Most common question I’m asked these days is “How are you feeling?” So I figured I’d update, since there’s nothing major to talk about really.
I’m feeling pretty good. I’m not sure where this whole “Holy crap, you’ll feel freaking fantastic and have all the energy in the world!!!1!1!” myth came from; but I do feel better than I did in my first trimester. I’m don’t feel like I’m walking through waist-deep water all the time, so that’s a vast improvement.
I’m getting bigger, of this there is no doubt. My waist is disappearing more and more every day. I’m positive that I’m gonna lose my belly button before this is all over. I’m finding it hard to squeeze between things I used to be able to pass with no problems. (Like between the dresser and the bed on Paul’s side of the bed.) I’m mostly OK with it all – just have to remind myself occasionally that I’m pregnant, not fat. (well, not fatter than I was already… ha!) I’m pretty sure that my internal organs are getting shoved up higher though, which is making me get winded a little easier than before.
My maternity wardrobe is holding steady. Some tops are getting too tight to wear fashionably, but I’ve got others that are still fine. I’m terribly grateful that no one at work really cares about what I wear. I’m in yoga pants nearly every day now. I miss my jeans.
My ankles and feet are swelling pretty much every day, but most mornings I wake up with non-swollen ankles and feet, so I’m not terribly concerned. I wear Crocs shoes every day, so the swelling hasn’t affected my footwear yet. I come home in the evenings and put my feet up, literally. The degree to which I’m swollen seems directly proportional to the activity level of my day – the busier the day and/or the longer I was on my feet, the worse the swelling is. But the swelling isn’t limited to my lower extremities. My wrists are pretty swollen too. I’ve definitely got some pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel going on. Numbness and tingling in the hands is pretty common now. So that’s annoying, but I have faith that it will go away once I pop the little man out.
I’m not bending over much anymore. It’s just not comfortable, and the kid kicks me when I do it, so I don’t think he likes it either. If you wanna know what it feels like, take a large honeydew melon and hold it tight on your gut, just at your belly button. Now, bend over at the waist. Yep. There you go.
Um, I feel like I’m back in high school in regards to my face. Oil slick city, man. Hair too. I had to switch shampoo/conditioner because everything I had was to combat the dryness out here in the desert. I’m now using a daily clarifying shampoo and an uuber-light conditioner. And I gotta say, my hair is looking pretty awesome. It’s growing pretty fast, which is making Paul happy. (Granted, I know it’s gonna fall out after I have the kid, but I try not to think about that.)
The little man is a flip-flopping, kicking, tap-dancing machine. I swear, sometimes it feels like he’s trying to tap-dance his way out already. But it’s cool to feel him regardless. I don’t have his cycles down yet, but it’s noticeable when he wakes up, that’s for sure. I can’t wait for Paul to be able to feel it.
My labs are all great. My A1c had dropped to 6.0 at my last appointment, and my blood pressure has settled down into 130’s over 80’s which is really much better than it was. My blood sugars are in a happy-making range for Dr. Schwartz, and I haven’t had a med adjustment in over 6 weeks. I’m still on 3-week appointments, but I know that’s gonna end eventually – by my last month I’ll be on twice-a-week appointments for non-stress tests.
I guess that’s about it. The state of the Sarah (and little man.) Did I miss anything?
Glad you’re doing so well! From what I understand, pregnancy is different for everyone. I’m not sure where the feeling awesome all the time myth came from either. I felt awesome most of the time and my skin was great, but my sister was in the hospital pretty much the whole time and my sis-in-law was violently ill pretty much the whole time so it’s a pretty wide range.
Sarah,
I was literally moved to tears reading your blog posts (especially your early ones). I remember talking to you on livejournal (forever ago) and wanting a kid then, and it’s been a few years, so anyways, congratulations doesn’t seem to be a strong enough word to justify how happy I am for you and Paul!!
And you’re sooo close to due around the same time as I am! I’m 26w5d with a boy! Exciting times! Never get tired of feeling him kick and let me know he’s there, although today I had my first sciatica pain and OMG PAIN. So I’ll probably be going to a chiropractor for the rest of the pregnancy to help with that.
I blog over at wordpress, but not very often and not nearly as awesomely as you are…anyways… I just wanted to stop in and say hi, I’ll be following along eagerly for the rest of the pregnancy!! :)
any cravings???
I’m still on the search for perfect strawberries. The weird weather this year hasn’t helped, I guess. Oh, and I want meat. Nothing else, really. I’ve had chocolate cravings a time or two, but I don’t tend to consider it a real craving if a single Cadbury egg takes care of it. I could happily put away a pound of strawberries if I could just find some decent ones! (That said, even mediocre strawberries tossed with some Equal and served with some chocolate ice cream are hella good!)
Aaaaaaw. Now you’re making ME cry! We are so blessed, and we know it.
It’s funny how many people we know are pregnant right now, and close! My sister-in-law is 10 weeks behind me. (She lives in Belgium.) You’re like 4 weeks in front of me. I had five friends give birth between August of last year and January.
Congrats to you – and I’ve been enjoying reading about little Ben! I like that name! (We just started talking about names…)
I consider myself very lucky to have had such an easy time so far. I’m starting to get more and more achy… but I hope to keep my whinging under control. I see lots of time spent in my in-laws pool in my future. :)
I also got the carpal tunnel pregnancy thing, but my doc said it was more “de Quervain syndrome” than carpal tunnel. DQ Syndrome is where the sheath that surrounds the ligament swells and it absolutely KILLED me. My thumbs were aching from the 2nd trimester until Olivia was about 6 months old and then it died down. They gave me some exercises to stretch the sheath. If the thumb/joint is where your pain is, let me know. The doc gave me some wonderful stretches to do. :)
It’s in the thumb/joint (especially after using the trackball mouse) but also all over the top of my hands and wrists. Numbness and tingling all over.
My OB warned me at my last appointment that “you’re just one of those lucky ones who swells.” I’m gonna talk to him about it more at Wednesday’s appointment – cuz the swelling all over seems to be getting worse. If he’s not worried, I’m not worried. (Annoyed, but not worried. I can put up with anything for another 4 months, ya know?)
I had the swelling thing too. It was annoying but not a huge deal.