Baby #3 – Pregnancy Update – 37 Weeks Pregnant

PREGNANCY WEEK 37 – September 19, 2020

Can it be? Am I writing an update only a week after I have written my last update? Wow! Perhaps now that I’m at the very end of this pregnancy, I might find the time to sit down and write weekly updates for this final stretch. I seems as though things can change pretty quickly at this stage, week by week, and even day by day. Why don’t I just jump in and get some of those updates since last week rolling…..

So,the biggest update since last week is baby’s position. Let’s backtrack a bit and say this: around 28 weeks I had an ultrasound and baby was in breech presentation (butt down, head up). The midwife assured me that baby does not need to be head down for a while and still had plenty of time to move around. At my 30 week appointment, she felt for position and baby was still breech. Again, assured me it’s definitely not an issue at that point. I definitely remember, though, that by 30 weeks, both Winter and Chloe were already head-down and stayed that way for the remainder of their pregnancies. It was a nice peace of mind. At 32 weeks, they did another ultrasound and determined, yep, this baby is again, STILL BREECH. My midwife still was not concerned, but she suggested I start taking matters into my own hands to help encourage baby to flip. Her recommendations were:

1. See the chiropractor (webster technique).

2. Spinning babies techniques (i.e. inversions)

3. Dolphin pose/child’s pose yoga moves (anything to get my hips higher in the air)

That exact day, I walked out of the prenatal appointment and started taking care of business. First, I called my insurance directly to check out what my chiropractic benefits were. Then, after I cleared that I had coverage, I went ahead and called the chiropractor and scheduled a first-available appointment to come in right away. This chiropractor is the same doctor who treated me when I was pregnant with Chloe 5 years ago. I was not seeing him for a breech presentation, but rather, other pregnancy discomforts and pains. He was very successful in helping me, so I decided to return to him.

I also began researching Spinning Babies immediately and started doing inversions that very day. The main technique I have used is where you prop an ironing board up against the couch and then lie down on it for 20 minutes at a time, with your hips high on the board, head down on the floor. The recommendation is to perform these inversions for 20 minutes at a time, 3 times a day. I quickly realized that twice a day was my absolute max. It’s extremely uncomfortable, and also leave me with a raging headache when I get up after the 20 minutes from all of the blood rushing back to my head. Ugh! But, it’s for the baby! 

For the next two weeks, I consistently did these ironing board inversions at least once a day for 20 minutes, if not twice. I saw the chiropractor 3 days a week for the first two weeks, and then 1-2 times a week after the initial two weeks. I also started using my exercise ball frequently at home as well as at the gym, varying from bouncing to hip rolls, etc. Lots of that.
Well, it seemed to be working, because at my 34 week visit, my midwife felt manually for position, and determined that baby was not quite head-down, but transverse with his head down low on my left hip and butt up high under my right ribcage. This was a huge success after all of the obsession and hard work I had put in those two weeks prior. It felt like a relief that he was making progress. She said I should stop doing inversions in case he would flip back the wrong way, but to still keep up with the chiropractor.
At 36 weeks, I went in to my appointment and felt very confident that he was head down by this point. I just FELT it. It was no doubt in my mind that he was either still transverse with his head lower, or head-down. I had an ultrasound, and was shocked as the sonographer announced, “well, baby is still breech.” WHAT? Are you kidding me? I was caught quite off guard and felt an immediate sense of let down. This was just unexpected and I was not sure what to think. It is not the end of the world, obviously, but just not ideal at that stage of pregnancy.

After my ultrasound, I sat down and discussed at length with the midwife what next steps will be. She said to resume Spinning Babies inversions. She also said to schedule my next appointment with the OB in the office who does the ECV. I scheduled an appointment with him for Monday morning. We will check baby’s position again and discuss all details ECV. The ECV will then have to be scheduled for the same week in hospital. You have to be fasted and ready for an emergency c-section on the day of the ECV in case things go wrong. It’s quite a whole process, and the ECV itself does not have a high success rate. But, I think it will be worth at least TRYING, to avoid a potential c-section. So, that’s on deck for early next week.

