28 weeks 3 days

28 weeks: Avery should be the size of a small cabbage right now and weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs. At this point she is working on packing on the fat. She should appear less wrinkled as her fat stores build and she will start looking like the chubby babies we are used to in the coming weeks. Her site is improving so she can sense changes in light. Her lungs are now mature enough she could potentially breathe on her own.

Cravings/Aversions: I am craving bologna sandwiches! I Saturday morning I ate one for breakfast. I really shouldn't even be eating bologna but I can't help it! I wouldn't call pizza an aversion but strangely, I normally love pizza and I have no desire to eat it right now. I have slowed down on sweets too. I normally love candy and I still feel like I want candy but when I try to figure out what kind, nothing sounds good. I was also craving fried chicken and orange juice recently but I've had both and now I feel better. The only craving that's hung around is the bologna.

Symptoms: Heartburn got to the point of misery so I've started on a daily zantac and feel much better. I still keep my tums in my purse just in case but I only use them rarely now. The crazy exhaustion from the first trimester seems to be coming back. I am worn out a lot because I don't sleep well. I wake up around 3 or 4 most mornings and then toss and turn. Unfortunately, I think I also wake Carl up.  I guess we are practicing for when she arrives. My leg cramps have gotten worse. I have been getting Charlie horses since the beginning but they have been mild until now. Now they make me jump out of the bed. Imagine waking up to extreme pain in your calf, trying to untangle from the blankets, roll over with a beach ball for a belly, and get out of bed to massage your leg and try break the cramp. No easy task. Probably funny to watch though. Summer time in Houston is not kind to a pregnant lady. I feel like once I get hot, I have a very hard time cooling down.

News this week: I saw my doctor last week and expressed some concern because I wasn't feeling Avery move much. I had been seeing my stomach jump and move and then it seemed to dwindle to the point I was only feeling her maybe once a day. The doctor ordered an ultrasound because with my hypertension I'm at risk for low amniotic fluid levels. Low levels would cause decreased movement.  Either that or it could be a lazy baby. I was concerned and not excited to have to wait until today to see how Avery was doing. Well ever since the doctor called her lazy my little girl has been working to prove her wrong. She's been moving and grooving several times a day. We had our childbirth class on Saturday and she kept bumping and kicking Carl's hand while it was on my belly. The ultrasound was today and according to the sonographer, she has plenty of fluid. She is also still a girl. And she's a big girl! She is 3.3 lbs. I guess at her size she is measuring at 30 weeks rather than 28. I don't think they change due dates at this stage of pregnancy because babies grow at different rates at this point but I guess she is about the size of a baby due October 27, rather than November 8. So who knows, maybe she will surprise us and get here before Halloween!

I haven't posted any pictures lately so here are a few:

Here is Avery today. Can you see her face? Her eyes and her little button nose?!

26 weeks!

26 weeks: The fruit and veggie comparisons are getting a bit wacky but evidently she is about the size of a head of lettuce. She is about 2 lbs and 15 inches long so I'm guessing she is closer to the weight of a head of lettuce rather than the actual size. She is hearing more and more and can probably recognize the sound of mine and Carl's voices. I told Carl he needs to start singing to her! Lol. Her eyes can distinguish light now and I've read that if I shine a flashlight at my belly she might kick or move away from it but so far no luck with that. My uterus is the size of a basketball now. Prior to the pregnancy it was the size of a clenched fist so it's done a lot of stretching. So those of you who have indirectly called me fat (you know who you are) imagine your current body and then imagine a basketball inside of it. Anyone is going to be a little fat, right?

Cravings/Aversions: Well, I have had a long-standing craving for sweet and sour chicken but after ordering a dinner sized portion for myself and eating it for 3 meals, I think I've cured it. I love yoohoo. Other than that, I can't say there is anything else that comes to mind. Carl and I have been unfortunate to have a stomach bug that just won't go away so my appetite has been hit or miss.

Symptoms: My pelvis is breaking! But seriously, it feels like this baby must be jumping on it. Heartburn is crazy again. I've had some weird moments of insomnia. If it's not having a hard time falling asleep, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and then am wide awake for about an hour before I fall back asleep. No swelling so far which I'm super happy about. I thought being on my feet all day would mean that my feet would barely fit into my shoes but I only have mild swelling in my fingers so far and that could just be from the heat. My blood pressure is still good so I'm very thankful for that. Avery is still kicking but it seems like she's flipped. I used to feel and see her kicks up near my belly button (still an innie!) but now they are low and more internal. I am 95% sure she is breech right now but it doesn't matter this early on. My doctor's appointments have been every 2 weeks for awhile now and I am assuming they will continue that way until close to the end. This is the stage in which other people without any risk factors start seeing their doctor every 2 weeks. Did my 1 hour glucose test on Wednesday and am waiting to hear results. I'm hoping I hear Monday. The stomach bug I mentioned above seems to be hitting me hard and sticking around a long time and my OB says that's to be expected since I'm pregnant. She says baby is fine even if mom is miserable. I would not recommend this. As I said I have days that it is hard to eat and last night I woke up out of a dead sleep with stomach pain. I just want to feel good!

News this week: We have a childbirth class coming up! We were supposed to do it in July but we were the only ones signed up so they cancelled the class. I'm looking forward to the information and also to touring the labor and delivery unit. I just want to see what to expect. I also want to find out when the recommend you pre-register and how to go about doing that. I'm a planner and I want to get things done. We are also getting excited about our trip to St Louis for Labor Day. Hoping to catch up with a lot of people and eat a lot of delicious food. We will get to celebrate my grandma's and Carl's birthday's while there which will be fun. I think it will be weird for my family and friends to see me pregnant and I'm interested to see how everyone reacts. Hopefully we will make some decisions about daycare and a pediatrician soon too. Just over 3 months until she gets here! We will get to choose her birthday sometime near the beginning of October. I will be induced about a week earlier so it's strange to think we will get to choose her day. Can't wait! I'm going to have a daughter! I still can't believe it.