Rebellin

According to iVillage.com, as of Monday, I am now in the third trimester of my pregnancy. As I did upon completion of the first trimester, I think it is time for me to sum up my thoughts on what it is like to be pregnant.

Being Pregnant Is…

• Being a helpless spectator as your body morphs into something completely beyond your control.

• The thrill of feeling your child move inside of you for the first time, and the realization that the novelty of this feeling doesn’t really wear off.
• Being a little bit freaked out by the movement in your belly. (I have a standing mental image of the scene in Aliens when Ripley dreams she is pregnant with an alien, and you can see it moving all around in her belly, and then it bursts out through her skin.)
• Body image issues — ha, and you thought they were bad in the first trimester! And just think, the fun is just beginning!
• A near paralyzing fear of stepping on the scale. A nurse told me yesterday that you get to the point where you just don’t care, and I don’t think that will happen to me.
• Watching in horror as stretch marks take over your belly, despite the dedicated effort of putting Cocoa Butter on it every morning and every evening.
• Bach aches and hip aches. Both seem to be temporarily relieved by either a heating pad, chiropractor, or masseuse, but they come back with a vengence. When I start aching, I do the infamous pregnancy waddle, which really cracks JB up.
• Uncontrollable emotions. I honestly went through a few phases when I thought I was suffering from depression… Non-stop crying, feelings of doom, and just plain being sad. Luckily, I confided in my husband when I got these feelings, and his love and support was able to bring me back to the land of the living. (Side note: A coworker told me that you are a lot more emotional when you’re carrying a girl, because of the extra estrogen. Ha, as if I needed more estrogen!)
• Speaking of my husband, I’ve discovered that I am much more needy for his attention now, and I can’t sleep when he’s not around. I talked to a friend yesterday who also experienced this when she was pregnant, and she says that does indeed go away once you give birth.
• Fear of labor. The bigger I get, the more I fixate on the process of getting this baby out of my body, which is a very scary thought.
• Fear of being a mother. Although this is something I’ve always wanted to do, the fact that I’ll be a mother in three months or less is intimidating. Newborns have always been intimidating to me, and the thought of being responsible for one is daunting. Hopefully those maternal instincts will kick in and take over!
• Jane told me this week that the word Mother in Greek is the same word as ‘sacrifice’, which seems very appropriate. I believe this sacrifice begins in pregnancy, when you give up alcohol, cookie dough (any baking dough, actually), some of your favorite activities, your comfort, etc. In fact, this whole experience has made me view my own mother in a whole new light.
• Most importantly, though, pregnancy is being thankful for the miracle happening inside of your own body, and never ceasing to be in awe of that miracle.

That’s all for today.

Today was my 7 month check up. Although we had to wait over 50 minutes to see the doctor, the actual appointment was super quick.

We got an ultrasound, and unfortunately, the baby’s head was positioned directly below my belly button, making it difficult to get a good view of her. The doctor did spend several minutes looking between her legs to double check the gender, and though she doesn’t guarantee anything, she said, “it’s definitely looking very girl.”

The nurse that saw me today asked if I had any “problems, complaints or concerns,” and I mentioned my back pain, and she smiled and said, “yeah, the only cure for that is labor.”

Darnit!

Well, I am headed for a prenatal massage tonight, so perhaps that will help matters out a bit!

Other stats:
- Baby’s heartrate is 140
- My belly is now measuring 3 centimeters ahead of where it should be (30 centimeters versus 27). Yikes!!! I grew 6 centimeters in one month!!!

My weight, although higher than I had planned, is still well within the lower end of the guidelines, so I guess that’s OK. It’s still very painful to step on the scale now-days.

I may scan the ultrasound pictures, but am not sure it’s worth the bother, since they didn’t turn out well!

I just found a poll feature on BabyCenter.com that I thought would be fun for my site.

Vote for your favorite name for Baby Girl Bellin!

And here is an update on her progress, also from BabyCenter.com:

Week 27
How your baby’s growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn’t bothersome to her, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. Wonder what she’s thinking?

