Pregnancy update - 30 weeks

 

Wow, ok, so I don't only feel huge, I look huge as well!

How am I feeling?

Sick! Jeff and I are still sick and we're just lying in our sofa and not doing anything all day...

But as far as pregnancy symptoms I'm feeling fine. I did start to experience some (serious) dizziness, sometimes paired with a very rapid heartbeat. Sometimes I'm not able to walk straight and I even had to sit down so I wouldn't fall. But I'm getting used to it :-) My doctor wasn't too concerned and he told me not to worry about it.

Sleep?

This is going pretty good. Maybe it's because of the sickness but I've slept through most of the nights lately! 

Food?

Just normal. Maybe I eat a little less because of the sickness? 

Weight gain?

10,5 kg

Movement?

Yes! I still feel like our baby girl will be a calm baby because she never moves for a long period of time. When I'm around people I think she hears them and tends to move a bit more often, but it's still very hard for other people to feel her because she just stops as soon as somebody tries to feel my bump :-)

I did start to feel a hard "bump" in my bump (hehe) at times, I think it's maybe a little foot? Jeff has felt it too and got pretty excited to feel that there's really something in there ;-)

Fun moment of the week?

This past Sunday we couldn't go to church so Jeff decided we'd have some worship at home. Almost as soon as he started playing his guitar, baby girl started to kick and turn around like crazy! This continued for over 3 songs, which is the longest I've EVER felt her move! It was so funny because my whole belly just kept on moving, it wasn't difficult for Jeff to see her dancing around in there :-)

I think she loves her daddy and her daddy was sooo proud that she was moving because of him! 

Just for comparison, this is a picture from our early pregnancy shoot with my friend Jo - which was around 20 weeks!

28 week update

How am I feeling?
I'm soooo tired! I could sleep all day long. But my doctor tested my blood and apparently I have low iron levels. I'm just hoping it's going to get better with some medication.
In addition to that, its getting harder to bow down, for example to tie my shoes! Luckily I've got some great flats that don't need to be tied ;-)

Sleep?
It's about the same as last week. Usually I sleep pretty well but about 2-3 nights a week I'll just wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep for the next 2 hours. It's not very funny but it could explain the increasing tiredness...

Food?
I'm not often hungry but I crave chocolates all the time. 
I've started drinking warm milk with honey before going to bed to help with acid reflux. It's not too bad yet but I want to prevent any discomfort I can!

Weight gain?
9kg

Movement? 
Yes, lots of it! Still not as much that I would say she's soooo active but I feel her multiple times a day. It lasts for about 3 kicks or so, which is fine because I don't need painful ribs on top of my tiredness :-)

How big is baby?
38cm. THIRTY-EIGHT, people! Only 12cm to go and she grew 10 cm this past month! I was in shock when the doctor told me she already is this big :-)
She weighs 1kg300 and will probably gain about 2 more kgs by the time she gets born. She's not a small baby! I'm so excited to meet her...

Fun moment of the week:
Jeff buying his first clothes for our daughter!
We went to a store and I thought I'd buy something for baby girl when all of a sudden Jeff was standing beside me, a bit shy and insecure. I said: "what's wrong baby?" He was holding something pink and said: "I really, really think this is cute, do you think *insert baby girl's name* would like it?"
Uhm, I melted right there and then - didn't even look at what he was holding and told him that he could get her anything he wanted because she would love anything her daddy picked out for her!
And you know what? He didn't even take that onesie, he chose two other ones. I think I'll go back to the store and get the one he held first because I loved his face when he was holding it :-) 

27 weeks

So I don't have a picture for this week 'cause lets face it... When my husband gets home it's already dark and we don't have good lighting. The only time we can take the pics is during the weekend and I might have slept through most of it. 

Anyway: we're in the third and last trimester, baby!

