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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Random thoughts from the week

On Tuesday I had my first appointment with the OB I was referred to.  I was nervous going in but it turned out to be a really great experience.  He is probably in his late 50's and has a really pleasant accent I can't quite place.  He was so gentle (both in demeanor and with the pelvic exam) and very patient and kind when it came to discussing the pregnancy and what is to come.  His nurse was also very nice and kind.  I left there feeling buoyed by the experience.

The baby appears to be doing well and continues to move and groove throughout the day which I'm finding to be a stress reliever at work.  There's nothing like tuning out a problem at work for a few minutes to focus on the little being moving around inside me, reminding me of the big picture in my life.

I continue to have really bad rib and mid to lower back pain.  Definitely time to book that prenatal massage.  In the meantime baths and my trusty heating pad are my best friends.  I normally hate laying on our couch but today I had a pretty comfortable nap thanks to the added support on the back while laying on my side.  I think I might try that more often.

My feet have grown at least half a size in the past month.  Today was spent buying a comfortable pair of shoes in a larger size that can be slipped on easily (because bending over that far has become nearly impossible now) and have a little bit of room for probable swelling in the next few months.  Hopefully they don't expand anymore than this because comfortable shoes are expensive!

I've been going out and walking several times a week.  I can usually make it all the way to the local Second Cup, health cafe or grocery store before my belly starts tightening up and feeling a bit uncomfortable.  It feels good to move around like that and I find it is helping my body handle the pregnancy better (except for the back pain and heartburn).

We are trying to hold out two more weeks before going for a 3D ultrasound.  I can't wait...

Today my passport expired.  I keep forgetting to go get pictures taken to get the process going on renewal and it isn't like I'm planning on traveling anywhere in the next four months.  Still, it feels weird to now be trapped in the country.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

At 23 Weeks...

Weeks 18 - 21 were by far the best pregnancy weeks so far. I could feel the baby moving by week 18, was finally looking more pregnant and was getting nearly a full night's sleep for the first time in four months.  That continued for a few weeks until sometime last week when the mid to low back pain that had been slowly making itself a presence became a nearly full time nuisance, especially at night while trying to sleep.  I've been experimenting with pillows and wedges and whatnot but have not found a comfortable way to stay sleeping (or at least resting in bed) in between getting up to go to the bathroom at night.

Other irritations that have come on strong in the last week or so are heartburn, sinus congestion and headaches.  I have adjusted my diet to remove anything remotely sweet or spicy.  That is probably my greatest disappointment with this pregnancy - the inability to consume anything with spice.  I LOVE spicy food and I especially miss all the Indian food I used to make but sadly I cannot even use pepper these days without enduring heartburn. This of course doesn't stop me from craving all sorts of wonderful things my body cannot tolerate right now.  It's really unfair how that happens.

My sinus congestion is really annoying and causes me to breathe through my mouth a lot, especially at night.  The headaches are probably partly related to the sinus problem and partly due to hormones, either way I was out of commission most of this weekend with near-migraine quality headaches.  So not fun.

I'm going to look into getting a prenatal massage sometime in the next week or so and hopefully that will help everything a bit.  I've been meaning to book one for a while now but never seem to get around to it because I can't really imagine how comfortable it will be.  I guess I'll eventually find out.

This week I have my first OB appointment, a dentist appointment (now that I can finally sort-of tolerate the taste of mint again) and a long overdue hair appointment to get at least 4 inches trimmed off.  

Work has become crazy busy in the past month as the busy season has begun.  My back-up while I'm off on mat leave is about 5% trained - total fail so far.  It is really hard to find the time to write up standard operating procedures from scratch while dealing with a million other things each day (in between a zillion bathroom breaks of course).  I'm starting to stress a little on this because almost none of my job tasks can be picked up after doing them just once or twice.  My original goal was to have him fully trained by the end of November in case something happened with my pregnancy (bed rest, etc.) but I think we'll be pushing that now. 

Well, my attention is being drawn to the busy mover in my uterus so I'm going to go find Jules so she can feel her daughter performing her nightly gymnastics routine. :)