How your life’s changing: Your body is gearing up for the final lap, so you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They’re carrying extra weight, after all, and your uterus is putting extra demands on your circulation. (As your uterus expands, it puts pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from your legs to your heart and on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.) Unfortunately, the cramps are likely to get worse as your pregnancy progresses.

Know a really good way for a pregnant woman to get her husband’s attention? Call him and say, “I’m at the hospital.” I did that today, as I was at the hospital pre-registering for labor (dear God, that made it all seem REAL), and needed some information from him to finish filling out the forms. I didn’t leave him hanging long, as I realized the potential connotation of that statement the second it was out of my mouth, so I hurried up and said, “don’t worry, I’m just here filling out paperwork!”

But what I really wanted to talk about today was my first ever visit to a Chiropractor. My back has been killing me lately, and yesterday, I decided it was time to do something about it. One of my friends has a husband that is a Chiropractor, so I called him up out of desperation.

One thing you must know is that I have an extreme aversion to cracking/popping joints. This chiropractor had once told me that he didn’t do the cracking/popping thing, so that’s why I thought he’d be a good one to call.

When you go in to the office, you go up to the adjusting table, which is vertical. You stand on a platform in front of it, and the table gets lowered to horizontal so that you’re face down on the table. I was given an extra cushion to accommodate for The Belly.

He said that one of my legs was one inch longer than the other, and proceeded to use an instrument to tap my pelvis and certain parts of my spine back into place.

It didn’t hurt at all, and in fact, when he was done, I was wondering, “that’s it?”

I feel better so far, but the true test is what happens after I sit in my office chair for another few hours. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve been thinking that it is time for me to get back into swimming, as I think my days of kick boxing are numbered… I checked out a new gym with a pool this weekend, and just in case you were wondering, yes, I can still do butterfly!

Swimming is definitely a lot more challenging with a big belly, but I think it’s going to be my aerobic workout of choice in the upcoming three months. Flip turns are still a piece of cake, but I’m thinking those will go away in a few months, too.

Not much else to report from this weekend. I did go out to be a groupie to my rock star husband at his gig at 3rd Street Blues this past weekend. I ordered a Shirley Temple and shook my belly to the grooves of The Jason King Band. A fellow drummer to JB kept telling me what a great dad that JB is going to be, which was cute. I’m sure he will be, too, which is good, considering I’m bought in to his fatherhood at this point!

Here is the latest on Baby Bellin, courtesy of BabyCenter.com:

How your baby’s growing: Your baby now weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she’s born and takes that first breath of air.

This article fascinated me… It claims that only 6% of pregnant women work out for at least 30 minutes several times a week, and only one in 10 pregnant women engage in moderate exercise weekly.

Wow. The article talks about how women with uncomplicated pregnancies should engage in exercise every day, but most women (94%) use it as an opportunity to put their feet up and relax.

I can’t imagine taking 9 months off of exercising, because honestly, I’m a bit of an addict. However, I can understand when you have other children around that it would be a lot harder to find the time to exercise.

According to my doctor, the old rules of “don’t work out on your back” and “don’t get your heart rate over 140 beats per minute” are both old wives tales.

So here’s to all the women out there shakin’ their bellies right along with me!

Great article on exercising during pregnancy — go read it!

So many people act shocked when I tell them about my workout regimine, but I’ve been sleeping well, enjoying mood enhancement from the endorphines, and will hopefully recover a bit faster…

Well, I took my Glucose Tolerance test last week to determine if I’m at risk for gestational diabetes, and passed it, which is a relief. The infamous orange drink you consume for this lab test wasn’t nearly as bad as I had heard from other pregnant women. In fact, it was pretty good, though ultra sugary. The baby got all hopped up on the sugar for about five minutes after I drank it.

They also did a blood test last week, which showed that my Iron levels are a bit low. I have been taking Iron supplements daily for about a year now, due to low Iron levels before I got pregnant. However, the nurse informed me yesterday that my body couldn’t really digest those supplements unless they’re taken with Vitamin C, and hence, the low Iron levels.

