Week #23-I feel kicks!!!

Week #23-7/26/13

Baby is size of: Grapefruit!-I still don't get these fruit sizes, some seem bigger, some seem smaller each week but whatever.

Weight this week: 161.2

Change since last week: -1.2

Total weight gain overall: 14 pounds

Symptoms: Left side sciatica pain continues! RLP, not much cramping this week, boob issues continue. Oh, I also have been forgetting to mention, leg cramps in the morning-only in my left leg and only about once a week and restless leg almost every night. It's annoying but only lasts for like a half hour. 

Cravings: none really, I put myself on the B.R.A.T diet(Banana, Rice, Applesauce, 
Toast ) for a good portion of the week due to upset stomach and non-stop going to the bathroom from the antibiotics.

Exercise: *Sigh* None.

I'll start with the exciting news: I felt her kick! I didn't know if it was her, but I may have been feeling this for a while and didn't realize it was actually her kicking and moving. Monday night we were laying in bed around 11:30pm and she was kicking like crazy! Dan actually felt her from the outside. It's really nice to feel. It feels like little thumps every now and then from the inside. Almost like a pulse feeling. It makes it all the more real. I feel her mostly in the morning when I get up and at night and sometimes when I'm sitting at work. I'm so excited for her to be here!

So, this week I have continued boob issues, but it seems it will be a lingering issue, so I won't really dwell on it but will keep updating weekly. They feel better one day, bad the next. I'm thinking I will have to just get through this the rest of pregnancy without an antibiotic. It may just be inflammation from pregnancy. I've been icing, taking the antibiotic religiously and it's still the same. No better, no worse-depends on the day. So, I will keep updating about it, but I refuse to let it get me down anymore. It's kind of out of my control at this point. I ended up stopping the antibiotic Wednesday morning. I had such diarrhea and cramping so bad-I'm talking going to the bathroom 20x a day. I said enough was enough. I'll talk to the doctor about it next week. In the meantime, I'll keep icing. The last thing I want is other issues, especially GI issues. I felt better after 12 hours of not taking it and am feeling even better today (Friday). I'm pretty much back to normal. I talked to Stacey, the APNP I've been seeing and she agreed to stop antibiotics and treat as more of a skin issue. She said I may continue to have pain but ice it and try some hydrocortozone. We'll see. 

I decided to focus on more positive things about pregnancy. I feel like I've complained a lot the past two weeks but there are some things I enjoy:
-No periods!
-Gaining weight and not getting upset about it
-Giving myself more permission to "relax"
-Seeing how wonderful Dan has been throughout all this so far
-I kinda like the attention sometimes of people asking me how far a long I am, when I'm due, etc. 

Next week: So Monday 7/29, I am literally in appointments all day: 9:30-Genetic Counseling (why I have no idea), 10:00-redo of anatomy scan, 12:15 OB appointment, 2:00 Breast Specialist appointment. Here's to all good appointments! Also, happy golden birthday to me next Wednesday!

Week #22-I officially hate my boobs

Week #22-7/19/13

Baby is size of: Papaya

Weight 162.4

Change since last week: 1.6lbs-I have to admit, I ate my feelings/stress this week

Weight gain overall so far: 15.2 lbs-I still don't think that's too bad for 22 weeks. 

Symptoms: Sciatica pain down left leg getting worse, continued boob problems-although I don't think this is a symptom of pregnancy, mild cramping, round ligament pain at times.

Cravings: Nothing really notable

Exercise-None

So, I thought what I had was all cleared up. WRONG. It came back. They continued the same antibiotics only to have it continue to not get better, but not get worse. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday that confirmed I had Mastitis. I am so ridiculously frustrated at this point. The ultrasound tech joked with me that I should play the lottery because Mastitis is so rare in women who have never breastfed before.  I know the meds aren't hurting baby, but it has the potential to knock my immune system down. On Thursday, the breast specialist called and said they are going to try me on a new antibiotic. To date, it's doing nothing. 

I feel blessed to have an overall decent pregnancy so far, but I fear now breastfeeding will be a challenge. 