Also, another thing the midwife and I discussed quite threw me off. Completely out of left field. She asked me multiple questions about the length of time I pushed with each of my previous births, the size of the babies at birth, etc. Then, she suggested it would be on the table to have a possibility of a breech vaginal birth. My eyes about bugged out when she said those word. What?? I didn’t even know in this day and age that a breech vaginal birth was something that doctors or midwives would allow, let allow suggest as a possible recommendation. Most doctors will not even consider it! She was very excited about the idea and in favor of this option. To me, it left me with a lot to think about. I have never imagined the possibility of me give birth either of those ways: 1. c-section, OR 2. breech vaginal birth. Truly, I don’t want to do either!! But, after research and thought, I have decided that I would rather have a scheduled c-section than attempting a breech vaginal birth. In my mind, I there are just TOO MANY things that have to go just perfectly “right” in a breech birth, and I’d rather just not take that chance. I want my baby to be safe and healthy. As much as I really would love to avoid major surgery, I think I just care too much about my baby to risk delivering him breech. So: I will do the ECV, and if that works, great! If it does not work and he does not flip on his own accord….then I will schedule to go under the knife and safely have him born.

So, that’s the big update. I didn’t realize it would take so much writing to get all of that update written out….but there it is.

My age: 34

How far along: 37 weeks pregnant

How big is baby: the baby is the size of a head of winter melon, approximately 6.5-7 pounds and 19+ inches. At my ultrasound last week at 36 weeks +2 days pregnant, he was measuring approximately 6 lbs 3 oz. My prediction for birth weight for this guy: if we get to 40 weeks, he will be 8+ pounds, or if he comes 39 weeks, I bet he will be 7-7.5 bs.

Gender: Boy

Events of the past few weeks: 
Last week I was finishing up the tail end of my lingering head cold. Something about being sick sure just makes you appreciate being healthy. I am so thankful that we knocked out that sickness BEFORE I have this baby. Had a kinda “normal” week this past week with kids in school full time. My brother and sister in law who recently moved to Colorado came over for dinner. The girls each had their dance classes, Winter takes Batons/Poms and Chloe takes Ballet/Tap combo class. We also went to Ikea to get a dresser figured out for baby’s nursery. The plan is to finally start putting together the nursery this weekend. And maybe wash some clothes and get things ready for baby. Also, I ordered the remainder of my items I wanted on Amazon from my baby registry. I only had created the registry so that I could get the 15% off completion discount. Packages should be showing up like crazy this weekend with all things baby. The main items I got were: carseat, new sheets, burp clothes, muslin swaddle blankets, postpartum belly binder/wrap, nursing tank tops, bottles, pacifiers, etc.

Symptoms: 
I get a lot of pressure or “lightnight bolts” on my cervix. I very frequent say these words: “I feel like my water is going to break at any moment!” It feels like the baby is going to bust out of me. I also get pain in my upper right ribs, which I have now learned is his HEAD, sadly! My belly just feels huge. I cannot bend over very well and I definitely cannot really tie shoes or reach my feet. I get a little heart burn here and there, usually when I have an empty stomach. My appetite isn’t great. I just don’t feel like eating much.

Workout & Training Summary: 
Took a whole week off from the gym because of my head/sinus cold. Now that I’m better, I got back in the gym to do light cardio and light upper body. Now that I’m 37 weeks, I am FINALLY in the clear to start working out again! I’m SO EXCITED to start lifting weights again! I want to reunite with the beloved barbell. It’s time!

How workouts are feeling:
Feeling to READY to workout for “real” again!

Nutrition, Protein & Calories:
My appetite just isn’t there. I’m eating randomly and not really eating meals.

How is my body changing:
Big huge basketball belly.

Sleep:
Sleeping is kinda bad. I have been waking up with insomnia. 

Food cravings:
None.

Food aversions: 
Just don’t feel like eating. Nothing sounds good.

Movement: Huge rolls, kicks, jabs. This baby is a mover.

Best Moment of the Week:
When I informed Winter and Chloe the update that baby is breech, Winter was so disappointed. She is so invested in getting this baby to flip. She suggested that maybe SHE could turn the baby herself, and proceeded to push on my belly and try to twist baby around.

What I’m looking forward to:
Working out again this week!

What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to:
The ECV. I had read that the procedure is really painful. I just hope it works.

What I miss: 
Feeling light and quick on my feet.

Next appointment: Monday, Sept 21 @ 9:30 am with the OB to talk about scheduling the ECV to flip the baby.

