* How baby shack's growing: * She now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to accommodate her brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that little miss shack's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

*How our life is changing: * I feel little princess' movements strongly now. Derek's had quite a few opportunities to feel her move & watch my stomach do the "wave". It's so fun.

Last week I had my glucose screening & they also checked for anemia. My iron was a little low so now I'm trying to take an iron supplement. I'm having a hard time fitting that into my schedule. My sugar was almost high. 150 is high, mine was 146. That just means this sugar heaven I've been in has to get under control! But, I'm not necessarily at risk for gestational diabetes which is great!

Some old friends — heartburn and constipation — may take center stage again. The pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout my body, including my gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation, coupled with the crowding in my abdomen, slows my digestive process, which can cause gas, especially after a big meal. Another problem I can credit to my growing uterus (and constipation): hemmorrhoids. Yay!

Since last week I have suffered with quite a bit of pain in a side/back muscle surrounding my upper ribs. This has left me walking around moaning a lot & each time I cough (yes, I'm still doing that) it hurts so much worse. I am very frustrated and very tired of the pain. Sometimes it's very intense. I can't take muscle relaxers of course. The soonest I could get in to see a massage therapist is Thursday. She says something similar happened to her when she was pregnant. She also said that she works on ribs & the muscles around them all the time. I'm sure it will hurt but I'm hoping to get some relief from this pain! In the mean time I keep trying to put heat on it which sometimes helps.

Tonight in "two pillows & a blanket" class we learned more comfortable positions to be in while laboring and learned more lamaze breathing. I want to have this class every night just for the back massage alone! I see my Doctor again next week. Now we're on a bi-weekly schedule. Oh what fun!

This is day number 204 and I'm 29 weeks pregnant! I have 76 days or 11 weeks left, and am 72.5% of the way there.

Week 28 2/15/06

Welcome to the THIRD trimester!

Holy cow! How'd we get here so fast?!
*How our baby's growing:* By this week, baby shack weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she'll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb. She is gaining weight rapidly. Some say a quick way to predict
the size of our baby is to average the weight of Derek and I. If that'strue, baby shack will be around 6 to 7 pounds. Head hair is starting to grow; eyebrows and eyelashes are present. Nails have reached the tops of fingers & toes. The skin is pink and smooth. Brain growth in this and the next two months will be dramatic, and will continue rapidly throughthe first two years of life.

*How our life's changing:* We've now attended two birthing classes. While I did a great job last week relaxing and breathing deeply, I didn't do so well this week. Why? Because of the video we watched beforehand. I think all the females were crying during the video. It was a great one, very interesting and well made. But so overwhelming. I had to
breathe deeply to get through it and really needed a break from it a few times. So, when we tried our deep breathing, my mind was full of images which made it difficult to concentrate. Good practice though huh? There will be plenty of distractions to keep me from concentrating when I'm in labor.

I had my glucose screening on Tuesday & my doc's visit. I about fell on the floor when Dr. Bradford casually said we have 12 weeks to go. Really, that table I sit on in his office is very high but I really about fell over (and this was BEFORE the video of reality). We, of course, got to hear the heartbeat which was nice and strong. My blood pressure was normal. I'll get the results of the glucose & anemia screening by next Tuesday. I am also starting to see my doctor every 2 weeks now instead of every 4. The greatest news was that my weight is right on target. Dr. Bradford said I was doing excellent in that regard.
Finally, I can be super proud of my weight...and at 160 at that! That number completely cracks me up!

We are continuing to feel & see miss baby shacklett move daily. I'm dealing with many common physical changes which I'll spare you from. Poor Derek I include him in EVERYTHING regarding this pregnancy. I figure it's only fair, but you my friends, are spared! I am experiencing mild swelling noticeable in the hands & ankles. My navel will most definitely pop out soon, I hope it hangs on (stays flat) for another 4 weeks. Because my skin is stretching, my abdomen is quite itchy. I've noticed shortness of breath when I walk & bend over. And I continue to entertain myself by being clumsy. My dreams seem to have become more vivid but thankfully are not freakish...yet.

We are 72% of the way there with 82 days left to go.
-Holly

Week 27

*Beware the naked belly! Less than 100 days to go!

How baby shack's** growing:* This baby is really starting to fill up my
uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches
long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and
she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers,
and
although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of
functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely.
Babies often have hiccups but I haven't felt any rhythmic movement so
I'm assuming she hasn't had any YET. With more brain tissue developing,
miss baby shacklett's brain is very active now. Her facial features are
almost fully developed and synchronizing enough that she may make faces
that are visible on an ultrasound. Princess shack's skin is becoming
thicker and fleshier and increasingly wrinkled, thanks to the amniotic
fluid. The skin will remain wrinkled for the first month or so after
birth .

*How our life's changing:* My body is gearing up for the final lap, so
I
expect to start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back,
for example, I may find that my leg muscles cramp
<http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/prenatalhealth/250.html> up
now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and my uterus
is
putting extra demands on my circulation. (As my uterus expands, it puts
pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from my legs to my
heart
and on the nerves leading from my trunk to my legs.) Unfortunately, the
cramps are likely to get worse as my pregnancy progresses. Leg
cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. I
experienced one of the cramps in my calf in the middle of the night. I
don't think I've ever had a muscle cramp before. OUCH! My muscle felt
so
weird when I touched it but thankfully it didn't take me long to work
it
out. My back has begun to bother me but I'm not sure if it's just
natural or if it's all the stuff I'm doing to prepare space for this
baby (moving furniture, cleaning out from under our bed as we switch
sides of the room so I can be closer to the bathroom, etc.).

We had our first "two pillows and a blanket" class tonight. My title
for
the class sounds so much better than "Childbirth Prep class". I like
our
teacher. We only have this class 4 weeks and it's on Tuesday nights.
Tonight we concentrated on relaxation and I enjoyed it so much. I
walked
away quite relaxed. And Derek did a good job in spite of the fact that
I
got the giggles and had tears running down my face because of it.
Wouldn't that be great if I could do that throughout my delivery?

Derek and I painted the nursery together....he hates to paint but did
it
with a good attitude. A good friend of mine who's an artist put the
final touches on it this weekend and we LOVE it. I'll attach a picture.
I've also washed two loads of baby clothes. That was a little exciting
for me, especially as I tried to figure out where to put everything,
what she'll be able to wear first & how to organize this little room
best.

I have started my 3rd antibiotic. I'm still stick from my Jan. 1
episode. I finally said okay to taking the $100 antibiotic. OUCH! But I
think I'm already getting better after 3 pills (I BETTER!). Derek is on
his 2nd round of antibiotics. We're so tired of being sick! We're also
scheduled to sing in Memphis this weekend & are desperately trying to
get well for that! We're planning to make this a long weekend so we can
have some "play time" on maybe our last weekend trip before the baby
arrives! So that's that.

That's what's going on with miss baby shack & her parents. I'm enjoying
her move every day & today I laid in bed & saw my tummy do the "wave"
several times. Derek got to see that last week. I'm so glad! I am 67%
of
the way there with 90 days left. Wow, less than 100 days to go! Weird!

> "During pregnancy, the average woman's uterus expands up to five
> hundred times its normal size."
> ~ AmusingFacts.com