I met with the breast specialist again on Thursday. I broke down in her office and told her how upset I was. She reassured me the medication is safe and we will get to the bottom of what is going on. She said she isn't convinced it's Mastitis since I don't have the classic symptoms of a fever, chills, etc. She said to finish the antibiotic and see what happens and to call if it gets worse. She says if it was going to get a lot worse, it likely would have already happened. 

Can I just be normal? That's all I have for this week. I am beyond frustrated right now. All I want is for baby to be here so I can take care of her in my arms and not have to worry if I'm doing harm to her or not. 

18 weeks

 

                                                                      22W 2D

Week #21-Boob Problems

Week # 21-7/12/13
Baby is size of:Pomegranate!

Weight-160.8

Change since last week: +1.4lbs- I find some weeks I hardly gain, others I do, I think it evens out

Weight gain overall: 13.6  pounds-in the healthy range so far!

Symptoms:   Continued sciatica pain down my left side is daily now-I can hardly stand up without feeling it so I feel like I stand up like I'm 80 years old-It's getting worse. Itchy boobs and stomach

Cravings? Chocolate Milk!

Exercise: I have no excuse at this point. I have looked into water aerobics, however, there is NONE around here unless you are a member of a gym! I fully intend on going to the gym next week-I hate how weak I'm getting.

So, Sunday night I noticed a lot of redness on my boobs. I woke up the next morning with pain and redness. I went on with my day but it wasn't getting any better. I called the doctor and they got me in at 3:00 that day. I mentioned Mastitis as I've had it in the past. It is so rare to get it when not breastfeeding or never being pregnant. They gave me an order for an antibiotic, which I HATE taking but really needed to be safe than sorry. They then referred me to a breast specialist. The pain went a way but the redness stayed and it became more itchy.

I met with the specialist Thursday, who was very nice. She states she is pretty certain it is Dermatitis which can happen as the skin stretches. She states she doesn't know if it ever was Mastitis but told me to finish the antibiotic. I cringe every time I take it. It is in the "B" category of drugs while pregnant which means "no likely harm to fetus if taken." I hate drugs as it is, so this is so hard for me. Part of me wishes I would have waited another day, maybe it never was Mastitis? I don't know. The antibiotics are reaching an end and I will be glad when it's done! Fingers crossed no more medications during pregnancy.

I do have to say again, All the doctors I have come in contact with have been so wonderful. It makes things much easier.

On a better note, my neighbor dropped off two bins of maternity clothes! It's so nice and will save me so much money. I'm just about done with my old clothes as they don't fit comfortably or even button anymore!

Baby Thoughts-I'm starting to embrace pregnancy more and I'm getting really excited. Excited and nervous at the same time. I'm so excited to breast feed, cloth diaper and I cannot wait to see what she looks like. It makes me wonder if she is taking more after Dan since she already has the six finger gene! I swear her head is the same shape as his too! I'm going to start looking for colors for the baby's room and figure out how we want to decorate. We probably won't start till September but I want to have a lot of good, solid ideas before we start. 

I did some more shopping this week! 2 sleepers, 1 outfit and 6 onesies for $16.37. I plan to do the majority of my baby shopping at Rummage sales and resale shops. I really want to steer clear of all pink. I'm trying to find more greens, yellows and blues. So much girl stuff is all pink!  There are things I want brand new, a mattress and car seat for example, but there are so many things you can buy gently used.

On to week #22. I swear time is flying by!

Week #20-Surprise!! It's a baby girl!

Week # 20-7/5/13
Baby is size of: Banana! I'm a banana, I'm a banana!-Beck would appreciate that lol

Weight-159.4

Change since last week: +.6

Weight gain overall: 12.2  pounds

Symptoms:   Continued sciatica pain down my left side is daily now-I can hardly stand up without feeling it so I feel like I stand up like I'm 80 years old.  Weird, very vivid dreams. Some cramping, round ligament pain. Brown spotting is gone! 

Cravings? Same! I love my same breakfast every morning-see below. I still love fruit every day. I need more veggies! I really have had no cravings this whole second trimester

Exercise:  Since the spotting has stopped, I will start up next week again. I'm looking into water aerobics as I've heard great things about it while pregnant

Anatomy Scan appointment

This is the appointment I was really looking forward to! I was excited to see baby growing healthy and strong and also to confirm that the baby was indeed a boy if baby would cooperate! Dan wore a blue shirt to support "team blue." 

