Pregnancy Update - Last Week in My Second Trimester

So I am 27 weeks and by this time Friday I will be entering my third trimester.

SAY WHAT?!  When the hell did THAT happen?!

"This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle."

A head of cauliflower?!  That is crazy! It is sorta hard to wrap my head around the fact that Henry is only going to keep getting bigger from this point on….a lot bigger!  I mean he is right around 2 pounds and already very noticeable and yet he needs to gain about 6 more pounds in the next 13 weeks.  How is this even possible?! How will he fit INSIDE me and more importantly, as we have yet to figure out teleportation, how will this child get out of me?!?! *For the record, I do know the answer to this but come on the idea of how this child will come out of you has to freak anyone out just a bit. I am writing a post on this.

And perhaps the cauliflower inside me also explains why I have NO idea just how far out my stomach goes and why I am constantly hitting my belly on things.  Oh, I can get past this chair…smash belly.  Or when I am cooking dinner I’m constantly hitting my stomach on the counter.  Or when I go to give T. a hug and the belly hits him first…to which T. says “you are going to have to lean in a bit and give a little here lady if you want a hug…there is something between us”!  It is actually humorous because it has only been in the last couple weeks that I have really started misjudging just how far I stick out and it is very common now for me to run my belly into something.

Here is what I see when I stand up and look down.

How was your Dr. Appt?  

It was good.  Henry’s bpm was around 148/149 and she said his heart sounded great.  She verified my tests from last week and said his spine on the ultrasound was perfect and that I passed my glucose tests “with flying colors” ….which is good because I studied really hard for that one. PHEW :)  My blood pressure was good at 120/71, even though I thought it would be higher after waiting for 50 minutes to see my Dr.  I did gain 4 pounds this past month and she told me to try to not gain more than that each month…preferably 2-3 pounds.  I said OK and didn’t tell her my nickname should be Hoover this past month as I have been a nearly bottomless pit for the first time since January!  Ooops.  I still have only gained 5 pounds since my pre-pregnancy weight but 10-12 overall as I lost weight in the beginning..  I also have to start keeping track of Henry’s kick count?!  They gave me a card and apparently want 12 kicks in a 6 hour period or I have to call the doctor.  Did anyone else do this?  Seems like an odd thing to track and this morning I started at 8:40 and had 12 kicks by 9:10 so I guess I am done for the day…..what can I say the boy loves his toast, banana and milk in the morning :)  I guess I have to do this every day for the remainder of the pregnancy?! Odd.  I also start going back every two weeks.  That is a lot of Dr. Appointments if you ask me.

How is Henry?  

WONDERFUL! Or so I think :) Now that I am noticing patterns in his daily activities, it makes me realize he is a little baby….which is really weird to wrap my head around.  I don’t know why or exactly how to explain it, but it is still weird to me that this little one is growing inside me and can recognize things that I am doing and has his own schedule. (He is a morning/afternoon person and calms down a bunch in the evening and at night!)  It is weird because I don’t always believe that he will be OUR baby in a few months and I am trying to wrap my head around it and honestly don’t know if I will until the day we actually can hold him.

How are you feeling mentally? 

Well for the most part really good, but I have my moments.  I had a break down Friday.  We had a big cookout this weekend for family and some friends so we have spent a lot of time preparing for it and preparing for people to be with us for the weekend.  I got off work early on Friday to go to the store.  I had eaten a late breakfast but didn’t get to take lunch because I left early so I went to the store on an empty stomach.  Part way through the trip I felt like I just wanted to leave my cart and just go home as my cart was FULL and I was hungry and tired and pushing around this huge cart and I was just overwhelmed by thinking about all I had to do.  I then had a lady in one of the aisles say to me “that is a full cart….a pregnant lady shouldn’t be doing this all by herself, it is not good for the baby.” and then she smiled as if it was a joke. UH, ok lady I don’t know what you want me to do about that.  Unless you are going to help, I don’t need a guilt trip right now.  sigh I then went to the cashier and part way through unloading my massive amount of groceries I dropped a pint of cherry tomatoes ALL over the floor and even accidentally stepped on a few. UGH, clean up at register 6….the pregnant lady is making a mess.  I held it together while I finished unloading and paying for the groceries.  And then I walked outside and even though it was sunny when I went to the store, it was POURING down rain when I left.  So I am then unloading what felt like a TON of groceries in the pouring rain.  Still tired, still hungry, even more overwhelmed by this cookout, and now feeling guilty and hoping Henry is ok.  I get into my car and just LOST it.  I cried because of frustration, I cried because I knew I had a lot to do, I cried because I was crying and didn’t want to be, I cried because I thought I wasn’t taking care of myself for Henry because I was hungry and carrying a bunch of heavy bags, and I just CRIED because I think I needed too.  Luckily I got home and my sister unloaded the entire car and I grabbed something to eat and sat down for a few before starting the cooking and felt a TON better. There haven’t been too many mental breakdowns, and luckily I got it out of my system Friday and we had an awesome cookout with no stress and it was WONDERFUL day, but when these breakdowns happen…..LOOK OUT!

How is Terry? 

Getting more and more excited for his new buddy! We watch a show called Dr. Who (sci-fi thing) and it is our favorite show.  Well the mid season finale was this weekend and it will not restart until the fall.  Terry said that was perfect because Hank can sit on his lap and watch it with us. (I have happy tears just thinking about it.) LOVE IT!  And we went to our friends last night and Terry just chilled out and held our friends 8 month old son for a good part of the night. Now this is most unusual for Terry who only held a baby under 1yr for the first time a few months ago and even then is really uncomfortable around other people’s young kids.  So for him to just hangout with Issac all night shows me just how excited he is….even if he is trying to play it cool :)

Registered? 

Yes. DONE. Check one thing off our list! Babies R Us, Target & Amazon.com.  It was easy…super easy.  Though because I gave Terry the scanner I still need to go back and edit the registries online as I am not convinced that Henry does infact need a new shower head like T. claims he does. 

Picture: Same Shirt….6 Weeks Later

Here is a picture of me at 21 weeks

 And at 27 weeks in the same shirt. A very noticeable difference!