I’m not sure what is up with my Iron levels, as I’ve been eating Spinach and other Iron rich foods, on top of my supplement, but I have now added Vitamin C to the cocktail of vitamins I take every morning, including: prenatal vitamin, calcium supplements and Iron supplements. That’s a lot of pills, people!

JB keeps commenting on how “huge” my belly is, and I keep telling him that this is nothing compared to what it will be come February… The thought makes me cringe! My best friend is due any day now with her second child. She has three stretch marks. Me? I have at least six, and a ways to go. Eek!!!

Here is the update on our baby for Week 25, courtesy of BabyCenter:

How your baby’s growing: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — doesn’t sound like much, but she’s beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she’ll start to look more and more like a newborn. Her hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he’s born.

How your life’s changing: Your baby’s not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It’s not that you’re growing more hair, but the hair you’d normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. You may also notice darker or thicker body hair. It will return to normal in the weeks after you give birth. You probably can’t move around as gracefully as before. It’s fine to continue to exercise, but use your common sense: Don’t work out when you’re feeling overly tired, and stop if you feel any pain or when you begin to feel at all fatigued, dizzy, or short of breath. Don’t lie on your back too long or do any exercise where you’re apt to lose your balance. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and make time for both warm-up and cool-down periods.

When you have your glucose-screening test at 24 to 28 weeks, your practitioner may take a second tube of blood at the same time to check for anemia. Although your blood volume increases dramatically during pregnancy, the total amount of your red blood cells becomes diluted — a problem sometimes called physiologic anemia that’s common in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. If your blood tests show that you have anemia, your caregiver will likely recommend that you take a supplement.

Today, I spent a bit of time reading The Naked Ovary, the site of a woman that is infertile, went through four In-Vitro Fertilization procedures, and eventually proceeded with adopting a child.

Reading her pain about not getting pregnant really hit me. I think a part of me always wondered if I would really be able to have my own children, thanks to my super irregular cycles. That part of me assumed that In-Vitro Fertilization would be unavoidable for me, and that thought scared me. It sounds so emotionally and physically wrenching. I even had the conversation with JB about how I’d like to adopt if we couldn’t have our own kids.

But, much to my surprise, once my doctor intervened with Clomid, I got pregnant immediately. And though pregnancy comes with its share of strange symptoms and side effects, having a life growing inside of you is really amazing. It makes me smile every time I feel my daughter moving around inside of me. It’s surreal, and I do think I would have felt cheated if I never got to experience all of this.

I love to picture what my daughter will look like. I’ve put in my “order” to JB and whomever will listen… She really has to have JB’s thick, curly and dark hair. (I run my fingers through his hair every night, saying if I touch it often enough, she’ll get his hair.) Regardless, I’m pretty sure she’ll have curly hair, since both of her parents do.

I’d love for her to have his lean and slender build, my height, and his mathematic prowess (that I’m lacking). I’d like for her to share my sensitivity, even though it means she’ll cry when she gets her feelings hurt. I hope she gets both of our athleticism, and both of our musical talent. I’ve been playing the piano for her, and have gone to some of JB’s gigs so that she can enjoy his music, too.

It’s fun to dream like this. And I can imagine how heartbreaking it would be to learn that you can’t have a child with your soul mate.

Regardless of how she turns out and who she looks like, we’ll love her with all of our hearts. Although I’m scared of being responsible for a newborn, and am even more scared of labor (GOOD GOD, THIS BABY HAS TO COME OUT SOMEHOW!), I am truly excited to meet our little girl.

In my department at work, you have a one in three chance of being pregnant.

That’s right, as of an announcement made today, three out of our entire department of nine women are pregnant. We have our own little club, and I’m sure the jokes about, “don’t drink the water in the Marketing department” are just going to get worse.

They say that women that work and/or live together often have their cycles at the same time… Well, we just took it one step further.