Braxton Hicks

I started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions last week. The first one was such a shock and left me kind of excited, a new milestone had been reached!  Then I had another, and another and my belly got kind of sore and I was over the excitement.

I had 3 that first day then no more for over a week, then another last Wednesday night and several yesterday.  The more tired I am the more they happen.  Yesterday I finally was able to drink a big glass of cold water and lie down for 20 minutes and they went away.

I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and she said as long as they continue to stop they are nothing to worry about, they are just "practice contractions".

Nothing much to report from the doctor's appointment, she measured my belly but didn't tell me what it was only that it 'had grown from last appointment' and baby's heartbeat was in the 150's and 160's on the doppler.

A few nights ago I was in bed asleep when Matthew came up to bed. He put his hand on my belly (I kind of half woke up) and she started kicking like mad. This is the first time she's done that in response to him touching my belly, he loved it!

I've not been sleeping well and have been very irritable.  We did make progress on the nursery last weekend though, got the closet organizer in and I was able to put away some stuff.

It's just too bad the rest of the room still looks like this

I've gained several pounds in the past month, I'm only a couple pounds down from pre-pregnancy weight at this point but I guess that was bound to happen.  Speaking of weight gain, a funny cravings story. 

My one consistent craving has been red hots, the cinnamon candy. I eat a box of them maybe once a week or every two weeks because I know they are not good for you. Wednesday night I wanted Red Hots, I had to go to camera club meeting so I stopped at pharmacy on my way because they always have the movie theater size box of them. Well guess which ONE candy they are out of!!! Dammnit! Yesterday I had to go to the grocery store after work to pickup stuff for company coming in town this weekend, first stop, candy asile. I stand there for a good 10 minutes getting myself into a highly emotional state (and having BH's) because there are NO red hots!!! I'm about to cry when on the bottom rack pushed way to the back is TWO bags of red hots! I was giddy! I didn't eat any last night because baby girl decided to sit on top of my stomach but I brought a bag to work with me today :D

Random thoughts

Forgetting to pull your dress socks up so they are all bunched up around your ankles + ankles swelling = I now ate socks.

When she changes position from heads up to heads down all in one go its one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced.
And on that note she shoved her head back in my crotch today, ouch.

I don't know what I'll have for dinner tonight, I had bacon 2 nights in a row. Eggs maybe, I have a cut on my foot that is taking a long time to heal, Matthew said I need more protein.

firsts

Two first so far this week already!

Sunday morning I woke up and she had the hiccups! At least that's what I'm pretty sure it was, it was a rhythmic twitching that lasted several minutes.

Today I had my first legitimate food craving that was not suggestion induced. Bacon! Specifically a bacon sandwich, so I had a big BLT for dinner.

Halfway There!

20 weeks! Halway there! According to my app the baby is supposedly the size of a cantaloupe, I just can't see that!

My weight is staying steady, I've been within 2 pounds of the same weight for 2 months now. I guess I'm losing at roughly the same rate baby weight is gaining, its kind of odd.  Today I am 1.2lbs above where I was a month ago but 1.4lbs BELOW what I was 2 months ago, so yeah, right about the same.  This graph starts at 4/1 when I was just around 7 weeks along, through this morning.

Blood pressure has been down again but the dizzy spells have not gotten bad so maybe my body is adjusting.  Here is a snapshot of my BP readings over the past week or so (I don't update my weight in this app, its just in there from when I set it up).

I think the actual food cravings have started, this week it was pierogies, I finally found some at the grocery store yesterday and plan on having those for dinner.  Unfortunately the horrible taste in my mouth and occasional nausea has also returned. 

Sleeping has become and issues as I can no longer sleep on my back, it makes it hard to breath so I turn from side to side all night long. 

My Ehlers-Danlos (EDS) has escalated significantly over the past couple weeks. I'm having to tape the knuckles on the first two fingers of my left hand to try to keep them in place.  The Relaxin hormone on top of the EDS makes me a very Gumby girl right now. 

The only other new symptom I guess is the pretty much constant gas!!!

Updates!

Okay, I won't make you wait this time since I've been bad about posting updates. Here is the ultrasound from June 9th.  Little girl is doing good and measuring on track. She weighed in at approximately 6 ounces that day.

My cervical length was good (4.8 cm) and all of her organs look good so far, they will do more checking when they do the next scan on the 8th of July.

I went in for an appointment with my MFM specialist today. I'd had an echocardiogram a couple weeks ago to check for heart abnormalities due to my Ehlers-Danlos and that looks good.

I also talked to him about my dizzy spells, they have gotten SO much worse, they are happening now even when I am sitting down, its disconcerting. He said there is nothing they can do about them, its common in pregnancy especially when then woman has low blood pressure to begin with. He said it should peak by 20-24 weeks (to which my reaction was "OMG its going to get WORSE???) then start to get better.   I'm starting to be concerned about driving, we'll see how it goes I guess.

