31 Weeks

I met with the dietitian last week before we left for Arizona. My life for the next nine weeks is pretty much going to be miserable. I can eat anything I want, but only about two bites of it. I am carb counting and it is miserable. Here is the amount of carbs that I can eat in a day:

Breakfast: 30 g
Snack: 15 g
Lunch: 30-60 g
Snack: 15 g
Dinner: 30-60 g
Snack: 15 g

Proteins don't count, so I can eat as much raw vegetables, eggs, meat, nuts, and cheese as I want, yumm-o. Just to give you an idea of what that means, here are some possibilities of acceptable food:

Breakfast: 1 piece of toast, 1 cup milk, endless bacon and eggs
Snack: 1 small apple, peanut butter
Lunch: 1 meat sandwich, 1 cup milk, carrot sticks,
Snack: 6 crackers, cheese
Dinner: 1 small baked potatoes, grilled chicken, small salad, 1 cup milk
Snack: 1/2 banana

Everything must be eaten in small quantities and I'm always hungry. I can technically eat sugar free products like pudding and diet pop, but they have chemicals in them that they don't want you to have when you're pregnant. I get my glucose tested every few weeks and if it is too high, then I will have to test my blood sugar daily and go on medication. Brandon is being very supportive of this new diet and he is trying to eat the same things as me. The dietitian told me that if I ever think of cheating to remember that I will have to have a C-Section because the baby will be too big. That's motivation enough for me! This diet was really hard for me keep up on while we were in Arizona, but I did my best.
I wanted to get a good tan while we were in Arizona, but I was too scared of flaring up with melasma to let that happen. Melasma is a darkening of the skin, especially when you're pregnant. I got a little bit below my eyes when I was pregnant with Xander. Both of my sisters get it pretty bad when they are pregnant, so I didn't want to risk it. It's also called pregnancy mask and it looks like a splotchy brown patch of skin. Click here to see pictures and learn more about melasma:
http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/common_melasma.html

I took this picture in the reflection of the truck at the lake in Arizona. I love how I look like a mutant! I will try and get a more realistic picture up for the next post.

Quarterbacks are fired for it. Pentagon officials have to offer public apologies. Your sister did it on your Mom’s birthday. Dropping the ball is rarely a good thing, unless you are little boy, in your 31st week in utero. This week, your peewee Peyton’s testes are making their grand entrance onto the field. He’s also practicing finding the wide receiver as he is finally able to track objects with his eyes. When he's all scrunched up, he's about the size of a volleyball. Even with his head-to-toe measurement of 17", he has a way to go before he can scope out the blitz!

30 Weeks

I think I am in trouble with this baby. He is so active! He is almost constantly doing flips, somersaults, and cartwheels in my belly. His favorite place to roll over is my bladder and his favorite time to practice his gymnastics is when I'm almost asleep. I am so sick of going to the bathroom and watching late night TV that I could scream. I will miss these crazy stunts after he is born though. I just know he is going to be my wild child, so pray for me!

When I was pregnant with Xander, this was about the time that I started to swell. Thankfully that hasn't happened yet. I'm sure it's only because it's still so cold and going to Arizona just might give my body the excuse that it needs to balloon up. For now I'm just happy that I can still wear all of my shoes and my wedding ring.

I go to meet with the dietitian today to go over my new diet. I'm petty nervous that I won't be able to handle it. This week without sugar has been pretty bad. I'm so used to eating sugar that my body is way out of whack. I get hungry every hour and really weak and nauseous if I don't eat regularly. Just 10 more weeks until I can have ice cream again! Brandon better be prepared to run out and grab me some right after I give birth, because I'm going to need it!

I've been talking to some people in the ward about my impending delivery and the options that I have about where to deliver. So far, everyone has highly recommended that I go to Jackson to have this baby. They all say that they would never give birth here. I'm going to talk to my doctor, but that is probably where we will end up. I just hope I don't have a really short labor and end up giving birth on the way there!

Brynne had her baby girl on Monday, so she has been moved to the flat belly section. My baby bump list is growing shorter and shorter, and my name keeps moving up the list. It's kind of scary that I only have 10 weeks left!

Like Hansel in the gingerbread house, your little one is continuing to accumulate body fat this week, and he’s finally beginning to control his own body temperature. The added fat brings him to about 3 lbs. -- the size of a small pumpkin. The lanugo he developed weeks ago is starting to drop off; at the same time, his eyebrows and lashes are developed and the hair on his head is thickening. His head and body are now proportionate and he is busy growing in those teensy toenails.

I've Still Got It!!