Comparison of bumps from 37 weeks from my 3 pregnancies:

And here’s a little look back over the belly growth for the past 7 weeks:

Baby #3 – Pregnancy Update – 35 Weeks & 36 Weeks Pregnant

PREGNANCY WEEKS 35-36 – Sept 12, 2020

Now that I’m at the end of pregnancy, I am getting back on track with writing blog updates every-other week again. Well, hopefully. For now, anyway! It’s funny how each pregnancy has been a different level of motivation for writing pregnancy updates. With my first pregnancy, it happened every single week, on time, with a hand-drawn chalkboard art and all. With my second pregnancy, I again made it a huge priority, even though I had less time since I had a toddler underfoot…but I did do some things to make it a bit easier on myself. Third pregnancy….well! Let’s just say this: I’m currently 9 months pregnant, and even though I have taken weekly photos and written (somewhat) sporadic blog entries, I have yet to upload a single entry or photo to my actual blog! I am SO BEHIND! In fact, since early in my pregnancy, I started writing these updates and just e-mail them to myself, since I wasn’t planning to announce pregnancy until least the first trimester had passed. Well, that has turned into me getting to 36 weeks pregnant and I STILL have yet to upload the early entries (or ANY entries) yet to my actual blog. Making it a goal to work on that today. The joys and a realities of a 3rd time mom.

I wrote my last update right before I had my last prenatal checkup. At the checkup at 34 weeks, my belly is measuring 37 weeks, and baby was no longer breech at that time. My midwife called his position transverse, but his body was lying diagonally with his head down low by my left hip and his butt up high underneath my right ribs. She said this was progress in the right direction, but would not yet call that a head down position. She said I could stop doing the spinning babies inversion technique (like lying on an ironing board for 20 minutes a day!), but to continue seeing the chiropractor. I am pleased with the update that baby has made progress in moving towards the right position, but still nervous that he may not completely flip into a head down position. My next appointment is in a few days, and I will have an ultrasound to check baby’s position. Prayers that he is fully head down at that time, as I will be 36 1/2 weeks at that point.
I am still technically on activity restriction, but will be officially cleared to resume my normal workouts once I am 37 weeks. I fully plan to take advantage of that, even if it means I will only get a few weeks of workouts in before baby is born. Better something than nothing. Especially since I will have to be on complete restriction for the first 6 weeks postpartum.

We took maternity photos at 35 weeks! I had Eric take them of me, and then brought the tripod so that he could get into a few of the photos with me. Winter helped out with that, by pushing the shutter button and telling us to “cheese!” I’m super happy with how they turned out! We will be doing professional newborn photography though, as that is something I want to leave to the hands of professionals. I’m excited to use Melissa Yocum, but not thrilled with the $600 price tag. But it’ll be worth every penny when we have those beautiful photos.

Sadly, I caught my first (and hopefully last!) cold of the pregnancy. The last cold I had was during Christmas last year, so that is a pretty good stretch without any colds! In fact, I distinctly remember when I was pregnant with Chloe that I had 3 colds during her pregnancy. I am sure that this pandemic very much has everything to do with the fact that I haven’t gotten sick….between all of the social distancing, hand washing, and germ management, I feel like NOBODY has gotten sick these past months. Now that both girls are back in school, I believe Winter picked something up and passed it to me and Chloe. Thankfully both Winter and Chloe were pretty darn minor, but I feel like I am on the struggle bus. The first two days I tried everything possible to avoid getting sick….drinking copious amounts of apple cider vinegar, swallowing fresh chopped garlic whole, elderberry syrup, the whole nine! Sadly, I just smelled heavily of garlic for two days, and still ended up with a full blown congestion and runny nose anyway. So, I am just HOME. When you’re sick with any kind of symptom during this pandemic season, that is your only option…stay home! So I am home and miserable. Hoping that I will be officially healthy and symptom-free by the time of my appointment next week, otherwise I’ll have to bump it out.

My age: 34

How far along: 36 weeks pregnant

How big is baby: the baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce at approx 18 3/4 inches and 6+ pounds. It’ll be interesting to see what baby measures on my ultrasound next week.

Gender: Boy

Events of the past few weeks: 
We finished out the pool season with a bang…. Also, over labor day weekend, we helped my brother and sister-in-law do some unpacking in their new home (they just moved to CO from CA). We are back in the swing of school and after-school activities. Going to the chiropractor a lot. Took maternity photos.