     We had the same ultrasound tech we normally have-Bambie. She is so wonderful and really talks us through everything she is doing and tells us what we're looking at. She told us that she wouldn't tell us anything about the sex unless she was really certain. We appreciated that. The baby was in a bad position to tell the sex so she kept checking back. The ultrasound lasted almost an hour. It is amazing to see how much baby has grown since the beginning. She also said baby is currently butt down, but that is likely to change.  I would say midway through the ultrasound she just blurted it out, "girl." We both looked at her like, "excuse me?". She said "yep, that is a girl, no boy parts at all." Dan was in shock and so was I. We really weren't expecting that. She said a lot of first guesses are wrong so early on and baby can sometimes look like a different sex. 

     As Dan continued to be in shock, we did remind her that Dan was born with six fingers on each hand. She looked closely at each hand and sure enough, each hand had six fingers on them. She stated that the doctor may want to do a re-scan for this reason. 

    The doctor was running late so Dan and I waited. Dan was more in shock and went to Culver's next door to get something to eat. I called Mom and told her while I waited. Dan ate in the waiting room and continued to be more quiet and would laugh in disbelief. 

     The doctor called us in and informed us that we would need to do a re-scan due to the six fingers. Also, there were 3 bright spots-1 on baby's heart and 2 in the bowel area they wanted to keep an eye on. She stressed that she is not worried and that most doctors don't tell their patients but that she wants to keep us completely informed. She stated it has a history of being related to downs syndrome, however, 99% of the time it clears up and even if it doesn't, it may not be a problem at all. She stressed not to Google because we'll just needlessly worry ourselves. 
    So, overall baby looks good! I really am irritated to re-do this anatomy scan. This will be our 6th ultrasound. Don't get me wrong, I love see her wiggle around and grow, but I think ultrasounds just cause a lot of needless worry. So, our next appointment is July 29th.
    Dan was quiet most of the day. But he came around the rest of the week. He's more worried about raising a little girl. I don't blame him, but he's going to be such a great Dad. We have a name picked out but we are not revealing until she's born. Amanda is the only one that really knows :). We posted on Facebook and called family and received lots of congrats from people. 

                                                      Proflile-I think she has Dan's head!

                                          There's a vagina there somewhere, I just can't tell

                                                            Baby's foot! Too adorable

                                            I took back the boy outfit I bought and bought this :)

Oh, on another baby note-I can feel her move :). It was hard to make out at first, but it feels kinda like waves. It's not consistent yet, I feel it more at night. It's crazy to actually feel her move!

So it was a good week! Fourth of July we had Dan's Uncle Cot, girlfriend Jovanna and his Grandparents over. Dan cooked up his usual awesome BBQ-hamburgers, brats, chicken and ribs. It was nice to have his family here.  My parents, Steve, Beck and Amanda stopped over later to watch the fireworks from our yard. 

Baby Thoughts- I am obsessed with cloth diapering! It's cheaper, better for the environment, cuter and the baby is not getting all those nasty diaper chemicals. I spent a good portion of time throughout the week comparing certain diapers and seeing which one's I think I'd like best. I talked with our friend Amy, who had a baby the exact same time last year as we're expecting this year. She cloth diapers and really loves it. She gave me a lot of recommendations. I ended up purchasing 2 diapers-Buttons brand.  She suggested I get a few different brands to see what works best for our baby. I found a boutique with a cloth diaper class in BayView that Dan and I are doing next Saturday. More information the better! They say the cost of a cloth diaper system is about 500.00 and can be cheaper if you want, depending on how big your stash. The cost of disposables is average of 2800.00 from birth to potty training. The way I see it, we are saving 5,100.00 if we reuse these diapers for our second baby someday.

                     Inside of diaper, it  has a liner that snaps right in and you just wash it!

Diaper cover-covers the diaper and can be reused for 2-3 days without washing as long as the liner doesn't leak

So, it was a very eventful week! On to week 21!