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Week 24  Milestones: Baby is about a pound and a half now and apparently, my uterus has now grown to the size of a soccer ball to accomodate this growing baby! My Journal: I'm happy to report that both mommy and baby are happy and healthy these days! We are both very busy and one of us still likes to kick the other (hmmm, guess who that could be?). Now that Harmony and Paul are settled back into their school and work routines and I've caught up on the work I had waiting for me, my biggest priority is getting this nursery organized! I think I figured out that I'd spent over 7 hours in the past week and a bit just clearing out junk and re-organizing this room. Our 3rd bedroom in this house started out as a storage room and then even when it became my office, it still kept a lot of the stuff it was storing! So there is lots of stuff to try to find a place for in our little basement so this room can be cleared out for baby. I'm very glad that at least when I painted my office, I did so with an eventual 2nd child in mind and chose a very nice calming pastel blue and star stencil theme. I'm going to touch up the paint a bit in areas that need it, and expand on the existing stars to make a celestial theme. I was also thinking of doing celestial and angels (because Avery has our 3 baby angels watching over him), but am not sure if I'll be able to fit all of that in and still have it look nice. I'll see what it looks like empty and freshly painted and also see what decorating pieces I'll be able to find for the room. I already have most things that I'll need (I'm re-painting Harmony's baby dresser, we're borrowing a crib, I have my parent's rocking chair), but would like to look for some little items to bring the theme together (like a celestial mobile - still haven't come across one). Another big preparation is the big decision about Avery's actual birth! I've been talking it over a lot lately with anyone and everyone - Paul, other family members, friends, my online friends, etc.! Tomorrow I'll be talking it over again with my Dr. to get more information. Ideally, I would love to be able to have a VBAC birth. But if I knew that attempting a VBAC would: place the baby's health at risk, place my health at risk, end up resulting in a Cesarean anyways, negatively affect our first few hours and days together, etc., I wouldn't want to even attempt it. Having been through soooo much to even be able to say that we're pregnant and being able to even be one step farther than that and having a baby, and to be blessed with a healthy baby!!! Well, we've fought so hard to make it here, I just feel like counting my blessings and doing everything possible to make sure that we're holding a healthy baby in our arms in the end. Then again, I don't want to let my fears from my previous birth experiences and from my miscarriages take away from the possibility of having the best possible experience for both myself and for Avery. So, obviously, I'm still undecided at this point, but I would have to say I am leaning towards a planned Cesarean. What I think I will ask my OB is if it's possible to schedule a C-section for the end of December (Paul and I both think the 28th would be an ideal day, and I'd be exactly 39 weeks), but that if I went into labour early and things were actually going really well, I could change my mind and try for a VBAC. Because having a planned Cesarean is one thing, but showing up at the hospital in labour and being whisked away to surgery is something different entirely and not the experience I want. I know that at least by thinking about what kind of birth I want to have, and researching all my options, I won't be doubting myself and wondering what could've been done differently, like I have been with Harmony. I think choosing to have a planned C-section for lots of reasons I've seriously considered will be really different from getting "failure to progress" stamped on my file and literally feeling like a failure because of it. I just want to have a positive birth experience this time, and want Avery to have a calm and well-rested mommy ready to meet him when he arrives! Test Results/Ultrasounds/Appointments: My 24-week appointment is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it! Physical: Well, I have been feeling like I'm starting to "slow down" as I approach my third trimester and now that I've just read the information today about my uterus being the size of a soccer ball, I am no longer wondering why! I knew the baby was getting big, but who knew there was room in there for so much! No wonder I feel so "heavy" in my middle sometimes and am thrown off balance a lot these days. I've actually been hurting myself lately (by accident, obviously) because of that, which is kind of embarassing. Like I'll trip over things or smash my hands or feet or hips into things that I thought were farther away, etc. I guess having to adjust to a rapidly changing body is just one trade-off for being able to have the amazing job of carrying around a little human being for 9 months! Another "perk" is the whole achy thing - my back is starting to ache more, and even my feet are starting to feel it too. Also, those Braxton-Hicks contractions have started up and I get them pretty regularly now. I still get round ligament pains, but less often than before. I've also continued the break I've had from those nighttime leg cramps! Strange that so many little physical things are associated with pregnancy - although not that strange considering the "cargo" you're carrying! But knowing that it's all downhill from here, I'll just enjoy the freedom of movement I still do have! I can (just barely) cross one leg over the other on the stairs to tie my shoes, I can still shave my legs, and I can even sit partially cross-legged in the floor. I can even cross my legs still, which I don't think I could do by the end of my pregnancy with Harmony! We'll see what I have to say about all these seemingly mundane tasks in another month or so! Weight Gain/Food: I'm still up at around a 10lb gain, but it seems to be staying there, which is a good sign. Now that summer holidays are over and Harmony is settled back into her school routine, I will start those pre-natal Aquafit classes again! The local pool has been closed and is still closed for another week, but since I'd really like to get back into my routine of staying active and stretching those muscles out at least one or two times a week, I think I'll stop by another pool until our pool in the neighbourhood is open again. As for eating, I've been pretty hungry these days, but have been cooking up a storm to make sure we're all eating well. We've had lots of nutricious meals lately - I've made shephard's pie, chicken with veggies and rice, spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread, pork chops with potatoes and corn, tuna noodle casserole, etc!! And Paul BBQ-ed up some steaks over the weekend, so that was a great treat! I haven't been able to kick my sweet-tooth habits though (they are bad enough when I'm not pregnant!), but I'm not going overboard on the sweets. Emotional: I think pregnancy is like a magnifying glass sometimes - it brings your most basic emotions right up to your face and shows you the true intensity of them. I find sometimes I get these mood swings bubbling up and I get really sad or mad all of a sudden. I'm glad this doesn't happen too often since it's a little unnerving at times. I find I'm able to feel stable and in control most of the time, and then sometimes I'll feel really overwhelmed with it all. I had a good cry on Saturday, just over a bunch of little things that snowballed into me feeling a bit stressed out, but I wrote a little bit in my own journal and felt better. There's just so much going on with this pregnancy, so many decisions to make, so many worries and so many exciting things. I want things to speed up and slow down at the same time. It's my dream come true and I want to enjoy it, but at the same time I'm still worried about this baby and don't think I'll stop worrying that it's all "too good to be true" until I'm able to hold him in my arms. I'm going to try to just take it one day at a time and enjoy all these wonderful moments that I'm having.
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