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Week 28
Milestones: Eyelids are opening now and eyes are completely formed. Baby even has new little eyelashes! He is mostly focusing on putting on some weight (he weighs about 2 pounds) and body fat (right now he has only 2-3% body fat). But other than still needing to fill out, he looks a lot like what he will look like when he's born! My Journal: The preparations for baby's arrival are continuing at full speed over here! We finished up all the painting over the holiday weekend, and this morning I washed the floors in the baby's room and moved all the furniture around to where I wanted it (although I changed my mind later this evening and ended up moving it again anyways!). The next big step in the nursery is putting up the curtains and buying a roller blind or venetian blinds to go underneath. It seems a little silly sometimes to have it all ready so early, especially since he will be sleeping mostly in our room for the first few months, but I just want to have everything ready in advance because you just never know! Firstly, I want to take advantage of doing all this work while I'm still physically in okay shape. And also, the baby could arrive early or even right as he is considered "term" at 37 weeks, which is only two months away. And two months may seem like a long time, but it's really not. I guess I just don't want to end up like I was with Harmony - scrambling to have everything ready on time and having so much left to do in the last few weeks of pregnancy. I want to be ready for Avery way in advance so that I can relax in December (and try to avoid going into labour early!) and just enjoy the last few weeks of my last pregnancy. But so far, so good! We have a lot ready for the baby and are getting more and more done every day. That feeling of seeing projects completed is as satisfying as working on the projects is, if not more so! Here's a picture of Paul and I getting the painting done this past weekend:
Other projects that are done include Avery's cross-stitch (all it needs is his birth info!) as well as a couple more family scrapbooks. I've been scrapbooking up a storm these days and would really like to get all caught up on our family albums before Avery's arrival. That way I can work on his album next (when I start having the time again, so maybe next summer!) and be able to journal about his baby days while they are still fresh in my memories (and still happening). Believe it or not, I'm also done with some of our Christmas shopping! I'm just filling in the list one gift at a time now and getting organized for some of the hand-made Christmas gifts I'll be making. Some of those can wait until next month or December since they are more time-consuming than strenuous... but I'd like to have most of the "going out" shopping done by the end of this month if possible! Mostly because I'm finding it more and more challenging to get around physically (I can do about an hour of walking around with only a few rests, but after that, my belly starts getting sore), but also because November is going to be a super busy month for us with lots of prenatal class time, birthday parties, and appointments. Test Results/Ultrasounds/Appointments: Looking forward to my 28-week check-up tomorrow. After this appt., I'll start going every 2 weeks! Physical: Yawn!!! I have still been really sleepy and am trying to figure out a "nap" schedule that won't interfere too much with everything I need to do - most importantly, picking Harmony up at the bus stop every day at about quarter to three. I have been scared to have a nap before then because I don't want to sleep through an alarm and not be there to greet her. I know it's only a short walk home and she knows the way and I have quizzed her on the "What would you do if mommy was late or the bus was early?" and she told me she would come straight home and "not even stop to pick up any ladybugs!", but I still worry. But on the other hand, I hate missing out those couple hours with her when she's home from school - there were a couple days last week when I could barely stay awake for the basic after-school routine of unpacking her bag and helping her with her homework, etc. and just passed out on the couch right after while she played. So Paul convinced me to try to nap earlier in the afternoon (before picking her up) and is calling me at 2:30 in case I miss my alarm. So we'll see if that helps, and it actually might be okay to get into that routine now anyways, since I may need to be doing just that when Avery is 2-6 months old (planning his nap time and mine for right after lunch)! A new symptom has appeared this week and with a vengeance - heartburn! I'm not sure if it's just that Avery has reached a size where he is pushing into my stomach more or what, but I find if I lie down anytime after eating (or after it's been a while since I last ate), I will get really yucky heartburn. Right now I'm just taking calcium carbonate when it gets really bad, but I'm going to ask my OB if anything else will help. Other things I've been noticing more and more lately is problems with my vision. Sometimes I'll have really blurry vision and sometimes I'll see little light "spots" in my field of vision. I've heard that progesterone can affect your eyes though (which is why I didn't go to get my prescription re-evaluated), so maybe it can have these kinds of effects as well. Weight Gain/Food: Well, I'm up to a 15-pound total weight gain, but I'm still under the "average" weight gain for this far along (17-24lbs based on one source). Unfortunately, my 3-month aquafit membership expires soon (tomorrow is the last night I'll be able to use it), but I am going to try to keep going every week or two... It won't be as cheap (without the membership) and my bathing suit is getting a little worn (can only wear the one maternity bathing suit and it's getting pretty stretched!), but I'll stick with it as much as I'm able! Meanwhile, those cravings are started to get pretty intense, and for the first time I had Paul offer to run to the store for Root Beer since I was craving it really badly! I had promised to never make him drive anywhere to get things in the middle of the night, but I am glad he didn't mind the couple minute walk to the convenience store for me. It seems so silly (and like such a bad stereotype), but I swear sometimes I just reeeeeeally want to eat or drink something and nothing else will do! Emotional: Not doing so great in the emotional department this week, I have to admit. I'm getting a little "worn out" lately, and have been really overwhelmed by all the things we still have to do, despite feeling positive about what we already have ready for the baby. I just find it's been such an instinctual thing, getting everything ready, that sometimes I can't seem to slow down. Paul pointed out that I'm often like this anyways, but I feel like the whole "when I'm on a roll, I can't stop" thing is just really exagerated by all the hormones. One night I had to ask him to make me go to bed because I was exhausted and yet couldn't seem to stop cleaning and putting things away. It's like sometimes I wish everything was just done and get really frustrated with the things that aren't yet... My mind starts racing with ToDo lists pretty early in the mornings these days, and I couldn't even sleep in for the couple nights that Harmony was away this weekend. I wouldn't say I'm becoming obsessive about getting ready for the baby or anything, just obsessive-ish with those nesting instincts kicking in. I think just forging ahead will be more helpful than trying to step back though, and hopefully I'll be able to sit back and relax later on when things are done. I guess being tired and overwhelmed hasn't been great for my emotional state either - I've been a little sensitive this week and upset when things don't go as planned. I haven't been coping well with the unexpected things that pop up, and would rather have a very stable routine! I got really upset when we were at the mall on Saturday because a salesclerk just had no clue how to do her job properly and was taking forever trying to figure out how to use the computer! We were in a hurry to make it on time to pick Harmony up from dance class, and I got so stressed from having to wait for her to fumble with processing the sale that I just burst into tears and told the girl that it was really annoying that I couldn't just buy a few stupid pairs of socks because I was 6 months pregnant and only fit into one pair of shoes that didn't match most of my socks! I just felt so stressed and ended up leaving the mall in tears. No wonder I want to get my shopping over and done with (and preferably with my sanity and dignity both still intact) so I can just avoid the malls and spend December cosy at home!
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