We've gotten two cute baby gifts so far, people are great.

Some progress has been made on cleaning out the room for the nursery but not much, gotta work on that this weekend, the dizziness makes that slow work.

All of my brain power is being taken by the fetus.  Getting dressed this morning, pulled a cardigan out of the closet then decided I wanted a different one. Placed the first one back on the hanger and went get the other one but instead took the first one out. Repeat 2 MORE times before I gave up.  I finally got the right cardigan when I started to walk out the door and realized I was chilly.

I think she's been sitting on my colon the past few days, had a bit of an IBS flare up and oh boy does THAT hurt!

Had my first pregnancy related confrontation yesterday, We were in the airport, not much time before our flight and dining choices limited. Decided to grab subway for hubs and I. Ask for Italian for myself and ask them to throw the meat in the microwave and heat it up before putting it on the sandwich. Girl, maybe the manager? Asks me why! First of all none of your business, anyway tell her I'm pregnant and it needs to be heated. She then tells me that is an old wives tale and she knows because she had 4 kids. My response, " you do what you want with you and your kids but this is me and my kid and I want the meat heated" Ugh. THEN I got back to my gate to eat and it was STILL cold! Double ugh!!

Regardless of your views on listeria and eating lunch meat while pregnant it's MY prerogative what I want to eat! I was so annoyed.

Oh, and I have the most awesome husband. We'd been away on a fishing trip for a few days and kept passing by a Dairy Queen, however whenever I decided I wanted it they were already closed. After we got home yesterday he went out and got me dairy queen!

So far weight has stayed about the same for a month. Still down 14lbs from pre-pregnancy. Maternity pants feel more comfortable every day though!

9 week update

Sorry I haven't been posting much have been stupid busy at work and by the time I get home I am just done and can't really function.  So here is a breakdown of what's going on with me and baby

Weight: still losing a bit, not as fast though

Nausea: its been pretty bad most days, I've been dry heaving quite a bit, brushing my teeth is an exercise in self-control. I found that taking Unisom before bed helps with nausea the next day but I don't want to take that every night.

Boob soreness: this is starting to dissipate some, my nipples are still extremely tender and sensitive though.

Mood: still irritable as all get out, some of that could just be work stress though

Food Cravings/Aversions: Still off dairy it just does not appeal to me at all, not big on sweets for the most part. Salty carbs are what I eat the most of but I try to get some protein in when I can. I had two days where I craved buffalo chicken.

Fatigue: still present and accounted for, I'm in bed by 9pm most night but I'm not falling asleep at my desk during the day anymore, mostly because I've been too busy.

Digestion: I mostly still have the same digestion as before, 2-3 days of diarrhea followed by a day or two of not going at all.

Had my first migraine while pregnant the other day, was able to head it off by slamming down an extra cup of coffee.

My clothes are starting to fit differently even though I'm losing weight, my boobs are overflowing my bra and my lower stomach is pooching out a bit, especially at the end of the day.  I still worry about being one of those women that so fat no one can tell they are pregnant.

and for dessert... Regret

I've been totally OFF food for over a week, nothing is appealing. With constant nausea its hard to just stay hydrated, much less eat. I've been losing weight pretty rapidly, which is fine, I have plenty to spare. Anyway, this morning I felt bad again but went out and ran some errands, when we got home I crashed for a couple hours, woke up still feeling bad but ate a few frozen strawberries which for some reason made me feel MUCH better!  Ran a few more errands and then came home and made tacos for dinner which is the only thing I've been craving. I ate FOUR tacos!!! THEN I ate some starburst jelly beans for dessert, aka regret.  I had an upset stomach but it was just from being overfull, I actually feel better than I have in days.

I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning...

yeah, I tend to think in songs. Woke up feeling pretty good, I caught up on some sleep; came home from work and slept 2 hours, got up and ate (more on that later) and watched some TV, went back to bed around 11 and slept until 7:30.   Mid morning while hanging around the house I started getting light headed, we went out to run errands and get lunch and it got worse.  Just been resting since I got home.

I haven't really been hungry, well that's not exactly true, I'll get VERY hungry but eat a few bites and be done. The only thing I've been wanting to eat is protein.  On the way home from work I decided I wanted sloppy joes of all things, I haven't had those in years! I stopped and got the stuff and after I woke up from my nap I made them, it was good.

Weight has been staying about the same, I've been struggling to say well hydrated since my stomach has felt off. I'll take a new pic in the morning.

Fatigue and boob soreness has fluctuated.  I've had a few more bouts of nausea but nothing crazy. Worst one was at Costco today, the whole place smelled like fish, I had to get out of there quickly.