Symptoms: 
Belly is huge, noticing that I occasionally waddle when I walk, occasional heartburn, belly just hurts. Over it!

Workout & Training Summary: 
Still just walking or doing the elliptical trainer. I also have been doing some super light weight upper body weights. Like 10 lbs! It feels good to pretend like I’m lifting weights a bit.

How workouts are feeling:
Excited and anxious to start doing some “REAL” workouts again! This walking is for the birds!

Nutrition, Protein & Calories:
Staying on track and hitting my goals! This week of being sick has been a little off, though….like mainly chicken noodle soup and popsicles.

How is my body changing:
Belly is measuring WAY huge, like 3 weeks ahead. My body is still feeling overall small, but definitely noticing muscle loss.

Sleep:
Sleeping very well, outside of this week. This week it’s just bad because of my congestion and runny nose. Hoping to kick this thing and get back to solid sleeping again.

Food cravings:
None. Although I have eating multiple cans of chicken noodle soup this week, and realized I actually really like it!

Food aversions: 
None.

Movement: Baby is getting huge, so movements are mostly rolls or occasional jabs. It feels like an alien lives in my belly. Very active alien.

Best Moment of the Week:
Mornings in bed with my girls. Every morning Eric brings both girls in my bed to lay with me for about 10 minutes before we get up. This is hands-down always the best part of my days. I love that they cuddle me and talk to me in these special morning moments.

What I’m looking forward to:
Kicking this runny nose & feeling better. Also, looking forward to lifting weights again! So soon!

What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to:
My belly aching and also not enjoying my raw runny nose.

What I miss: 
Being not pregnant. I am in the final stretch!

Next appointment: Monday, Sept 14 @ 3pm for ultrasound & appointment.

Bump comparison photos:

So crazy to see how different my belly looks at the same stage of 3 very different pregnancies!

Here’s a little look back at the baby’s growth over the past 6 weeks:

Baby #3 – Pregnancy Update – 30 Weeks, 31 Weeks, 32 Weeks, 33 Weeks, 34 Weeks Pregnant

PREGNANCY WEEKS 30-34 – August 1, 2020

This past month has been pretty smooth sailing, for which I am grateful. I haven’t been having Braxton Hicks contractions really AT ALL, with the exception for a few random minor ones here or there. I also haven’t had the blood pressure or fainting issues that I had experienced last month. Overall, 8 months pregnant is proving to be better for me than 7 months pregnant!
I did do some heart testing at week 30. After the fainting issues I was having, they ran all kinds of extra testing on my blood and everything came back normal. The other testing we wanted to do was some cardiology testing on my heart. I received my Holter monitor and wore it for 48 hours during week 30. That was quite an experience, but thankfully not as bad as I had thought it might be. It was waterproof, so I could still take showers, thankfully. I am still awaiting the results from that 48 hour test.

 
Also, we found out at my 32 week appointment during an ultrasound that baby is still breech. Yay. So my midwife suggested spinning babies and seeing the chiropractor. I’ve been to the chiropractor 3 times this week already, so I hope that is helping encourage baby to flip. I also have been doing spinning babies, specifically the inversion where I lie on an ironing board for 20 minutes one to two times a day. This is sooooo not fun and it’s not my favorite. The midwife said that at 37 weeks I will have another ultrasound to check baby’s position. If he is still breech at that time, we would consider doing a manual version, an ECV. Hopefully we just don’t even get to that point! Please turn, baby!!!

Also, baby has a name! All four of us have a name that we like, so I think we are going to go for it! Now we need a middle name. The girls have been calling baby by his name, which is super cute. Makes it feel more real.

My age: 34

How far along: 34 weeks pregnant

How big is baby: the baby is the size of a cantaloupe, approx 5 ppunds and 18 inches, although based off my ultrasound last week, baby is likely closer to 5 1/2 pounds at this point since he was 5 pounds a week ago.

