Pregnancy Update: 29 Weeks

Well well well...hello 29, almost 30 weeks! I can't believe this point in my pregnancy has arrived! It's crazy!!

How many weeks are you now?
29 weeks, 6 days

Baby's size? 
Small Cabbage. Pixie, my Yorkie, is about 5 pounds 5 ounces and it amazes me that our baby is smaller than her!

Symptoms:
GOODBYE cold and cough and nastiness! It took FOUR weeks but it's finally gone for the most part! Good riddance!

I'm now experiencing what I think is heart burn (never had it before) but a pepcid helps, so I'm assuming that's what it is. I try not to take one unless I absolutely have to. I also have a pain beneath my right ribs, but I am pretty sure it's due to baby positioning because it's not there all the time.

As far as swelling goes, I think I had a smidge of it in my left ankle last night. I'm going to keep watching it, though. I was on my feet a bit more than normal at work yesterday so that may have done it.

I'm also continuing to have the tightening sensations and I'm experiencing pressure like before (when she thought I might be having early contractions) but its definitely NOT as bad. Sitting and only standing or moving around when necessary has helped a LOT.

Cravings?
Nothing new this week. Still working on a King Cake from last weekend! :)

Aversions? 

Same...still fish!

Sleep:

This week, I had one and only one episode of insomnia. It was Friday night and I fell asleep on the couch around 8:30 p.m. I woke up a little after midnight hungry but unable to eat (because of my 3 hour glucose test the next day). I attempted to trick my brain and fall back asleep in my bed (I tried for an hour and a half), but it didn't work. Instead, I got up and did things around the house until I felt sleepy again. Keep in mind, I WAS STARVING. Finally around 3:45 a.m., I felt sleepy again so I returned to bed. I fell right to sleep and my alarm went off at 6 a.m. for the glucose test. Thankfully nothing like that has happened again so I think it was more related to the circumstances and not "pregnancy insomnia" like some people get. Not saying it won't happen, but it hasn't officially happened to me yet.

I also lost some of that 2nd trimester energy - I almost feel as if I've reverted back to my first trimester with waking up tired, taking naps, etc.

Purchases:
Baby's bedding and baby book - both arrived yesterday!

What I miss: 
Being able to walk fast all over the place. If you know me, you know I'm like 90 miles an hour all the time. Not so much anymore. 

What I’m looking forward to:
Hopefully the crib will arrive this week so we can make some progress around the house! Can't wait!

Worst Moment of the Week:

The 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I wrote all about it on Tuesday - you can read it here if you'd like. Thankfully, I PASSED...found out the official results yesterday! YAY!

Best Moment of the Week: 

There's three things this week....

First, we began our registry. Oy...I was quite overwhelmed with everything and will have to return with a friend who's a baby genius and can help a bit better. I'm hoping to work on that this weekend depending on how I feel.

We also had our 3D/4D scan, we officially decided on a name, and we shared it with our family and friends.

Introducing:

Brayden Paul (aka "Baby Seal")

It's amazing how detailed these scans are! We don't have the option for a 3D scan at our Doctor's office, so we went to an outside facility to have these done. Our entire family was there and it was really neat to share that special moment with them! I'll share more about our experience at the 3D/4D ultrasound place tomorrow!

Check out this adorable shot of Brayden (baby Seal) and my husband when he was a baby! Isn't that too funny?! The cheeks crack me up! 

My final "monthly" Doctor's appointment is next week, then I start going for bi-monthly appointments! The end is drawing near and it's coming fast, y'all! So exciting!!

Happy Thursday!! 

My Glucose Test & The Weekend

This past weekend was filled with lots of fun (and some not so fun) moments!

It all began on Saturday and the three hour glucose tolerance test which checks for gestational diabetes during pregnancy. My first test was the 1 hour tolerance test which I barely failed, so I had to return for a three hour test on Saturday morning.
 

This test was fasting (nothing to eat or drink after midnight) and involved drinking a beverage that tasted like a super sweet orange Fanta which included 100 grams of "sugar" in one serving. I added the numbers up and that's like drinking 60 oz of Dr. Pepper in less than 5 minutes...SIXTY ounces!

Mine also involved the following:

• Urine sample prior to drinking the beverage (to check for gluocse in the urine) - mine was negative
• Blood draw prior to drinking the beverage
• Hourly blood draws x 3 hours - taken 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours after drinking the beverage (that's a total of four blood draws)

My husband agreed to accompany me to the test and I'm so glad he did. I read up on this test before taking it and I found a mixed variety of comments out there - some women had no problems with the test at all while others experienced a wide range of side effects. I warned the phlebotomist before I began drinking the beverage that the 1 hour test (50 grams of "sugar") gave me a pretty bad headache. She told me they had a room for me to rest in if I needed it because if I threw up, the test was over and I would have to start from scratch. Umm...no thank you.

Within literally five minutes, this stuff hit me...and by hit me I mean I felt like I had been run over by a truck. I felt dizzy and nauseated and knew I needed to lie down immediately. The ladies at the lab were so kind to me - they brought ice packs to me and checked on me many times.

It took two and a half hours before I felt back to my somewhat normal self. I basically laid in this chair and flipped from side to side until it was time for my next blood draw. Thankfully, everything stayed down and I never threw up. Jason kept trying to bring up lunch ideas and I did NOT want to talk about it - just the thought of food or even orange Fanta made me want to hurl. I even got off of facebook and instagram at one point because all of the pictures of food (that I usually really enjoy looking at) made my nausea worse!

