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2004-07-09 - 10.38pm��previous entry��next entry
23 weeks!!
I�ve been meaning to update for days but just haven�t got round to it! Thank you for the nice guestbook messages about my belly pic! :) I am so excited to be looking really good and pregnant now!
I am 23 weeks pregnant today, can you believe it?! Just one week till the magic 24-week viability milestone. I feel like I will breathe easier after that, but then of course there�s always something to be anxious about! Cord accidents are the next thing to flap over, but I am trying really hard not to think about it, and I�m trying my best to remember that God cut my worry tree down so I am just gonna fall on my butt if I try leaning on it! :)
Hot flush, hot flush, hot flush!!! That�s been happening to me all day. No matter that it�s cool and overcast today, or what I�m wearing. All day it�s been clothes on, clothes off, clothes on, clothes off. Well not ENTIRELY off (!), but yeah. I keep getting too hot today.
But where was I? Oh yes, 23 weeks!!! Yay! My belly button is starting to be an outie at the top, which is sooooo weird for me! The outie bit is really soft. I poke it a lot. I get fascinated with odd things! ;) I am 9 stone 3lbs which puts my total weight gain at�. 20lbs so far. Noooo that can�t be right�. Phew, no it�s not!! 18lbs, I am counting wrong! So I�ve gained 18lbs. And this week I finally had to accept facts and put a bid on a pair of maternity jeans in the next clothes size up. *sigh* But oh well. I STILL plan to start exercising (although nothing�s happening so far!) and anyway it will all be worth it, whether I gain 50,000lbs and get huge complications or not. Not that I�m aiming to let that happen of course! But you know. Arthur is worth anything.
Talking of Arthur, did I mention lately how much I am in love with him? It�s like a whole new level of feelings since the scan. Well, more so this week for sure. He worried me earlier in the week because he has been very quiet (for him) for several days. I would wake in the night and feel no movements, which is now an unusual thing, and then he wouldn�t wake with me in the mornings. When he did kick it was never for very long and he mostly just squirmed or poked gently, hardly any big kicks and punches. I got quite worried but I used the doppler a couple of times this week and his heartrate was 140 (perfectly healthy) and he DID move several times throughout the day, just nowhere near as much as before. Except one time when I was listening with the doppler his heartrate slowed way down to around 90 and then picked up again. That�s the second time I�ve heard that in a month or so. I am going to mention it to the midwife when I see her next week, but I know she�ll probably just plop the doppler on my tummy, hear nothing abnormal, and say it�s all fine. Because the rest of the time his heartrate is steady and normal. I just don�t like these decelerations. Midwifery training always taught me they are bad bad bad. But I am just hoping he was squeezing his cord or something. I hope.
Anyway I am overjoyed today because he is behaving much more like himself again. I don�t know why he had that weird quiet patch for so many days though. I did a kick count last night and counted 10 kicks very quickly during an active time, but they were gentle and not strong like they always used to be. But anyway when I woke in the night Arthur started nudging and poking me, which was soooo wonderful!! I didn�t care if I couldn�t sleep the rest of the night, just so long as I could lie there and feel him moving and kicking, it was such a relief!! But I did go back to sleep. And in the morning he woke when I did � great joy!!! And he kicked me (hard!) all morning which I cherished every second of. It�s like, when he kicks me, even though sometimes it�s strong enough to hurt or feel like a sharp pinch, I just get hit by this tidal wave of love for the little person inside me. I stop whatever I�m doing, it loses all purpose and interest anyway, and lay my hand on my belly and just talk to him and tell him I love him.