Gender: Boy

Events of the past few weeks: 
Summer time has come to an end, so the final weeks before school started, we really soaked up summertime. Lots of pool appointments! Two weeks ago, school finally began. It has been a 5 month break since school suddenly came to a halt back in mid March, due to the pandemic. It has been so exciting to be back to school, back on routine, etc! Chloe is doing preK four mornings a week and Winter is doing five days a week full days at her charter school. Each of the girls are thrilled to be back to school. And for me, it’s been amazing to have the daily structure back of 1. wake up early & feed the kids, 2. do two school drop offs for each of the girls, 3. get to the gym & run errands, 4. do first kid school pickup, 5. spend time at home with Chloe, 6. do second kid pickup, and then finish out our day. The busy structure of school being back in session is SO POSITIVE for me, as I feel like I have a purpose and drive again.

Also, lots of chiropractic visits happening too. Also, been going to outdoor church services on Sundays, which is so nice to be “back at church,” even if it’s not our home church.

Symptoms: 
Growing belly, to the point it feels like it could burst. Occasional heartburn. Starting to waddle a tad. Hemorrhoids, funnnnnnn! Tired.

Workout & Training Summary: 
Since I have been on activity restriction for a full 7 weeks now, I am still just walking, walking, walking! Which kinda kills me. I miss lifting and “real exercise” so much! The midwife says I can resume my workouts at 37 weeks, so we are coming up on that! I look forward to lifting again.

How workouts are feeling:
Even walking is getting hard, I will be honest. It feels like my water is going to break. Sometimes I will switch to slow paced elliptical machine instead of the treadmill since it is low impact compared to pounding my feet walking.

Nutrition, Protein & Calories:
This past month has been more hit or miss with my nutrition. During month 7 I was solidly tracking every single day and hitting my calories and protein goals. Month 8 has been more hit or miss. I actually just decided this week again that I want to solidly hit those food goals daily to feel better again. So I’m a few days into a strict “diet” of clean food, no processed foods, and hitting those calories and protein goals. I am still getting a gallon of water daily.

How is my body changing:
Huge belly, lost a lot of muscle, feel “huge”.

Sleep:
Sleeping solidly. I’m very thankful for that. Some nights I get up once or twice to use the bathroom, other nights I actually sleep through the entire night,

Food cravings:
None.

Food aversions: 
None.

Movement: Huge rolls, movement, etc. My entire belly shifts around.

Best Moment of the Week:
My kids loving on me.

What I’m looking forward to:
Looking forward to working out again soon!

What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to:
Aches, hemorrhoids, and just BEING PREGNANT. 

What I miss: 
Feeling quick and light. I miss exercise too. A lot.

Next appointment: Tuesday, Sept 1 @ 10am for 34 week appointment.

Bump comparison photos from my previous pregnancies:

Second Trimester Collage – Baby #3

Here is a collage to compare the weekly photos from weeks 14-28 of this third pregnancy. My second trimester was filled with all kinds of eventful experiences, some good, but a lot bad. Happy to say goodbye to the second trimester, if I’m being truly honest. Hoping the third trimester is kinder to this poor momma!

Positives: Finding out you are a boy! Belly growth, baby growth, spending extra time with family due to COVID life, announcing the pregnancy, seeing some family for visits.

Negatives: Fainting, extreme fatigue, pre-term labor scare, hospitalization, no exercise allowed, food poisoning, low energy.

Here’s a look back on each weekly bump photo:

Baby #3 – Pregnancy Update – 25 Weeks, 26 Weeks, 27 Weeks, 28 Weeks, 29 Weeks Pregnant – Fainting, Preterm Labor Scare, Hospitalization

PREGNANCY WEEKS 25-29 – July 25, 2020

Well, so much for getting these updates written every two weeks. Let’s just say, this past month has been eventful, crazy, and not necessarily in great ways. I have a lot to catch up on as far as things that happened during this pregnancy during weeks 25-29.

First of all, FATIGUE set in hardcore around 22/23 weeks pregnant. To the point that I just felt like this was not your typical pregnancy fatigue for this stage of pregnancy. I was finding it hard to get anything accomplished during my days, and spent much of my afternoons completely in bed because I was feeling so wiped out. I mentioned this to my mom, and she suggested that it sounded as though I possibly could have an iron deficiency, causing anemia, very common in pregnancy. I found this to be very hopeful information, because if that were the case, my energy could be restored once I began supplementing iron. At my next prenatal visit, they ran blood work, and I was kind of sad to find out that my iron and hemoglobin levels were in fact NOT low, and they were within normal limits. This left me feeling sad and hopeless as to what was causing me to be so extremely fatigued. I never really got any answers, but I did also go buy a blood sugar test kit and checked my blood to see if I was possibly dealing with that. Nope! And in fact, I was so desperate to find out what was “wrong” with me, that I even went to a clinic and got a COVID-19 test, to rule that out. It was negative. I never really figured out what was causing me to be so drained and wiped out.