How am I feeling?
I still feel fine most of the time. The only thing I'm really struggling with is breathing! I think baby girl has crept up a little higher and it's really getting harder to breathe at times... It's the worst at night after I've had dinner but sometimes I struggle all day long. 13 more weeks ;)

Sleep?
This is a tough one. I am always tired lately and I sleep pretty well - until something wakes me in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep for 2 hours straight. I don't even manage to snooze a bit in those two hours, I'm just wide awake and praying that I can get back to sleep! One night I was SO so SO so tired that I even started to cry because I was so frustrated. It's ridiculous, really...

Food?
I'm not snacking as much anymore because there's just no room left. For lunch I like to grab a few crackers with some cheese or maybe some soup, but I'm definitely eating less. And I try not to eat too much for dinner so I'll have some breathing room left ;)

Weight gain?
Around 8kg.

Movement?
I hadn't felt baby move a lot for a couple of days and I started to get a bit worried. But as soon as I told someone about it, she ofcourse started to kick again. It could be that she was a bit tired or it could be that she was positioned with her back against my belly so I didn't feel her kicks as much. I'm just glad to feel her again :)

Fun moment?
* We had a lot of visitors this week (4 days, 4 groups of visitors!) and they all commented on how pregnant I look. My mom said my belly moved a bit up and to the front since last week. I'm really bad at seeing how pregnant I am so I'll take her word for it.

* We had a little tour at the hospital this week and saw the birthing rooms and the hospital rooms we can choose from when we go in for the birth. I was sooo nervous but the midwives were so incredibly sweet and comforting. I'm sure they'll take great care of me when the time comes, they really reassured me. A little downside is that I couldn't sleep due to all the excitement that came with the tour and the information we got...

* Oh and people are really trying to find out the name! We told them it's a long name and nobody seems to believe us haha :) We also told them that our baby girl has 3 names other than her last name, which they also don't want to believe hahaha! They'll have to wait and see when she's born :)

This Friday we're going back for an ultrasound and I can't wait to find out how our daughter is doing!

26 weeks - Pregnancy update

How am I feeling?
I'm completely used to being pregnant now. I still think people don't see my pregnant belly, until I look in the mirror and notice the huge bump. I feel good, energetic, sometimes a bit hormonal maybe... And starting to get annoyed with certain people. This deserves a post all to itself but here's a heads up: PLEASE, do not touch my bump when I am eating. I really don't mind people touching my belly but when I start looking like I'm going to throw my burger in your face - you better back off! I also get quite annoyed when kids keep repeating how my baby is eating when I am eating, or that I can't eat fries because babies don't eat fries, or that they want to hug my belly all.the.time because they want to hug my baby all.the.time... The thing with kids is that they just start to sound like a broken record, repeating the same sentence time and time again because they are so excited. Listen, after a couple of months it starts to bug me. So please stop...

Food?
As I said, I just feel completely normal! No crazy cravings, not even an abnormal appetite. The only thing I noticed is that I feel so full after just 2 scoops of ice cream, whereas I used to be able to down an entire pint of B&J... But I guess that's a good thing ;-)
Oh and I need my peace when eating, as you may have noticed in my little rant... I like it to be peaceful and calm when I eat! ;-)

Weight?
+7/7.5 kg I think. I still find it very hard to keep track of my weight because it changes every day. I just hope to stay around this weight or maybe around 8kg when I have to get back to my doctor. But with what I'm eating I don't think I'll gain 2 extra kg in 2 weeks, right?

How big is baby?
She should be around 30-33cm!

Movement?
I think we have a very calm and sweet baby. She doesn't kick me very hard or very often. Just enough to keep me satisfied with the movement. I did notice she's starting to kick my sides when I'm in bed, I guess she doesn't like the matress? :-)

Milestones?
As of now baby is OFFICIALLY viable and stands a great chance of surviving outside of the womb! Not that I want her out anytime soon of course,but again, it gives me so much comfort to know she'll be okay whatever happens.
I also started buying some baby stuff! We have a changing pad and some baby linnens... But there's more to come, obvioiusly.

