MY BODY

Lately I’ve definitely noticed a difference in my overall shape! My belly does stick out a lot more, and I can no longer maneuver my belly, as it’s a lot stiffer when poked. I can’t see my legs, etc just by looking down anymore. my ‘fat rolls’ have now migrated into the ‘main belly’, and my undies keep slipping down under my belly, even though I like them high waisted, over the bulge.

My right breast feels and looks a lot bigger now, and that nipple has definitely gotten bigger and darker. Sometimes I wake up to find tiny white flecks on the actual nipple, which we suspect might be the beginnings of milk production? The left breast hasn’t changed much this month, apart from gaining a few skin tags or something.

Heartburn has gotten worse. I’m thinking that quick-eze won’t cut it anymore.

BABY BUYS

We bought a fetal heart monitor, though we haven’t had any success with it yet. It came with a fetal microphone, which I’ve used to talk to, sing to, and play music to the baby.

Last week I was chatting to my neighbours and told them that our nursery is sheep themed! They were nice enough to give us 3 wall hangings with farm animals. They work so well in the nursery, and are super cute. I’ve already hung them above the cot! Another friend is offering us her high chair, baby wraps, and baby carrier sometime in the next week or so. I’m starting to seriously wonder if we should actually hold a baby shower, as we probably no longer need one!

READING:

I’ve began reading “Raising Boys”. It’s an interesting book about understanding  boys development, etc. I’m about a third of the way through.

CHECK UP

My next Antenatal appointment is the 16th of October. We’ve been transferred to the nearer hospital since we’ve moved. The last doctor said I should redo the glucose test and have another checkup ultrasound.

MOBILE PROGRESS

Here’s the progress of our sheep mobile so far, below is an image of the furry bodies!

It’s holidays next week (2 week break) so I’m looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing a bit more, which will be good, as I did burn myself out a bit a few weeks ago; I fell asleep after my alarm, didn’t wake till midday, and missed half a day of teaching!

FETAL MOVEMENT

Around weeks 21-22 I began to feel more sure that I could feel the baby move. It no longer feels like flutters, it often feels like he’s flipping around in there or something, though I don’t feel it often, maybe only a few times a day. I’ve noticed the movement increases more when I have my legs up nearer to my stomach.

BABY BUYS

We’ve gathered a few more things for the baby over the past few weeks, including; about 3-6 toys, 3 more bags of clothes from op shops up to size 1, a playmat (which came free with our baby monitor that cost $50), a monkey ball that wobbles around when rolled on the floor, an old-style brown teddybear, and some weird dinosaur thing that sings about 12 songs.

I gathered my box of baby things that I was collecting since my own childhood, and put the boyish / neutral things in the nursery. We still haven’t hung anything on the walls or got a name plate or decals yet.

CLOTHES HAUL SO FAR

The built in robe looks pretty full of clothes now. we went to the local discount store and got all matching dark blue hangers. Hubby counted that we had about 110 articles of clothing on them! I’m now in the process of figuring out what I have of which items in various sizes. So far I seem to have around 4-6 winter weight sleepers in most sizes, and I have 4 pairs of jeans in size 1, and only 1 pair in size 00. our 000 collection is the biggest, and our 0000 and 00 selections seem the smallest. We don’t plan on getting too much 0000 though, as the baby should only need this if premature.

NURSERY

I also sorted out the draws into cloth and disposable nappies, burp cloths (though we need more of these,) blankets, sheets, feeding equipment, etc etc, and I packed the nappy bag full of spare diapers, a bottle, and my nipple shield, etc. it’s not completed but it’s a good start.

SLEEPING and POSTURE

Over the past week I’ve found it harder to sleep, and I’ve wanted to curl up more when sleeping and laying down. It’s pretty uncomfortable to be on my back now. Hubby has been good with giving me shoulder and high back rubs, which has been great after coming home from hours of sitting and being hunched over a desk / piano.

This week I think I burnt myself out with teaching too much, as I worked till late on the weekend, and then from 8 till 9pm on monday night, so when tuesday came around I slept through my alarm and missed my first school, as I woke up at midday! I had to reschedule lessons for yesterday (Friday.)

MATERNITY LEAVE PLANS

I’ve decided that I’m going to take the last 2 weeks off next term, so that I have a month before the baby is due to finalize things, rest, and as a safeguard in case he comes early.

VEINS and WALKING

My varicose veins have gotten worse. My doctor suggested stockings, but I can’t find any in my size, so yesterday I wore leggings, and they seem to have reduced in swelling a lot. I found another skirt that fits me, and I’ve been wearing black pyjama pants and my large pair of trackies to work sometimes when i run out of clothes. the weather has been gorgeous lately. it’s a pity I’ve been too busy working to enjoy it, though we’re planning a walk today.

WOES

I was hoping to go to the Royal Adelaide Show this year, being the last year without a baby, though I doubt we will now, as there’s only today and tomorrow left, and I wouldn’t be able to go on many rides etc anyway. Plus it’s hard to trust their food in case of getting listeria, etc.

CHECKUP

I had my antenatal appointment on thursday, and we got to hear the heartbeat again; It was around 140, which the doctor said was normal, and my blood pressure was ok. We transferred appointments to the closer hospital from now on. He wants me to have another glucose tolerance test to check for diabetes in week 26, and I’ll probably get another ultrasound to check progress, which is exciting. We’re still heavily considering doing a 3D scan and double checking gender after 29 weeks.

TV

Yesterday there was a show on called “The Secret Life Of Babies.” We didn’t get to watch it from the start but it was quite interesting. They talked about what babies have natural aversions to, etc, and why they do what they do, eg: eating everything.

PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES

I still doubt I’ve got the hang of pelvic floor exercises, so I’m wearing regular pads daily for my light incontinence. I’ve also been getting heartburn about every hour now! I’m going through those Quick-Eze pretty fast.

FOOD

I’ve been eating a lot of vietnamese roast pork and chicken rolls at lunchtimes. I’ve been wanting more milk for breakfast and in the evenings now, and I’m loving orange juice. meat is a bit more tolerable to be around now when I go to the supermarket – I used to hate being around meat. Chocolate and crisps have been a MASSIVE craving over these past few weeks.