Jennifer's Pregnancy Diaries: January 2013

Wednesday 30 January 2013

22 Weeks – EDC 28/05/13

Wednesday, 23 January 2013 (Day 1)

I am “this close” to being able to get Brad to feel this baby move. When I recline, I can feel bulgy bits sticking out of my stomach, and if I push on them, they kick back. So all I have to do is get Brad to push one of these bulgy bits, and hopefully he’ll finally feel that first kick.

I hope this heartburn stops when I have the baby.

Thursday, 24 January 2013 (Day 2)

Brad finally got to feel the baby “tap” his hand twice last night, on two different occasions. He said that he could barely feel it, which surprised me, as the baby was positively booting me from the inside – enough to see his hand move. However, my technique of getting him to push on the bulgy bit worked.

And for the laugh of the day: Brad had his first pregnancy brain moment today. In a hurry, he sent a message on his iPhone to someone (thinking he had sent a message to me last) asking them to bring him lunch. They very kindly and cheekily send him back a message saying that this would be fine. At the same time that this is all happening, I’m driving 45 minutes in the other direction to see my horse, oblivious to the fact that my poor husband is lunch-less at work.

Fast forward to Brad’s lunch time, which also happened to be the time that I finished visiting with my horse, and my phone starts ringing. I answer it, and Brad says, “So are you coming?” Wondering what important appointment MY pregnant brain has forgotten, I start questioning him about what on earth he was talking about. He said that I had said that I’d bring him lunch. At this point I checked my phone to see what messages I had sent – after all, if it is possible for me to turn off an alarm and not remember it, surely it is possible for me to answer a message and not remember it either. I assured him that the last time we had corresponded by text was in fact yesterday, and that he mustn’t have sent the message to me – which was the truth, as he then discovered. After having a laugh about it, I then drove the 45 minutes back into town to buy and deliver to my darling husband some lunch. BTW, the new KFC grilled BLT twisters are quite delicious!

Tuesday 22 January 2013

21 Weeks – EDC 28/05/13

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

I am noticing a correlation between how hungry I am and how much I want to sleep. The more I want to eat, the more I want to sleep. I’m eating lots of salads now, and the scales didn’t change this week, so I guess I’m free to continue listening to my appetite. I love eating things with cheese. I either have them on rice thins or in a sandwich. The things I like to eat with cheese are tomatoes and mayonnaise, cold turkey and cranberry sauce, Promite, and (wait for it…) strawberry jam. For those wondering how I can eat cold turkey when all the pregnancy guides say that I’m not to eat cold deli meats, I buy the pre-packaged containers from the supermarket and consume it within two days. I figure that this minimises the risks of contamination by various organisms, and I haven’t had any problems with this. This compares with the bad experience I had with some bought coleslaw that was near its use by date which came back up within an hour of consuming it.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013 (Day 1)

Here's a new one. I rolled over last night from left to right side, and as I reached lying flat on my back I did a little stretch. At the height of the stretch (so belly muscles are all stretched out), baby decides to wallop me right where my belly button is. My instant reaction was to hold my belly and curl up into the foetal position and wonder what on earth that was. It took me a few seconds to figure it out, and then I was too scared to move in case it happened again! Up until now, it's been lots of bubbles (feels like a boiling pot) and ripples (like on a pond), and a few nudges that I've been starting to feel from the outside, but this gi-normous thump was totally new and slightly frightening. I'm a bit scared of what's to come now.

Thursday, 17 January 2013 (Day 2)

Target had a baby sale starting today. As I discovered today, if you want to know how many pregnant women are in a city, go to a baby sale. There are lots of them out there! I bought two pregnancy tops (when I say bought, I mean that I put on layby), a gorgeous cotton blanket that I couldn’t walk past, an ear thermometer and two cupboard locks. I want to buy the baby an outfit just from me, but I’m having trouble finding the right one, especially as we don’t know the gender of our precious bundle of joy. I am discovering that boy’s clothes are much closer to gender neutral colours, but I still haven’t found the right outfit. I guess there’ll be plenty of time to buy the baby/toddler/child clothes in the future, and besides, that blanket is absolutely adorable!

If you haven’t read this blog, and you have been or are pregnant, and you need a laugh, please feel free to follow this link: http://www.xojane.com/family/what-you-wont-expect-when-youre-expecting

My belly button is nearly ready to pop out. I can pull it out, but it won’t stay out. Two nights ago I couldn’t pull it out, so maybe in two more nights it will stay out.

Friday, 18 January 2013 (Day 3)

I’m wondering if I’m experiencing Braxton hicks. I have been experiencing a tightening in my pelvis, which I attributed to bub deciding to plant its head on my bladder, however while it is uncomfortable, it doesn’t actually make me want to go to the toilet. Rather, I want to shift positions. It seems to happen more in times of mild exercise, which is making me wonder if it is in fact Braxton hicks.

Sunday, 20 January 2013 (Day 5)

My feet are stretching. They’re wider than they used to be, so my shoes fit differently, and toward the end of the day they feel like they’re flattening out, like the arch is disappearing.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

20 Weeks – EDC 28/05/13

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

20 weeks to go! I’m definitely looking pregnant now. My body has become pimple city, so no glowing pregnancy look for me J. I’ve been feeling excellent since the stress of Christmas has now passed. My nails are also on a growing rampage, but luckily my body hair seems to have slowed down in growth. I also have pregnancy brain, getting words mixed up, being unable to remember a word, and forgetting where I parked the car. I’ve also got lots of energy at the moment, which I’m using to cook and clean.

I’m trying to decide if my belly button is going to pop out. It points straight up as the uterus is starting to push upwards past the belly button. I’m also getting lots of stretching feelings around my belly and belly button. I’ve also finally managed to put on (and keep on) 5kg in the last two weeks.

Saturday, 12 January 2013 (Day 4)

Had an exciting milestone last night: I felt the baby kick from the outside for the first time. I have been trying to get Brad to feel it too, but the pattern is quite sporadic, and it can go half an hour between kicks. I also suspect that if I’m sitting the wrong way (at the moment anyway) that the kick won’t be felt from the outside, as sometimes I can feel a good inch of blubber over the top of my uterus, and other times my belly is like a drum. I have been feeling a lot more movement as well. The midwife told me yesterday that some women at this stage can’t even feel anything yet, so I’m somewhat lucky.

So, as I just mentioned, I saw the midwife yesterday. I have a normal, healthy, low-risk pregnancy at this stage. I assumed that because I was going through the public system that I would be seeing a different midwife each time, but this isn’t the case unless I want it. I get the pleasure of seeing the same lovely midwife each and every time until I go unto labour, at which point I suspect that I’ll get whoever’s on duty and available.

Sunday, 13 January 2013 (Day 5)

I have been enjoying the sensation of getting little kicks from the newest member of our family very soon after waking up for the last two mornings.