28 Weeks 2 Days

Finally I have surpassed the 28 week milestone. I have set little mini-goals throughout this pregnancy to pass the many weeks more quickly, and 28 weeks was kind of the last one I had in my mind. I guess my next goal would be to get to 31 weeks so I can stop my Lovenox injections. After that it would probably be 37 weeks, so I can be considered full term. Time is definitely passing more quickly. I’m growing so quickly now that it’s noticeable to people who have only been away from me for a week. I’m also starting to feel more in touch with this baby because of the changes he’s going through.

In the past 2-3 days the movement I feel from the baby has changed from kicks and pokes to a much more pronounced rolling and pressing feeling. Although many of his kicks were visible from the outside, the rolls are just amazing. It is almost like I can picture him as I watch my tummy contort and move from one side to the other. I’m not yet able to identify parts of the body or anything, but I will see a large movement that changes the entire shape of my bump. I am still having trouble grasping the concept that in just a couple months, I will be holding a baby, but this movement is making it a bit easier to believe that I'm not just having abdominal rumblings.

We are slowly but surely acquiring the many items that will be necessary to care for and feed this tiny bundle of joy. I am still at a loss as to what this baby will be wearing most of the time in his early days here. I have swaddle blankets, sleep sacks, footed, long sleeved onesie sleepers, etc, but I’m not sure which if any will be his preferred sleeping gear. I also have many clothes, but I’m unclear on things such as whether pants will be a necessity with a short sleeved onesie in the middle of summer. I am enough of a planner that I would prefer to have too many options than too few options, and I would prefer not to have to shop for clothes for the little one when I’m just trying to survive his first couple of weeks, so I’m a bit confused about exactly what to do. I also am confused about sizes. Obviously newborn is very small (and most people say there should only be a few things in this size), but is the next size 0-3 or 3-6, and is a size “3 months” equivalent to a 0-3 or a 3-6. Clearly the 6 month sized items would be too big for a newborn, but could I pull off some slightly larger items in a pinch or do I need to have enough newborn things to actually get him through. This is only the beginning of my confusion. I have several questions about all the other categories of items too. It’s making me a bit crazy.

The hives/rash or whatever on my face is beginning to clear up. It’s mostly gone actually, but still a bit itchy and noticeable if you look closely. It has now spread thoroughly to my legs, arms, ankles wrists and hands. I could go completely insane trying not to scratch this. The doctor suspects poison ivy, but I can’t imagine that is the case since I have not spent much time in any areas that even could have poison ivy. No matter what though he said this is atopic dermatitis of some sort and we are basically stuck letting it run it’s course. I would suspect PUPPs, but it seems my husband may have a few splotches of it as well, plus it started on my face and I think PUPPs is uncommon on the face. Other than this inconvenience, I’m feeling really good this week. No real complaints. YAY! So far the third trimester is my favorite (although people tell me that will change in a few weeks, I’m sure they’re right).

27 weeks 2 days

For my 27 week update I want to document a few of my symptoms for my own benefit later on. I am still feeling pretty good. I certainly don’t feel un-pregnant, but I don’t feel miserable either. My biggest issues are the following:

• Constipation (or just general difficulty in that area). It doesn’t matter what I eat or how much I drink, I have trouble there.
• Heartburn – This is a constant battle for me. Again, it doesn’t seem to matter at all what I eat or if I lay down too soon or stay sitting up, etc. I just have this constant burning of acid in the back of my throat. I have found that gum is a very good remedy for this. I’m not sure if it actually helps it or just makes it less noticeable, but it is my go-to when the heartburn starts. I just can’t pop 10 Tums every time I feel it and it takes about 10 to do any good.
• Sore feet – I have found that I simply cannot stand up and walk around and do errands like I could before I was pregnant. My body will tolerate about ½ the number of hours on my feet that it used to and that number is dwindling. Every weekend, I am nearly unable to walk by the end of the day simply from being up and around all day.
• Hives/Rash/Eczema? - A recent, and very unfortunate development. I woke up last Wednesday with what appeared to be a rash all over the right side of my face. This evolved into large swollen welts by Thursday. It really looked and felt like hives. They itch like crazy. Over the weekend it started to remind me of eczema, but I cannot be sure. I will endure anything to get this baby here and in the grand scheme, this symptom is very minor, but from a vanity perspective, it has taken a toll on me. It looks like a very large, severe acne breakout. In addition to my face, I have other areas which are now getting itchy bumps such as my legs, shoulders, inside my elbow, etc. I also have two common eczema sites that have flared up. I am going to the doctor today, but I really don’t expect a resolution. I’m just going to rule out anything that could be threatening to the pregnancy.
• Lack of hunger – This is kind of convenient since my whole life I’ve required food every couple of hours. It seems the baby is pushing in my stomach or something and I just don’t have the desire to eat as much. I’m definitely still taking in a good amount of calories, because I kind of like to eat, so I’m still doing it, it’s just nice not to have to deal with being hungry every 2 hours.

I think that’s all the main symptoms. I do have a lot of trouble bending over and I’ve become annoyingly clumsy. I also struggle turning over in bed, getting in and out of the car, and other small things like that.

I am starting to feel like nesting. I’m sure this isn’t the tell-tale instinct that signals the end of a pregnancy, but I’m overcome with an urge to get ready for baby by cleaning out closets and drawers, purchasing items for caring for him, and generally get the house ready to go.

I’ve been browsing books that will give me some guidance on the first several weeks of having the baby at home. I’ve heard of several books but I’m having trouble picking them because of the fact that there is some seriously controversial stuff written about newborn care. I have heard good things about Baby Wise from real people, but when I read the reviews, there were nearly as many horrible reviews as there were great reviews. This concerns me, but I do like the idea of structure, which this book seems to help design. I also have heard good things about the Happiest Baby on the Block, but some say it’s only good for the first few weeks and generally the information is pretty light. I think I’ll get both of these books and try to extract the good stuff from them both and ignore the advice I find irrelevant or inappropriate. I suppose women had to feel their way through this experience without books for decades, so I’m sure everything will be fine.