Another amazing benchmark!

Today marks week 24 for little baby g! I have a few iphone apps that I use to track fetal development (Babycenter and What to Expect) and found it interesting to know that not only is the baby the size of a cantaloupe or the length of an ear of corn but also that my placenta is the size of a soccer ball! Feels like the jump from a grapefruit to cantaloupe is pretty significant (and maybe not entirely accurate) but I do think we are in the middle of a growth spurt!

24 weeks and the size of a cantaloupe! 

Today also happened to be our 6 month appointment so I got some real baby measurements too. The appointment started with me having to chug the sugary drink to test for gestational diabetes. Dan sat with me and I think this is the first time he would have actually traded places with me. I guess normally getting blood drawn, exams and ultrasounds don't look very fun but he thought the "juice" smelled good. It wasn't as bad as I thought and I definitely recommend fruit punch over orange. I wasn't too worried about the results but sugar is the one thing I love. I hardly eat meat and if I do, its usually lean and I don't over salt or butter my foods but I rarely pass up a good piece of chocolate, a scone or homemade cookie.

During the hour waiting period I had an ultrasound. I do ultrasounds every 4 weeks because they are monitoring the baby's head size due to our family history. My sister had microcephaly and although they don't feel our baby is at any higher of a risk than the average, my doctor still recommends monitoring growth. I am okay with that and enjoy getting extra opportunities to hear his little heartbeat and see him wiggle around in my uterus. There was a moment however today when the technician paused and said she wanted a second opinion about the length of my cervix. I panicked and tried to read deeper into her body language to see if this was serious or not. She said the baby's head was right on top of my cervix and blocking the view so she wanted to do a vaginal ultrasound to see if the length was okay. I had no idea the length fluctuated (well at least not until delivery) and Dan and I were tempted to quick google it when she left the room for me to change. However, we refrained and had faith things would be okay- and all turned out to be fine. However, that little scare was enough for me to say some extra prayers tonight and be thankful all is well so far.

So, good news is that my cervix is the right length, I don't have gestational diabetes and little g is in the 55% weighing in at 1 lbs. 8 oz. We talked a little bit about my birth plans today and I asked for some recommendations about birthing classes and suggestions of what I can do now to prepare for a natural birth. She told me to keep exercising and she supports my running and yoga as long as I feel good. She said that will help so much during the birthing process. She also recommended we interview some dulas but she didn't push it and reminded me there will be a full team there to support me. She said her goal is to follow my birth plan and that we will make changes as needed but only if needed. I know a birth plan is simply that... a plan. My hope is to go without pain medications but I am also fully aware that the process is out of my control and 4 hours of labor feels a lot different than 24 hours!

After work today, I went to yoga and even though I was still annoyed the substitute teacher was emphasising twists and stomach poses, I just made a few changes, closed my eyes and imagined I was the only one in the studio. I also kept hearing the doctors reminder that yoga will help me prepare for birth. That new intention- getting stronger and staying fit for the delivery was a refreshing focus. Looks like baby g isn't the only one "growing" in this humble journey.

Pumpkin "patch" visit this weekend

23 Weeks!

Today marks 23 weeks pregnant! Hard to believe we are going to be parents in a few months. Yikes!

Every day I am thankful for this little baby growing in my belly. I feel blessed and so amazed with the human body. Little baby g is 8 inches long and 1.2 pounds according the averages. However, it feels like he is a lot bigger than a grapefruit.

Overall I feel good and haven't had too many reasons to complain other than just feeling big and uncomfortable. Sleeping is already awkward and I can't believe how many trips I make to the bathroom. It feels like there is constant pressure on my bladder and a pinch in my lower back. I've tried stretching, heat, rest, body pillow etc. but still uncomfortable.

In addition to Tuesdays being the day I like to document the baby bump, it is also the day I try to fit in Yoga after work. I enjoy Lifetime's slow burn vinyasa class because it isn't super hot and most of the poses are manageable for me. However, today I was definitely getting frustrated with my lack of flexibility and inability to do some of the poses. I left feeling not very zen and sorta annoyed that I was frustrated with my own body.

Pregnancy IS beautiful and I want to fully embrace each stage with grace, acceptance and positivity. I have always worked hard to define external beauty in terms of strength, health and fitness. All through college I was surrounded with amazing women that modeled holistic healthy living. Afterall, Rosie the Riveter was hanging in our college house at Madison and I worked for Planned Parenthood where I promoted women's health to my peers.

Good excuse to post a throwback to college

However, today after feeling awkward at yoga and unattractive in my too-small yoga pants...I just didn't want to take a baby bump picture. I know gaining weight is a good thing and that my body is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing...growing, but I just didn't feel like photographing it. I asked Dan to take a picture of me and the grapefruit and then had a bit of tantrum and deleted it.

Dan looked at me and offered to take this weeks photo with the grapefruit, knowing of course that it would probably end up on social media. He is not a huge fan of selfies and doesn't even like grapefruit so he must love me because he even smiled for the picture.

Dan with the little grapefruit! 

Happy 23 weeks little grapefruit!

Nesting!

It has been SOOOO long since I last blogged. In the meantime, we moved, got married and are now expecting!! There are so many emotions and updates I could share but since I feel a little rusty blogging, I am just going to start with my weekend project- a mobile for little baby g. I wanted to have a way to document some of the nursery projects and I know not everyone on facebook wants to read about the progress so I figured returning to the blog would be a good idea. I am not committing to ongoing blogs but figure I will give it a go.

I really wanted to make my own mobile and was inspired by some daycare tours we recently went on (that could be a whole blog entry!). Two of the centers are designed around the Reggio approach which I later learned means they incorporate a lot of nature into the space, use neutral colors, natural wood and natural lighting. I have also been on pinterest with my hidden board for too long to admit (pre-baby!) and had some ideas I tried to pull together this weekend.

First, I collected some branches from this amazing tree! Yes, I was literally nesting. I never really liked that term since it sounds like some form of hibernation but when I found myself collecting sticks, I had to face the facts- I was nesting!

Then I whittled the sticks!

And then I went to Michael's Crafts with a coupon and spent under $20 for paint, paint pens, washi tape, brushes, wood squares and string. I painted the sticks first and then the little squares. Next I glued the two squares together with the string in between.This took way longer than I had imagined but I didn't mind since I wasn't feeling great and preferred a relaxing day crafting while Dan was at the football game.

After painting, Dan helped me tie all the strings and try and make the branches balanced. Good metaphor for life right now- Dan is definitely the one keeping everything balanced. He has been so incredibly supportive both pre-pregnancy and throughout this hormonal/emotional journey.

We still have to hang it and not sure how that will go but looks good when Dan is holding it! Other than the mobile...the room needs a little work. We got it painted, have a crib from Dan's sister Maria (love that her little ones used it- feels full of love!) and a dresser we need to set up.

Good thing I still have 17 weeks to go. We have time to nest!