28 Weeks: The Beginning of the End & a 4D Ultrasound!

 

This week marks the beginning of the third trimester!  I can’t believe it!  The most exciting thing this week was the 28 week appointment & 4D ultrasound. Look at our sweet boy!  (Just so everyone knows, we have been calling him “LB” - this stands for “little buddy/Brent/boy/baby.”)

(Right now the general consensus is that he looks like me, but at least one of my coworkers thinks he looks like Brent.  I definitely think that’s my nose, but the first pic from the side looks like Brent. I guess we will have to see when we meet him!)  The great news is that he is measuring perfectly, within 1 day of the due date!  He weighs 2 lbs, 8 ounces…just a tiny little thing!  I definitely feel pregnant with all of the movement inside, but it is hard for me to believe that the little boy in the pics above is an actual person that I am carrying inside of me!  Technology is so amazing…I can’t believe we can actually see him!  The good news is that we get to try again in 2 weeks!

Brent got to go to the ultrasound, which was in the afternoon, but couldn’t go to the actual appointment this morning.  Some highlights from the actual appointment:

• +6 pounds, for a total of 21 total pounds gained (on track, but hopefully will slow down after this)
• belly is measuring 28 cm - perfect!
• passed the glucose tolerance test – barely!!  By one point! Oooops!  I knew it would be bad when I thought the drink tasted good!
• told the doctor my worst symptom was the moods & she suggested that I eat chocolate! Woo hoo!
• got a Rhogam shot so my body doesn’t make antibodies to LB’s blood since I am O- and Brent is A+
• got a tetanus shot according to CDC recommendations
• got a syphillis test (required by the state of Alabama)
• another urine culture!  Hopefully the bacteria is gone!
• my OB appointments change from every 4 weeks to every 2 weeks!

Other news – hunger is definitely gone.  I have been doing so much better with my eating.  Also, suddenly I have TONS of energy – I am definitely nesting, attempting to get everything ready to bring LB home.  My mood is great and I am doing great with exercise!  I get full so fast so it is hard to overeat.  I am glad about this and hoping that the weight gain will slow.

Pictures!  The first three pics are from the day of the appointment. We always take selfies in the waiting room!

And some other pics in my clothes (and underclothes – please don’t click on the first pic & blow it up!).  My belly is so big!  I love it!  Although I do miss the being as “small” as I used to be – even though I wasn’t really a small person, just small in comparison!

For reference, here are some other pics of me in scrubs (~19 weeks & ~26 weeks & this week):

27 Weeks: Easter

Some of us are still recovering…like a boss……

This is also the last week of the 2nd trimester!  I’m feeling pretty good, just very moody, as usual.  Brent is still feeling pretty miserable.  He started physical therapy & it is very painful.  Still requiring regular pain medications.   On the bright side, Tuscaloosa is BEAUTIFUL!  The azaleas & dogwood are blooming.  I love it!

We had a pretty quiet Easter.  We couldn’t go home due to Brent’s shoulder and how uncomfortable it would been for him to drive that distance.  We went to Sunday school & church, then came back home and had country fried steak with gravy, summer squash & rolls.  It was fun and relaxing.  I was thinking that next year the Easter bunny will start coming, but he surprised me and came this year!!!

I absolutely HATE the Easter pictures (of me), but will post them for documentation purposes.  Not flattering.  Brent looks great, though!  I look obese.

And here are some posts from past Easters!

• 2013: A Paleo Easter  (I wore the same Easter dress last year; it obviously fit much better then.)
• 2012: Easter Collage (This is the year the pastor said “damn” during the Easter sermon.  Actually, apparently the Devil said it when Jesus rose from the dead and the pastor was just repeating.  Note: this is not the same church we are going to now.)
• 2011: Happy Easter 2011 (My first lemon meringue pie.)
• 2010: We Love Claritin (No comment. I had to work.)
• 2009: Easter 2009 (The year we had our neighbor over for Easter dinner.)

And of course there was a 27 week photoshoot!

And some pictures in my work clothes. Trying to make my regular clothes work for as long as possible.

Highlights of week 27: finally, the hunger has subsided.  I have read that the bulk of the pregnancy weight is usually gained between week 20 – week 30 (for the mother  obviously), so maybe I am tapering off. Actually I have not been very hungry at all  this week (of course I’m eating plenty of Easter candy, but not just ravenous). I have not had one Poptart since Brent’s surgery!  I have also been staying active – still going to the gym twice per week, walking New Girl in the mornings, parking at the bottom of the parking lot & taking the stairs at work – just trying to move more.  I’m getting close to 10,000 steps per day. Maybe this is why my back has not been hurting. I usually feel really good during the day, but tend to crash at night and fall asleep on the couch pretty early.  But I am sleeping really good at night and waking up in the morning right before the alarm goes off – a very nice change!

k