At the end of the three hours, the phlebotomist drew my blood again and checked it on a glucometer. My blood sugar read 86 which I was thankful for. I know that's not an "official" result, but it definitely eased my mind a bit! Now the waiting game begins for my "official" results!

After the test, we drove to a local joint that serves the best po-boy's I've ever eaten (even better than Mother's in New Orleans). I don't eat there often, but I decided I'd been tortured enough and I wanted some GOOD food! It definitely satisfied me! :)

The remainder of our Saturday included a little time with friends (and yummy gumbo for dinner).

The Louisiana Marathon and Half was held on Sunday and I enjoyed following all of the updates before heading off to church. It's amazing how much of a difference a year makes! Last year, I ran my half marathon PR at 1:58 (also my first sub 2 hour half) and this year, I'm on restriction from even walking down the road! (Again, I don't mind as this is just a phase of life that will pass soon...I just found the irony kinda funny!)

In the middle of it all, I also spent some time cuddling with my two sweet girls! This little turkey has been super clingy lately!!

Last but not least, I'm helping host a baby shower for a best friend of mine this weekend. The remainder of my Sunday was spent creating and planning for her shower! I can't wait!!

How was your weekend? Anything exciting happen or take place? Did you run any races? 

Congrats to everyone who took part in the Louisiana Half/Full Marathons, the Houston Half/Full Marathons, the Star Wars races at Disneyland, and any other races I missed!! :) You guys rock!

Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks

How many weeks are you now?
28 Weeks + 6 Days
Hello third trimester!! :)

Baby's size? 
Head of Cauliflower....these keep getting more and more interesting each week! From a cucumber to a cauliflower!

Symptoms:
The respiratory mess is clearing but still there and I still tend to hack up a lung although it's not as often! Slowly but surely, I *think this mess is going away.

Exercise:

I feel like a broken record here....I'm on restriction and can't even do any extra walking. I can tell, too...if I walk too much I'm like oops nope! Gotta sit down...

Cravings?
King Cake!! It's officially carnival season here in Louisiana and there are King Cakes galore! As a matter of fact, TWO people brought King Cakes to us yesterday! I had a little sliver of the one at the top and oh my gosh it was SO good!

Aversions? 

Fish. I also happened to pass by shrimp on a buffet on Sunday and ugh...the smell....gross. No shrimp.

Sleep:

Still going well! I haven't been waking up at night to use the restroom which kinda boggles my mind because I'm drinking at least 100 to 120 oz of water per day.

Purchases:
Nothing new this week!

What I miss: 
My old self - the one who could walk across the house without getting winded. It really is the strangest thing!

What I’m looking forward to:
FRIDAY! Tomorrow we have our 4D scan and I can't wait to see baby Seal on the big screen! My parents and Jason's parents will be there as well!

Worst Moment of the Week: 

I got THE phone call this week. You know, the one that tells you that your body DID NOT tolerate the 1 hour glucose test and you have to return for the three hour. *FACE PALM* I was so close to passing, too - their high limit is 135 and my blood sugar at 1 hour was 143. I even wore my Goofy's Challenge shirt for good luck! :) Of course there's a million "what if's" running through my mind, like should I not have eaten those two eggs that morning? (My MD advised me to eat prior to the 1 hour test.) Although they are low carb, could that have messed with my sugar? Probably not...but I still have those thoughts running through my mind. Even my OB's office was shocked at the results because of how well my weight has been maintained through this whole process.

Now, I get to return this Saturday and torture my body with even MORE sugar (100 g this time instead of 50 g) to see how it tolerates the test (who on earth came up with this idea anyway....?). If I absolutely had to consume that much sugar, couldn't they let me drink or eat my own version of sugar? Like how about a nice thick slice of fudge? Or maybe some warm home baked chocolate chip cookies? I would have no problem putting those down in less than 5 minutes! Ah well. (Of course this call came AFTER I had eaten a "devil cookie"...see instagram...and a little sliver of King Cake..sigh...) After a little moping, I resigned myself to the fact that it is what it is and life goes on. Diabetes does run very strong in my family so this whole test had me freaked out from the start. Here's to Saturday and better results!!

Best Moment of the Week: 

Baby class! I had so much fun with one of my best friends, her husband, and my husband! We took a "baby basics" class which went over all sorts of things from newborn care to swaddling, diapering, and feeding. For the first 40 minutes, I felt as if I were back in my OB class in nursing school...which I think was about 12 years ago! I haven't used a smidge of OB since then, so it was a nice refresher!

My husband attempted to develop the art of swaddling...which turned into rolling the baby in the blanket like a burrito. #FAIL

I think he needs a little more practice! (He was being 100% silly at this point, by the way...)

Another cool moment of the week happened when I was sitting on the couch one afternoon after work. I happened to look down and could see my bump rolling around. It didn't last very long but was really funny to see! Feeling the baby move inside of me has been my favorite part of this whole pregnancy process! It really is the neatest feeling!!

That's it for this week! I hope to be back next week with a happier results from my 3 hour glucose tolerance test!

Have a great weekend!!

If you've ever been pregnant, did you have to take the 3 hour glucose test? How was your experience with it?