Pregnancy: The Third Trimester Part 1

Good morning, world! This morning after I sat down with my coffee, it just felt right to blog. It's been a little while since I updated you all on how things are going with the pregnancy, so how about an update? As of this morning, I am 30 weeks pregnant, within the third trimester. Baby Moger is growing fast and his brain is making all sorts of connections. His size is likened to that of a cabbage, about 3 pounds and the length of a laptop? (16 in.) It seems like every day he is capable of something new. It's comforting to know that if he was born today, his chance of survival is great because his lungs are able to function outside of the uterus. If you're interested, this is what I look like. Here are my previous pregnancy posts.

 

Since my last update I've had two doctors appointments and taken two classes. The appointment following my "big ultrasound" was at 24 weeks. They had me take the glucose tolerance test... easily my least fun appointment. I had to drink a bottle of this orange liquid that was honestly so thick and sweeter than syrup. It was disgusting and made me feel awful. Especially because I'll be the first to admit I've had more than my fair share of sweets this pregnancy. I was freaking out that I would test positive for gestational diabetes. They make you wait an hour before drawing your blood and of course you can't eat or drink anything. Afterwards we went and got some eggs for breakfast but I felt bad all day, surely I had failed. Luckily I called for the results and my blood sugar & protein levels measured perfectly in the middle of the road. What!?! I never want to do that again.

 

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My most recent appointment was on Monday. We're in the process of meeting with the other doctors in the office because their on-call rotation dictates who delivers the baby and they want us to have a comfort level with each. The woman we saw at my last appointment was my favorite. She was easy to talk to, asked the right questions and scheduled us another ultrasound for my next appointment. YES! Usually the 20 week ultrasound is your last one unless something is wrong. But nothing is wrong (that we know of). Basically my uterus is measuring long, which could mean that he's going to be a big baby. Considering that low birth weight is a negative thing, a high birth weight has to be good, right? Right. They may have to re-calculate my due date, but even that is unlikely. His heartbeat was in the 150's, perfectly healthy and normal.

 

All of that makes a lot of sense considering how I've been feeling. He is getting so strong! The kicks and jabs I feel are honestly frightening sometimes. :) I started experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions a few weeks ago too. They don't hurt, but I notice when they happen. It just feels like everything is so tight and I become increasingly aware of my heart rate. I've been getting these "practice" contractions about twice an hour, but irregularly.

 

At the end of my second trimester I had a burst of energy. I wanted to get everything done. I cleaned, organized, wrote lists, worked on my weddings a ton and would stay out until 11:30 working on projects at Brew. I was tired, but it felt good to be productive. Now I'm sort of settling down into more realistic version of pregnant me. Other symptoms include heartburn, lower back pain, and hunger. Yep, I'm hungry all. the. time. Oh, and then there was that time I lost my lunch all over the front of my shirt, like a first class infant. Yep, because I love you all so much I'm willing to share that on the Internet. I was in my car (luckily) and then it just all came up. Disgusting. Gosh this blog is glamorous. ;)

 

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I've been spending lots of time with my labor ball and big pillows. Slowly chugging along at the baby list. Reading books. Organizing the nursery. Preparing our home and hearts. 10 weeks and counting. Baby boy, I cannot wait to hold you in my arms. Thinking about that moment makes all of this SO worth it.

 

If there is any interest, I'll post a re-cap of the baby care essentials class I took, and the natural childbirth education classes I'm in the middle of soon. They have been so amazing! Thankful for teachers and mentors every where I turn.

Sincerely,

Rachel