Second of all, I had a fun issue arise: FAINTING. Oh boy. I was right at the end of week 24, about to hit 25 weeks when this lovely occurrence first happened. I went for a morning walk around the block, perhaps 10 minutes. When I was almost home, I started feeling intense braxton hicks contractions and started feeling very hot and faint very suddenly. I got inside my house as quickly as possible, and fell into the chair right in the front room. Next thing that happened; I yelled for Winter to bring me water & then I lost consciousness and completely blacked out. Next thing I remember was waking up and regaining consciousness to Eric frantically on the phone with my mom, a fan blasting on me, a wet wash cloth on my forehead, and Eric was pouring gatorade down my throat (which was also dripping all down my neck and chest). He was so scared but he must have found me and acted quickly. Thank goodness he was working from home. What was extra scary about these first few moments of waking up? The fact that my vision was completely gone and everything was completely black. I yelled, “Eric, I can’t see, I can’t see! Everything is black!” Over the next minute or two, my vision slowly started returning. That was an extremely scary experience for me. I was very emotional and scared about what had happened to me. We never really determined why this happened to me, but from that day forward, I alway drink an entire 32 ounce water bottle as well as a Nature Valley protein bar IN BED each morning before I even set my feet on the floor. 

The fainting issue was pretty much taken care of…..or so I thought! At 28 weeks, it happened again, sadly! And this time, I couldn’t pinpoint any reason (like empty stomach or overheating), which made it feel extra scary. One Sunday morning I was just sitting on my kids’ bedroom floor cleaning up and sorting some books. I started feeling weird and went downstairs and sat down right away and lost all consciousness and vision again. This time, I couldn’t get my vision to return for quite a few minutes. That was super scary being lucid for that. Eric was researching on his phone and told me to put my head between my knees. I did this, and finally–that did the trick and my vision started returning. Again, I was hopeless and very emotional as this was a scary experience. And the fact that I had been sitting down and had already eaten that morning left me clueless as to why this happened. In fact, I felt so worried that this kind of thing could happen to me while driving a car, which meant I could potentially crash and kill myself and my kids if that were to happen. So, I stopped driving for about a week. Now, I have realized that it’s not exactly practical for me to NEVER drive a car again for the remainder of this pregnancy, so I just have been avoiding any high speed roads, that way I can pull over quickly if anything were to happen suddenly. My mom thinks this fainting issue is a low blood pressure issue or possibly a cardiac issue. I am going to have some heart testing done to see if that is the cause of my fainting.

Ok, the third big thing to update about: PRETERM LABOR SCARE. When I was 27 weeks pregnant, my sister and her family came to visit from Indiana for a week. While they were staying with us, I was having really intense braxton hicks contractions that wouldn’t stop. In addition, that evening I also thought I could have possibly lost some amniotic fluid. Between those two things, we thought it best to call the nurse line and see what they thought. They told me I needed to go right away to get monitored in labor and delivery at the hospital. So, we left that Monday night at 8:30 or 9 pm, hopeful that my water had not broken. They admitted me, had me get dressed in the hospital gown, and hooked me up to the fetal heart rate monitor as well as a contraction monitor. They did a few tests and thankfully my water had not broken. But—what was a concern was these contractions. They were coming regularly and they were not going away. They gave me a shot in my arm to attempt to stop contractions. Didn’t work. Took a few procardia pills to try to stop contractions. Didn’t work. Got another shot in my arm to try to stop contractions. Didn’t work. Took more procardia pills…..didn’t work. Finally, they wanted to give me steroid shots to help the baby’s lung develop quicker if he indeed were going to be born prematurely. I got two steroid shots, one 24 hours after the first. Little did I know that I would be in the hospital Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully they eventually got the contractions to stop on Tuesday. I didn’t ever think something like this could happen to me. It was extremely scary to be hospitalized thinking that I could possibly deliver a tiny 2 pound super premature baby. I am so grateful that he was not yet born and he is still cooking in my belly for as long as possible.