Fun moment of the past two weeks?
We had a christian prenatal course yesterday at one of our local churches. There's a real baby boom there and since our church doesn't have any young couples they invited us to join in the fun. It was so interesting...
They tought about how to care for a newborn, offered practical help but more importantly - they gave us some great tools to start praying for our babies and care for their spiritual health. We loved the fellowship but it did make me long for some more young couples in our own church... It was so much fun to talk with the other pregnant ladies and their amazing husbands! We'll have to keep in touch and maybe we can join like a mom's group or something :-)

24 week update

The one night I felt really terrible 

but I couldn't postpone taking the picture any longer ;)

How am I feeling?
Same old same old. I'm kinda enjoying being pregnant right now.
The only difference is that I can really start to feel my belly getting bigger and heavier. It's getting harder to turn around in bed, get out of the bathtub and even breathe sometimes! Oh and backaches. Terrible backaches... But it depends on how full my schedule is.

Food? 
I still am quite hungry but when I eat or drink too much I feel sooo bad for the rest of the day. Can't.breathe... Hehe :-)
I did eat a lot of chocolate these past weeks, mmm!

Weight?
+ 7kg... I've never ever ever seen these numbers on my scales so sometimes I have to remind myself it's normal and okay and I'll lose a lot of the weight right after birth. My gynaecologist said it's still okay, but I should try to keep myself to 1/2kg a week ;)
But when I weighed myself this morning it was only +5, I guess it's not really clear how much I've actually gained? 

How big is baby?
She weighs 650g and is about 28cm long. Just a couple of months ago she was invisible and now she's 28cm? I love it!

Movement?
I can feel baby girl move quite a lot. Sometimes it even feels a bit uncomfortable/weird - I think maybe when she's turning around? It's so funny to see my belly move around, though.

Milestones?
It might sound stupid but I've been looking forward to the 24week mark. In Belgium, doctors aren't allowed to do anything to save the baby if she arrives before 24weeks and it's such a relieve that from now on my baby is "important enough" or "human enough" to keep her alive. Silly, I know, but it makes me feel safer.

Fun moments of the week:
* Jeff seeing and feeling my belly move :)
* Buying my very first baby-outfit! It's a supercute white dress with pink polka dots and flowers, a matching little vest, some warm leggings and cute "shoes".  She'll look stunning ;-)
I've also been doing some online shopping, can't wait for all the baby stuff to come in! Once I started, it's like I couldn't stop finding cute things...

To-do list before baby girl arrives

Pics by Joke from SAMB

House stuff:
* We still need to find some nice paint and/or wallpaper for our living room.
* Finish polyvalent room downstairs. This is our office, library and our music room and will also probably be the room where we'll hide all the babytoys and stuff.
- finish walls
- paint ceiling
* Buy bookcases for all our books, DVD's, CD's, ...
* Once these things are done we can move everything that's stocked in our basement and the bedrooms (and my in-law's house, whoops) to its permanent place.
* Paint the nursery
* Paint our own bedroom where baby girl will be sleeping for the first 6 months of her life
* Finish the entry hall. We're not sure what to do with the walls here, either... I think they'll need a lotttt of love before they look nice.
* Get rid of all the stuff we don't need anymore from our last renovations. Seriously, we have so much stuff just laying around... We'll have to find some time to throw everything away!

Baby Stuff
* Buy bassinet/babybed
* Buy dresser for our bedroom and for the nursery
* Find/make a cute baby announcement
* Find something to give to the guests that come visit our girl (in Belgium we usually give chocolate/candy)
* Buy more clothes/ Ask SIL for my nieces' baby clothes. She said she'd hand them down to our baby girl but we'll have to find a date to get this moving so I can get everything washed and organized :)
* Buy 5 more cloth diapers in cute girly prints (let's put some fun things on here too, shall we??)
* Decide on a name

Me Stuff
* Finish my masterthesis
* Take some pregnancy classes
* Think about what kind of birth I want to have and make a birthplan with a midwife (our hospital kinda asks  us to do this)
* Decorate for Christmas! Jeeej, so happy I can put this on my list this year :-)
* Pregnancy shoot in December! Can't wait for that to happen :-)


I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a lot of random things but this list gives me kind of an overview of what to do in these next 115 days (but who's counting, right?). 
Are there any major things I forgot about?