I talk to Arthur such a lot these days. I tell him what we�re doing, and I feel like he�s always with me in whatever activity I�m doing. He kicks me when I spread toast, pretty much every time. I know he can hear that now, especially since I like my toast really crispy (so it�s noisy to spread) and I spread it at bump level, right in front of my belly. It�s like he�s saying, �Yay, that noise means food!!� or something!! So I tell him, �Mummy�s spreading her toast, and we�re having marmite. Mmmm, yummy marmite, Arthur!� etc. That kind of thing. Today I cleaned the bathroom and talked to him while I did it because he was kicking me when I was cleaning the bath. I guess it sort of feels like he�s telling me he wants to be involved by his kicks, because they always happen when I�m busy doing something that makes sounds he can hear. It�s always like he�s saying, �What�s THAT Mummy?!� and I tell him. Of course it�s probably not that, but oh well, let a mushy mama-to-be dream! :)
Neil has been so wonderful to me all week. I am feeling soooo lucky to have him, so blessed by how loving and kind and patient he is with me. He is the most giving man I have ever met, and I can�t believe I�m the one who gets to be married to him. Wow. I have been moody this week, very irritable and that. I always know the feeling under my skin before I start getting snappy, so I warn Neil as soon as he is home, to let him know that I have been feeling irritable and apologise in advance if I am grumpy with him! He seems so fine with it, and he patiently puts up with me. He doesn�t get all wound up if I am snappy, he doesn�t snap back which is so controlled of him because that would just make me blow my top if he did, probably! I guess he knows that though, hence the control! He has cooked me good meals every evening this week, and he fetched me fish and chips one night too when I felt like having some. He listens to me talk and waffle on about Arthur. He puts me first all the time. He reminds me to take my vitamins, and he calls me from work every day to ask how I�m doing and to make sure I�m resting up enough. He�s kind and considerate and thoughtful all the time, no matter my grumpy mood or what I ask of him. If I want him to take the big heavy rubbish bin out, then he�ll do it if I ask. If I want that wilting plant watered that�s too high for me to reach (he won�t let me climb on a chair), then he�ll do it right away. He�ll always ask me what *I* feel like doing/eating this evening, before thinking what he would prefer. He is just amazing. I just wanted to document this incase one day later in life I am being crazy thinking he is not doing this or that and how much it bugs me (if I ever do!), and then I can look back and see how much he has given to me and how I could learn a lot from him about loving another person.
I have been thanking him for things and telling him how much I love him and appreciate him all week, but it just doesn�t feel like enough. I wish I had more than words to show him how much I love him, and I wish there was something I could do back. Today I figured I could make the house cleaner/tidier, because that would be nicer for him. So me and Arthur (see, this is how I keep seeing it nowadays!) cleaned the bathroom. That�s a biggie, because urgh it hasn�t been cleaned in waaaay too long. And then it was Neil cleaning it, because I felt too gross. Well today I cleaned everything till it sparkled, and our toilet is soooo hygienic now! :) The only thing I haven�t gotten round to yet is sweeping the floor. But yay, I cleaned!!! About time! I�m just so glad to have the energy to do that at last. Anyway Arthur kicked me while I did that, so I chatted to him about why I was cleaning the bathroom and how special Daddy is.
Then I rested a bit, and the next thing I really wanted to sort out was the enormous piles of clean laundry in the living room. And I do mean enormous! It took me an hour to sort everything and fold it all, and then 6 trips up and down the stairs with my arms full of laundry, and then I had to put it all away. But I did it! And the living room is so much nicer without all that in the way. I was planning to clean the kitchen and tidy up a bit in there too, but I only got as far as emptying and loading the dishwasher. My back aches and I started to feel nauseous so I guess that�s my body saying it has done enough for today. Anyway Neil was so pleased with what I did :) I told him it�s to say thank you, and he doesn�t understand why I need to thank him. Is he wonderful or what?! :)
Yesterday and the day before I have been sewing nappies most of the day!!!! Yay!! I have some beautiful fabrics, and it�s been too long since I got them all out to stroke and fall in love with (that�s usually a great motivator for sewing them into nappies!). Well I decided to sort through my fabrics and put away the reeeally girlie ones with the other girl stuff. So when I had cleared out all the pink fleece and ballerina stretchy knit fabrics and princess flannels (I have lots!), I re-sorted all the fabrics that were left, the ones that will be used for Arthur�s nappies. That�s when I rediscovered how CUTE they all are!!! And how soft!! And how they are just staring at me with that doggie expression that says, �Sew me!! Sew me!!� So then I set about matching up cute prints with lush soft velour in plain colours. I have quite a few velours and I didn�t realise how many of my cute prints match the velour colours exactly! So that was fun. And then of course I couldn�t WAIT to see them made into cute nappies! So I sewed. I haven�t used velour before, even though it�s been sitting around on my shelves for ages. Oh my goodness, I am soooo converted!!!! It�s the most luxurious fabric EVER!! Sooooo soft. And thick. And absorbent. And cotton, not synthetic. I love it. I have ordered more colours already!! (somebody stop me!!!!)
I made two nappies out of cute flannel prints with matching velour inners and they both fasten with aplix (velcro). They are size large (to fit roughly 18lbs to 30lbs) so should fit from about 8 months-ish to maybe 18 months (very �ish�). I haven�t made many naps in that size yet, but I am thinking ahead and wanting Arthur to get the best and most prolonged use out of such cute combinations! Also he is sure to look cuter toddling around in those nappies than lying down all the time! I am already started on a third nappy and then I will take a photo of all 3 to post here :)
What else? This is getting long and I probably have tons more to say!