I just wanted to add this thought because Aubrey and I were talking about it the other day. I quit wearing my regular pants at about 14 weeks because they were so uncomfortable. I have an issue with wearing tight jeans, they make me itch. Well, my maternity pants were all dirty the other day, for some reason I decided to give my old regulars a chance. Not only could I put them on all the way, but I could actually do up the button and the zipper! I still stuck a rubber band on the button, just so I could sit down, but the point is that I have so many more options now! Of course, when I got home I immediately put on some lounge wear, because who sits around their house in tight jeans if they don't have to?
Because we are going to Arizona next week and I will be wearing sandals, I decided that I must give in and paint my toenails. I asked Brandon to do it for me and he said no way and that I should have Xander do it. He would have totally done it if we were dating, but he no longer feels the need to do things for me that he doesn't want to do. So, this morning I got everything all set up and went to work on my sausage toes. I almost passed out several times due to lack of oxygen. Lets just say that they really looks like crap and I will be scheduling a pedicure before the baby comes!

29 Weeks

I went to the doctor last week to talk about my new diet and other things. I was supposed to meet with a dietitian, but they were both out of town. I think that that is something they should have checked before they scheduled me. The doctor said that my levels were borderline, but he still wants me on the diet just in case. I don't have to check my blood sugar at home or anything like that, but I have to get it checked at the office every couple of weeks. I go in next week to meet with the dietitian and find our what I need to do to make sure that baby Frank and I stay healthy for a few more months. My doctor then did a routine appointment. He measured my stomach and said that I was measuring perfectly normal. I wasn't expecting that because with Xander, I always measured big and my doctor never failed to mention that. I'm kind of nervous that I will have a small baby, which I don't want. Anything over 8 lbs. is perfect for me. I also only gained one pound this time, so that's pretty good.
I have a negative blood type, so I have to get the RH negative shot, I forget what it's really called. I have to get this done at around 28 weeks and then again after delivery. It ensures that the antibodies in my blood don't attack the baby's blood, which is not good. You have to get it in the hip, so the nurse had me get ready while she got the injection ready. She couldn't get it open and had to run to the lab to grab another one. Meanwhile, I'm just hanging out in the room with half my butt exposed and Xander asking me every ten seconds what I'm doing and if it will hurt, while she attempts to do her job correctly. The injection site hurt for like three days after and I still have a bruise.
After I get back from Arizona I am going in to have my blood sugar tested. They gave me a lab request form to give to the lab, but then they had me schedule an appointment with the doctor, so I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I'm about ready to call it quits and go and have my baby in IF, even if I do have to pay out of network fees.

I have to be really careful every morning when I wake up. I have to remind myself not to point my toes while I'm stretching. Even if I do it for only a second, I get horrible charlie horses in my feet and legs. Xander gave me his illness, so now I'm eve grumpier and more tired than before.

At 16½ inches from head to toe (the size of a large pineapple), your baby is starting to get a bit cramped.

He may be moving around less due to the diminished space -- a good average would be about 10 times per hour. If you feel a noticeable decrease in movement, do the fetal kick count we talked about in Week 28; if he’s moving less than 10 times per hour, give your doctor a call.

While his home still allows room to move, baby is going to more than triple in weight before he’s born -- so you can expect his home to grow ever more cozy in the coming weeks.

28 Weeks

Don't waddle! Don't waddle! That's what I have to tell myself every time I'm walking. It's hard not to give in to the natural reflex, but I don't want to look ridiculous. Besides, it's way too early to be big enough for this obvious display of full term pregnancy.
My heartburn has completely gone! No, I didn't find some miracle cure, I was just forced to stop eating sugar. As it turns out, sugar gives me heartburn. I haven't felt the burning or the bile rising in my throat for a week now. If I hadn't developed a sudden case of insomnia, I know I would be sleeping like a baby. I have discovered the joy of sugar free pudding and jello, almost as good as the real stuff.
I think that this was a bad time for us to get TV. All I watch are shows about giving birth, miracle babies, and high-risk pregnancy. It's starting freak me out. Xander loves to watch "A Baby Story" with me, especially if it's a C-Section. He loves it when they "cut the baby out and wash off the bwood". I think I might be scarring him for life, but he seems okay with it for now.

We are going to Arizona in a few weeks and I've been saving money to buy some new clothes for Frank. No, we have not decided on a name, but we have decided on a middle name, Frank, after my dad. So, it you feel the need to refer to our unborn child as a name, Frank or Frankie will do for now.

Your little pea has been concentrating on bulking up this week -- he’s steadily adding body fat and filling out that loose skin. His muscle tone is improving, too, so no need to worry about him emerging with spaghetti arms! His adrenal glands are functional and starting to produce the all-important androgens and estrogens. Although he's about the size of a sunflower bloom, he’s not yet terribly cramped by the size of your uterus, so he is still very active.


baby insight 28 Due Dialect: Androgens and Estrogens
Androgens are the hormones that stimulate and regulate the development of masculine characteristics. The androgen you hear about most often is testosterone, but there are many others that our bodies also produce. Androgen production is what causes the typically male characteristics we recognize: larger muscles, bigger skeletal frames, aggression and so on.

Estrogens, on the other hand, are the primary female sex hormones. Estrogens are present in both men and women, but are present in significantly higher levels in women of reproductive age. They promote typically female characteristics: breasts, menstruation and so on.