot of the supplies that I need for baby. A lot of those things I used and use for Lincoln is what I will use for baby. I should probably go through a checklist of items I need - yes, that is a good idea! We will do a post on preparation for baby soon - I for sure need it!! And no, my hospital bag is not yet packed. I packed this way in advance for my first, and he ended up coming one or two days after his due date, so this time around I think packing my bags about a week before will do the trick. Oh, the joys of being a second-time mom... :)

xx,
ILA