Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks Recap!

As I write, I am 29 (minus one day!) weeks pregnant with my third baby!  I'm now solidly into the third trimester with my last sweet baby and toggling back and forth between trying to enjoy every moment of it and being overcome with exhaustion.  Our midwives say that the tiredness peaks around 28 weeks when your body finishes building it's supply of extra blood!!  In some ways, I feel much better in this pregnancy because my and Chad's schedule are much more flexible.  This is the first time he hasn't been working AND in school and the weight off our shoulders is HUGE.  

One notable aspect to Chad's recent graduation is that I have had time to go to the gym, which we recently joined, and focus on my yoga practice as well.  As far as workouts go, I was mostly focusing on the elliptical and getting in cardio every other day, but it was boring and I was getting burnt out.  Plus, the cardio-only seemed one dimensional and lacking.  I went to a prenatal yoga class one Saturday afternoon about a month ago, and it totally kicked my ass!  I was pretty sore the next day, so I have started trying to add more yoga into my daily life.  I have been toggling between strengthening days and gentler, more mindful days.  In addition to that, I have been doing an aqua aerobics on Tuesdays at 6:00 and doing at least one yoga practice at the studio (as opposed to at home).  Labor and birth are pretty hard on your body, so I want to be as strong as possible going into it.  Aside from that, the end of labor gets pretty intense and somewhat painful, so for me, challenging my body through a yoga practice while focusing on breath is an important way for me to prepare for labor.  I want to be able to breathe through the pain, recognize its purpose, and use it to my advantage, rather than let it overwhelm or panic me.  I have been focusing on mindfulness lately, and am interested in how yoga can help me achieve focus, calm, and clarity, both in pregnancy and further in my daily life going forward.  The other thing I've been appreciating about my daily yoga practice is that it gives me a chance to stop moving, stop doing, look inward, and focus on the little life growing in my body.  Usually during the end of the practice in savasana, I put my hands on my belly and feel the baby kick, kick, kicking away.

As far as the baby's movement goes, the creature in there is an active little person!  I first started feeling movement around 16-17 weeks, and the first time Chad was able to feel the baby was the day before Christmas Eve, which was around 18 weeks.  I've heard that a lot of times, people aren't able to feel the baby from the outside until closer to 25-26 weeks, so this kid must be a beast :)  

I wanted to make sure that I wrote about my experiences with this baby so I would have something to present them with about their formation in the future.  Before you have children, you don't know it, but you have alllllll the free time in the world, so it's very easy in your first pregnancy to sit around, literally navel gazing, and contemplating all the changes that are coming in your life.  It's an especially transformative time as well, because as adults, we are transitioning fully into adulthood ourselves, preparing ourselves to become caregivers, and for the first time put another human before ourselves.  With subsequent pregnancies and children, we parents are already deeply entrenched in the daily practice of keeping helpless, little humans alive, hearing their tiny but very real struggles, kissing scraped knees, reading books, providing projects and activities, and laying down with them as they drift off to dreamland each night. It can be an all-encompassing and busy job, which leaves little time for navel gazing, in the way we had time for before we had anyone but ourselves to care for.  BUT rest assured, little one, the moment you arrive, we will care for you with the same fervor and attention that we gave to your siblings before you.  We will wake in all hours of the night to breastfeed you, change your diaper, and stare into your sleepless little eyes.  As you grow, we will read you books, wipe your nose, and meet (most of!) your snack demands!  Please never think of your status as forgotten third, the child who received the least or for whom your parents were too busy to think about.  We wanted to give you (all of you!) the gift of a family bursting with support and love.  Someday, when your father and I are old, too old to be the strong ones who care for YOU anymore, we wanted to give you a support system and a team that you could rely on for the entirety of your life.  We wanted to give you friends to run around in the backyard with, chasing fireflies on warm summer evenings, and buddies to snuggle up with on cold winter nights.

I can tell you that already your siblings, Everett and Laurel, look forward to your arrival with anticipation.  Everett, who is just about 5, loves to put his hand on my stomach and feel your kicks.  When he feels a kick, he jerks his whole body about this way and that, in the way that he imagines you are moving your body inside of me.  I don't know how your birth will play out yet, but if everything goes smoothly and according to plan, Everett is looking forward to helping cut your umbilical cord!!  He tells me that babies are a lot of work, but that he's ready to help!  Only just a few minutes ago, Laurel, who is 2.5, ran up to me, putting her hands on my stomach, and kissing my stomach, exclaiming "I kissed the baby!"

As for me, I had a dream the other night about your birth, and the most vivid moment from it is the pure happiness and joy your dad and I felt when we looked on your face the first time!  Know this, little baby, if you know nothing else: you were planned for, anticipated, and loved, from the very moment of your inception.  We have been waiting and preparing for your arrival and we CANNOT wait to meet you!  Until then, we'll continue dreaming about you and I'll write again soon <3

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How far along?  29 weeks tomorrow!

Total weight gain:   I currently weigh 158.6 and started out around 135.  I've gained 25 pounds so far...

Baby’s size/development this week: 15.5 inches and 2.5 pounds!!

Maternity clothes:  Mostly non-maternity sweats and maternity shirts.  I hate maternity pants with a passion.  I do have a pair of really comfy maternity leggings that have gotten me through the last two pregnancies.

Miss anything?  Hot yoga and race training!!  Popping out of bed like it ain't no thing.

Food cravings:  Just whatever giant dessert you want to put in front of me!!  Also, I have been really into PB+Js lately.

Anything making you queasy or sick?   Nope!

Sleep:  I just want to sleep moooooore!  I have been napping every afternoon.

Best moment of the week:   Laurel falling asleep in my arms on the playroom sofa and napping together.

Nursery:  Yeah right!

Weddings rings on or off?   ......on....?  Which apparently is better than last time!?

Belly Button: Still in.  It's a deep cavernous hole.

Movement?  This baby likes to move!

Labor signs?   Not so far.  Let's keep it that way!

Weird pregnancy thing of the week:   

Daddy is feeling:   Hungry!  (I emailed him and asked him to respond to the prompt and that's all I got!)

Mommy is feeling:   Tired but good!  I have a sinus infection that I wish would go away, but other than than I'm good.

Workouts this week: 
Monday:  20 minute Prenatal morning yoga workout
Tuesday: Aqua aerobics at gym
Wednesday: Prenatal yoga at studio
Thursday:  20 minutes prenatal strength workout
Friday:  20 minutes morning yoga + 30 minutes on elliptical

Books I'm Reading/Media I'm Ingesting:
BOOKS:
Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance
Patanjali's Yoga
PODCAST:
Outside Podcast

Looking forward to: Not having any plans this weekend!