Okay pregnancy updatey stuff � my breasts have been aching and giving me hot stabbing pains this week. Haven�t noticed that for a while, so I�m inwardly groaning at the prospect of further growth in that department!! And this is nothing compared to when my milk comes in!!! Yikes. I won some bra extenders on eBay and they arrived this week, so I�ve been using those. They are a great relief as my bras are still perfectly fine, they just dig in around the ribs so it�s great to have some freedom there now!
I have been feeling more off my food and queasy again this week, for the last few days anyway. I also have a few little traits from morning sickness days, the goo in my throat and nose is back, and biting my nails makes me feel soooo sick, which is just how it was when I was morning sick. It�s weird how I keep getting the odd burst of symptoms again and then they go away after a few days (I am hoping they will anyway!). Also I have had some IBS this week � my IBS has been much improved lately, but I�ve only just noticed by the fact that it got worse again and that felt awful, when before pregnancy it was �normal� for me. So that shows me it�s been better for a while :) But anyway it�s back. I feel very first trimestery this week, it�s weird. I hope it�s just a blip or a fluctuation that will settle very soon!
I am running out of room under my ribs, especially in the evenings. I often feel like I�m getting a stitch under my ribs if I slouch, or if I eat a normal portion of food or drink a lot of water in one go. It slightly concerns me since I have almost half my whole pregnancy left to go, and I�m gonna get WAAAAY bigger then!!! I am breathless a LOT, especially when I talk. On the phone I am always glad if the other person talks for a couple of minutes about something because I need that time to catch my breath! I try not to sound like I�m out of breath though, it feels embarrassing for some reason. I just feel like I�m surely not far enough in my pregnancy to be legitimately complaining about such 3rd trimestery things yet!
Arthur�s 23 week stats, I almost forgot!! Okay he hit a milestone this week!!! He now weighs over 1lb, which makes him have a much better chance at surviving if he was born now. His lungs aren�t mature enough yet though. They are now developing a richer blood supply in preparation for breathing. Next week they start secreting surfactant, which is a substance that will keep his alveoli open so that they are capable of containing air instead of collapsing on themselves. My clever boy :) (of course, all babies who are born able to breathe are this �clever�, but never mind that!) Arthur is roughly 29cm long from head to heel, and is proportioned exactly like a newborn baby now. He is just about to begin laying down body fat, so right now he is kind of skeletal-looking. But I can�t forget the ultrasound picture with his little cheeks already looking so soft and rounded! I absolutely can hardly contain myself waiting for him to arrive so I can stroke and kiss those little soft cheeks. I think about them a lot at the moment! :)
Neil gets kicked every time he speaks to Arthur next to my bump now. Arthur can definitely hear him. Neil presses his nose gently on the side of my bump, and then talks in his deep gentle voice. It must resonate really audibly in there. Arthur kicks him in the nose right away :) Over and over too, if Neil keeps talking! It�s so sweet. I think he loves his daddy. He always responds to his voice and he loves it when Neil�s hand is on my tummy.
Ahhhh I just can�t WAIT to meet him!!! :)
I�m sure there are other things to say, but this is long and I need cereal and milk again. I seem to need that around this time every evening at the moment, because I get heartburn and also I am usually slightly peckish for something to eat around now! Cereal and milk sorts the heartburn out nicely and tends to settle my tummy for bed too. I eat Co-Co Pops. They are so yummy! :) And also fortified with vitamins! Which reminds me, I have been sooooo slack on taking my prenatal vitamins for like a month or more. So bad. Neil is bugging me to take them because he wonders if my breathlessness and tiredness might be because I�m low on iron or some other vitamins, and he�s right, I should be taking them anyway. So I am trying to get back in the habit, though I have forgotten a few times this week. Today and yesterday I had my multi-vitamin with iron AND my calcium though! :) Go me! I will try to stick to it.
I am also super slack on emails (as ever!) at the moment, but I am getting to them, so hang in there if you have emailed me recently and still not received a reply! I�m really sorry! I�ll sort it out soon.
I could waffle about eBay wins and things (going craaazy buying cute little boy stuff for Arthur at the mo!) but that will be another whooole big paragraph or two, and it�s not really necessary (you get the gist by now, right?!), and my back aches from the housework and I want to go to bed. So I will finish for now. But yay, 23 weeks!!! I feel very big for 23 weeks. But I love love love my little boy!!! I still want to keep pinching myself that I have a baby boy in there! I am so excited!
Okay that is all. Goodnight! :)
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