Pregnancy Journal, 28 Weeks

One of the reasons I started blogging was because since I was a little girl, I've always journaled.  I LOVE journaling and was able to keep it going through Kian's pregnancy.  But once he was born, my journaling time melted away.  My duties as a Mama grew with a third baby, and I had a hard time finding time to sit and journal.  Then I discovered blogging, and the switch from journaling to blogging was made.  I think this is why I love blogging so much.  This IS my journal.  This is where I can record our lives.  And I can find the time to blog because I can type fast, thanks to a typing class in 9th grade.  :)  And so, here we are.
It has dawned on me a few times that I haven't recorded much on the blog about this pregnancy.  I would think, "do people really want to read that?"  But then I realized *I* want to read it.  This poor babe will already be the first to not have a log of its pregnancy written in Mama's own hand, and I certainly do not want him or her to have NO record.  So, today I'll try to catch up on my first two thirds of this pregnancy, and after today, I'll update some here and there.  From experience, I know these are magical days and once baby is here, many memories will fade away.  Already, I find myself saying, "I experienced that with one of my pregnancies.  Which one was it?" and then I have to go back in my journal to sort it out.  Sometimes they all bleed together.  So here's a little record of the first 28 weeks of this pregnancy.

* I found out I was pregnant on February 2nd, 2012.  For some reason, I suspected I was pregnant, and so I took the test early.  It looked negative so I placed the test on the window sill and went to wash my hands.  When I came back I was surprised to see it was NOT negative!  A slight pink line was appearing and getting darker with time!  How fun it was to go from content with God's plan even though I wasn't pregnant, to realizing I actually WAS pregnant.

* This has been my easiest pregnancy, hands down.  At 5 weeks, when the 24/7 sickness hit, I was ready.  I felt myself hunkering down for the long haul.  But then after week 7, the fog lifted a bit.  I was shocked.  I'm usually sick the majority of the first trimester and with Felicity, I was miserably sick all day long for at least 17 weeks.  Don't get me wrong, I still had hard days with this one, sometimes the sickness stayed for 48 hours.  And it always was underlying in the first trimester.  But it didn't rule the first 3 months of the pregnancy and for that, I'm very thankful.

* We will be seeing more of this baby than any of our other babes, in utero.  The umbilical cord only has 2 vessels, instead of the normal 3.  This should not be a problem at all, but the Drs. like to take a peek in at babes with 2 vessel cords throughout the pregnancy just to make sure the baby is not growth restricted.  At my 27 week ultrasound, baby was already 2 lbs 6 oz and right on track to being an 8 1/2 pounder like its siblings.  If my next ultrasound at 32 weeks shows equally beautiful growth, it'll be my last.  Baby is chunking up and we could even see its chubby cheeks on the ultrasound.  :)

* Also at my 20 week ultrasound, baby had a cyst on its brain.  The Dr. said that kind of cyst is seen a lot in utero and is usually gone by birth.  We were not worried at all, but thrilled when just 7 weeks later, at my 27 week ultrasound, the cyst was already gone.

* Up until 4 weeks ago, this babe was pretty chill.  I felt the baby kick pretty early on.  15 weeks I believe.  But up until 4 weeks ago, the kicks and movements were very soft and not hugely frequent.  It seems as if baby has grown muscles lately because I'm getting a LOT more movement, which I love love love!

* I normally have braxton hicks regularly and early, but with this pregnancy, they started rolling at 17 weeks.  And by rolling, I mean too many per hour for the midwives.  So I'd have to stop and lay down and chug water until they went away.  Now, at 28 weeks, I definitely get them, but not as dramatically as earlier on.  They're more of the normal ones now, which tend to come on after I'm on my feet a lot, but they don't get out of control.

* I have craved one thing and one thing alone since week 5.  Lemons!  That's it!  In the first tri, I'd often just eat a full lemon as if it were an orange.  I know that's horrible for your teeth but it really did help calm my stomach.  Now, I drink lemon water.  Preferably a full lemon in a glass of mineral water.  I've never had such a strong pregnancy craving.  I've woken up and lemon water is the first thing on my mind.  No joke.  But its a very helpful pregnancy craving.  It sure is keeping me hydrated!

* My weight gain to date is 8 pounds (sorry if that's weird to post, but I want it recorded for my personal record somewhere).

I think that brings me up to speed.  On to the fun part.  Here's a few pictures to document this sweet babe's pregnancy so far.

Pregnancy confirmation ultrasound

9ish weeks along

I could see baby's heart flickering and its little limbs wiggling away!

13 Weeks

16 Weeks

 20 weeks

Can you see its little hand near its face?  That's how its been in every ultrasound.  Hands up on its face.  So sweet!

 27 weeks

It was hard to get a good picture of baby this time because s/he was head down and face down.  But here's its face looking straight at you.  I hope baby stays in that position!

28 weeks

Third trimester and I've REALLY popped lately!!!