25 weeks and 14.5 pounds

Today, I am 25 weeks. And I don't seem to have gained any weight between last week and this week because I held steady at 157.0 pounds, a total of a 14.5 pound weight gain. The large T-shirts that I wear on the weekends no longer hide the fact that I'm pregnant and when I hug my husband, my belly is starting to get in the way. The belly is especially noticeable when I lie flat on my back because it just sticks way up. The books that I've been reading say that my uterus is now the size of a basketball and it looks like I'm carrying a basketball! My friend Lynn saw me on Thursday and she says that when she looks at me from behind, she cannot tell that I'm pregnant. All the extra weight seems to be in my belly.

I went swimming yesterday for the first time in a while. I was still able to do flip turns, but my speed has slowed considerably. I did 60 laps, alternating 10 free and then 10 breast-back. I took me 33 minutes overall. I didn't want to push it. Towards the end of the swim, my right shoulder starting hurting but I ignored it and kept swimming. Last night, it was killing me. It is still hurting today, but I think it's on the mend. I must have just tweaked it because I don't think I can re-start my tendinitis so quickly. I think it probably just wasn't used to the swimming.

I've had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving weekend so far. We went to my in-laws for the turkey dinner and I tried not to over-eat. Lately, eating has been problematic because I get so bloated and uncomfortable afterwards. I eat only when I'm hungry and no more because I can't stand the bloated feeling. Today, I've done laundry, vacuumed and I'm in the process of making turkey soup from the turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving. It already smells so yummy!

So much for slow weight gain!

I'm at 24 weeks now and so much for slow weight gain! Today, I was 157.5 pounds, which is a 14.5 pound total weight gain. That means I gained 2.5 pounds this week! Crazy. I guess this little guy is growing like mad. I don't remember eating a ton this week (with the exception of the gnocchi with bolognese sauce at Silvertone and cheesecake at Finale for Wendy's birthday). I guess it just adds up.

The baby didn't move for a while this week, which started getting me pretty anxious. I wanted to give him just a little bit more time before calling the doctor and it was a good thing I did because he started kicking and moving like mad again. I think he was rolling around good last night. Z felt him moving and you could see my belly rolling with his punches.

Soon, I'll be at the point where the baby could survive outside the womb. I would certainly like him to cook longer (and I'm sure he will), but it's comforting to know that he's almost viable!!!

Lopsided Belly and Kicking

I'm 23 weeks now and at 154.5 pounds, I have gained 12 pounds. I guess I'm one of those women who won't gain a ton of weight. My sister-in-law gained roughly 60 pounds with each of her pregnancies and I can't imagine, at this point, my body allowing me to gain that kind of weight. I guess each woman handle's pregnancy differently. I have tried to eat as well as I can (without eating vegetables which make me too bloated). I've been eating a lot more red meat since I got pregnant and enjoying it more too. I wonder if that will stick around after I give birth.

This baby boy of mine is still loving the right side of my body. He never strays to the left. So far, I think that all of the movements I have felt have been on the right side. Sometimes, he is so far over to the right, my belly is lopsided and skewed to the right! Last night, the baby was kicking up a storm and my husband SAW the kick. You can now see my belly move with the baby's movements. I feel like this baby is strong. He better be if he is going to have us as parents!

22 weeks and 11.5 pound gain

I had my 22 week appointment today with the midwife. When I first lay down on the table, you could see that the baby was all the way over on the right (where he has been from the very beginning) so much so that my belly was lopsided! The midwife saw him kick and even said that she could tell that I was having a uterine contraction based on the way my uterus rose and fell. I was like, "huh, and here I thought I was just breathing." So the second the midwife put the Doppler on my tummy, I could immediately hear the baby's heartbeat. There was no searching, it was just...BLAM...right there. It hovered around 145-148, which the midwife called "perfect." So the baby appears to be very very healthy. And my blood pressure was great - 95/65 - which is on the low side for me.

I asked the questions I wanted to ask:

Why haven't I been able to sleep through the night? Answer - that's normal. It's due to the hormones in your body, including the cortisol in your brain.

When is the next ultrasound? Answer - not until week 34 when they check to make sure the baby is head down. That was kind of a bummer answer because I would love to see the baby sooner than that, but given that this is a "normal" pregnancy, I don't want to be a pain in the ass. And now that I'm feeling the baby move, I don't get nearly as anxious in between my 4-week appointments.

How should I pick a pediatrician? Answer - find someone who is not more than 10-15 minutes from your house. The midwife preferred a practice that was all-inclusive...had a large pediatric practice, pharmacy, lab and covered parking close to the building. So I think I'll try the Wellesley Harvard Vanguard. I went there for one IVF treatment and it seemed very convenient to home and a nice facility. I feel that I've been treated very well by Harvard Vanguard and so perhaps I'll continue that trend with the baby.

In other news, my husband was able to feel the baby kick last week for the first time...just before the start of week 22. I think he was really happy to feel included and it was really nice to see the reaction on his face when he felt the baby. Last night, he said, "I think the baby just high fived me!" Now the baby is kicking all the time. I feel like he is doing somersaults in me! Yesterday, on the train home from work I started laughing out loud because the movements felt so funny.

Apparently, from now until week 32, the kicking will feel the strongest because the baby has a lot of room to move around. After week 32, the movements will feel more like waves because the baby doesn't have the room to punch me in the gut!

And so now I wait another 4 weeks for my next appointment at which point I'll be doing the sugar test to make sure I am not developing gestational diabetes. And then I see the midwife/doctor every 2 weeks after that since apparently after 28 weeks, they see you every 2 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks.

Scuba Diving Bubbles

I have been trying to come up with a better way to describe how the baby feels when he moves. My mom says it should feel like a "wave," but I don't think that's an accurate description. Lately, I've been describing the movements as soft thumps or as bubbles. When I told this to my husband, he said, is it kind of like the way bubbles feel when they hit you while you're swimming over another scuba diver? And I said, "Yes! But from the inside." So I think that's the most accurate way of describing the feeling at this point.

On November 4, Barack Obama was elected as the next President of the United States. I'm excited that my baby will be born in an America that has accepted a black President. I'm also excited that my baby will never have to feel the embarrassment of having George W. Bush as his President.

Is the baby moving?

So I think that I felt the baby move this week, which means I felt it around 20.5 weeks. The first time I felt it, it was like a "wave." It also felt like the sound that a stick makes when smacked against the vertical parts of a wood or metal fence. But lately, it just feels like thumps near my belly button. It doesn't seem like a feeling that gas would make. And it doesn't feel crampy. So I think it's for real. But of course, I'm not sure.

My husband and I bought a stethoscope today. I really wanted to use it to hear the baby's heart beat. But, we weren't able to find the heartbeat, even after 10 minutes of searching and listening. Oh well. My next appointment with the midwife is on November 11 and so hopefully, I'll hear that reassuring sound on that hand-held Doppler machine. Until then, I will wait patiently to feel the baby move.

I'm up to 153.0 pounds, which puts me at a 10.5 pound gain at 21 weeks.

In other news, Halloween was this past Friday night and we had hoards of children come to our door. My husband was so cute. He dressed up in a pirate costume and clumped down the stairs to answer the door. The kids were intrigued with his sword! Anyway, the 50+ children that came to my door reaffirmed for me that this neighborhood rocks. I'm so glad we moved here. I also met the people who recently moved in 2 doors down from us. Both the husband and the wife are pediatricians. Of course, I'm not the type to just knock on people's doors asking for help, but in an emergency, I'm sure glad to know there are doctors right around the corner.