With this preterm labor scare, I have now been put on activity restriction. No working out! All I am allowed to do at this point is easy walking. That’s it! Nothing more. It’s honestly hard for me….but at the same time, I was super scared to think of having such a tiny baby who would have to be in the NICU for months on end. If stopping working out and taking it easy helps my baby have a better chance of staying in and growing to full size and gestation, then it’s worth it. So, ever since 27 weeks, I have not been exercising, outside of walks. My midwife says once I get around 37 weeks, I can resume exercise. That’s so far away, but I will make it!

Another final thing I wanted to bring up in this update: at my 28 week prenatal checkup, I had an ultrasound to check my cervix. It was a follow-up to my anatomy ultrasound, at which time I had partial placenta previa. My cervix was partially blocked by my placenta. Thankfully, by the time of my 28 week ultrasound, my placenta had moved up and away from my cervix, so no more issues with placenta previa. But, the ultrasound tech did mention that I had a condition where my amniotic fluid levels are borderline too high. I did not even know too much fluid could be an issue. Apparently there are all kinds of risks associated with too much amniotic fluid. This is something they will keep an eye on and hopefully doesn’t cause any of those issues or risks. Yay, just another thing to add to the list of things going wrong with this pregnancy! Cannot catch a break!
Ok, that is a lot to update about. I’m sure there are other things I could add, but I will leave it there. Such a whirlwind….I just don’t know why this pregnancy is so hard. This baby is making me work for him.

My age: 34

How far along: 29 weeks pregnant

How big is baby: the baby is the size of an eggplant, approx 2.5 – 3 pounds 

Gender: Boy

Events of the past few weeks: 
Eric’s parents visited the end of June. Winter had her Batons recital outdoors after many months of zoom batons class. It was so special to see her get to perform! My sister and her family came and visited for a week in July. I spent time in the hospital. We have been swimming at the pool a lot, as we bought the summer pool pass.

Symptoms: 
Braxton hicks contractions, fainting, low energy, exhaustion, heartburn, growing belly.

Workout & Training Summary: 
Complete activity restriction. Yay! Walking.

How workouts are feeling:
It’s hard to not be able to work out. That’s my mental stress release. But, it’s worth it!

Nutrition, Protein & Calories:
I am eating very strictly on point with calories and protein. After my first fainting experience, I decided to up my calories and protein. I am eating 2000-2300 calories a day and 125-150 grams protein. I have been staying very on track!

How is my body changing:
Belly is growing, but my body already feels like softer and my muscle is fading.

Sleep:
Sleeping well. Thankfully.

Food cravings:
None. But eating a lot of banana/PB2/protein smoothies, mangoes, greek yogurt.

Food aversions: 
None.

Movement: Tons of movement. This baby is super active.

Best Moment of the Week:
When  I got out of the hospital, I felt SUCH A RELIEF to be home and still pregnant.
What I’m looking forward to:
Staying pregnant and keeping this baby growing.

What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to:
Aches, hemorrhoids, and just BEING PREGNANT. 

What I miss: 
Exercise. But that’s ok. It’s worth it.

Next appointment: August 3 @ 1pm for 30 week prenatal checkup.

Pregnancy comparison photos:

Baby #3 – Pregnancy Update – 23 Weeks & 24 Weeks Pregnant

PREGNANCY WEEKS 23 & 24 – June 20, 2020

Welcome to 6 months pregnant! Six months just sounds so much better than five months. I know that sounds silly, but because my belly is pretty popped out, when people ask me how many months I am, saying “5 months” just sounds like such a long way left to go for how “big” my belly is. Anyhow, now I’m officially 6 months.

I have started experiencing some pretty extreme exhaustion in the past few weeks. I don’t know if I’m just getting to that later point in pregnancy, or if it’s the summer heat, who knows. All I know, is that I am so wiped out all of the time. It’s rough feeling this way, and it’s humbling to have to pick and choose what I’m going to exert my energy doing. I suppose I am just around the corner from being in the 3rd and final trimester, so perhaps this is just the way it’s going to be from here on out.

My age: 34

How far along: 23 & 24 weeks pregnant

How big is baby: the size of an ear of corn (23 weeks) and the size of a cantelope melon (24 weeks), approx 12 inches long and 1.3-1.5 pounds.

Gender: Boy

Events of the past two weeks: 
In the past few weeks, I have been at the gym daily, which feels amazing. I truly love having somewhere to go everyday. We also got to go to the Denver Zoo for the first time, as it reopened after 3 months of closure. The only thing I did not like about the zoo experience was that they were strictly requiring (and enforcing) mask wearing. It’s WAY to hot out to be wearing a mask on my face OUTSIDE! The whole mask thing drives me insane. And playgrounds are now open, so the kids and I have been hitting up the parks a lot lately. We also got our pool set up in the backyard, so the girls constantly want to swim now.

Symptoms: 
Belly feels huge one day, and then suddenly it feels like it shrinks again. Weird. But overall, belly is growing and big, while my body doesn’t feel big and growing otherwise, thankfully. Heartburn has reared it’s ugly head. I can literally get heartburn even if I haven’t eaten anything at all. Finally bought some Tums, long overdue. Extreme exhaustion and just feeling “wiped out.” Feeling slow and pregnant and big. Tired. No energy.

Workout & Training Summary: 
Been at the gym 7 days a week for the past 3 weeks now! On Sundays, my usual rest day, I just do a bit of easy cardio. Otherwise I’ve been sticking to my main schedule: heavy squats, 2x upper body, heavy deadlifts, high volume leg day, and a full body day.

Workout & Training details (both weeks were about the same, although the second week, I only did deadlifts at 135, not 185)
Mon – Heavy squats (squats @ 155)Tues – Upper body lifting 
Wed – High volume leg day (mainly squats, did 155 lb squats)  Thur – Upper body liftingFri – Heavy deadlift day, (deadlifts @ 185)
Sat – Full body day, mostly all barbell stuff, squats, military presses, etc.

How workouts are feeling:
Feeling strong, but also getting fatigued much quicker. I think I realize that I am going to have to start cutting down a bit on my heavy days…like maybe 135 for squats and 135 or 155 for deadlifts. Going really heavy isn’t feeling as good as it was before. I will see how this goes if I choose to go this route.

Nutrition, Protein & Calories:
I have really been focusing more of healthy foods in the past few weeks, with an emphasis on getting my water in, vegetables and fruits in, and limiting sweets to only 1 day per week. I’m still also tracking (mostly, though some days I lose track), but this emphasis on cleaner foods is forcing me to get some more nutrients in my system for baby. I feel accomplished by going this route. The limiting sweets to 1 day per week is hard, but I’m using those calories on more nutritious choices in it’s place. 

How is my body changing:
Big belly, center of gravity has moved forward.

Sleep:
We got our new king sized bed all set up! So much fun to have the extra room. Sleep is pretty well, minus a few really bad nights of insomnia, which is SUPER frustrating.

Food cravings:
Turkey sandwiches. I need to ask my midwife her opinion on cold deli meat during pregnancy. 

Food aversions: 
Meals. I just don’t feel like eating dinner or anything that feels like a “meal” lately. I’m struggling a lot with “nothing sounds good.” It’s annoying.

Movement: This baby has gotten a lot bigger and stronger, because his movements are insane! He does full rolling and acrobatics constantly. It’s crazy to see my entire belly jolt around.

Best Moment of the Week:
Cuddling in bed in the mornings with my kids when they wake up. I have made it a daily requirement that they must come lie down and cuddle me every morning for at least a few minutes before they can go downstairs. It truly is the best part of my day each day. This, I will miss once we eventually get back to a school schedule again come August. (IF school does indeed go back, due to Coronavirus!)

What I’m looking forward to:
Going swimming soon! The pools officially open in 2 days. Also I’m excited to go back to my old gym, 24 Hour Fitness. They officially reopen on June 22. I will likely continue at my little temporary gym, Balance, but am excited for the normalcy of 24 again. The only downside to 24 is that they will make you sign up for 1 hour appointments for working out, whereas at Balance I can show up anytime and stay as long as I like! So we shall see. Either way, looking forward to returning to my old gym.

What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to:
Getting some energy back would be nice….but I think it may be gone.

What I miss: 
Feeling the energy of my old self.

Next appointment: June 24, 2020 at 10:30 am for a 24 week appointment.

Pregnancy comparison photo: