Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks

This photo was taken in our newly painted bedroom! We haven't moved the furniture back in yet because we are having the carpets cleaned on Monday.  The dogs are LOVING all the room for activities!  I'll post some before and after shots once we have the furniture where it belongs.  I'm not sure why my sweater is sticking out like that in the back  - may have been stuck in my pants.  Thanks, husband, for letting me know before you took the photo.  : )

Baby's size: She's as big as a head of cauliflower (according to What to Expect), an eggplant (according to The Bump), or an echidna (according to the "weird-but-cute animals" theme on OviaPregnancy).  Although it's hard for me to believe something this long is fitting inside me with all my organs and such, she should be measuring in around 14-16 inches.  And she's supposed to be weighing 2-2.5 pounds (probably on the higher end of that because I know she was close to 2 pounds a month or so ago).  It's already hard to wrap my mind around how big and close to being ready to come out into the world she is, and she still has so much more growing and maturing to do!

An echidna hanging out with Steve Irwin - I loved me some Crocodile Hunter back in the day.  Did you know that echidnas are mammals that lay eggs?  Fun facts!

Image from www.australiazoo.com.au

What I'm wearing: The weather has finally started to make a turn toward being more fall appropriate (about time, halfway through November!), so I've been able to wear some of my sweaters, scarves, and layers this week.  I'm much more comfortable dressing my bump in these loose clothes and thicker materials than I was in thin t-shirts.  If I can get the Asos website to work tonight (it's struggling!), I'm going to order a couple of their maternity dresses to hopefully wear for Thanksgiving and our baby shower in December if I like the way they fit.  I've bought very few true maternity clothes, so I'm super excited for them to arrive in the mail!

Weight gained:  We've been at my parents' house in Burlington this weekend, so I haven't weighed myself in a couple days (which is probably a good thing for my sanity).  My weight has been fluctuating a ton this week.  Some days, I'd only gained one pound since last week, while other days I was closer to three (putting my weight gain so far somewhere between 26-28 pounds).  I would think that these frequent changes were due to normal pregnancy water retention, but I haven't noticed any of the swelling in my hands and feet/ankles that many pregnant women experience.  I'm not sure what's going on!  Like the past couple weeks, the gains don't really seem to reflect my eating and exercising habits, as I don't really change anything from week to week.  I'm just going to keep eating when I need fuel and exercising when I can and hope for the best!

Working out: Nothing new to report on this front!  I'm really thankful that I'm still able to walk every day, as I know this can become challenging for some ladies by the time they're in their third trimesters.  And I'm still doing a barre or prenatal yoga DVD when I have the time and energy.  I was really proud of myself one day this week when I couldn't walk in our neighborhood because it was pouring rain, so I made the half hour drive to the gym to walk on the treadmill for a bit and do some light weightlifting.  Here's hoping I can keep up this motivation to fit exercise into each day even after I'm not doing it for the health of our little one.

New Symptoms:  My most noticeable preggo symptom this week is DEFINITELY insomnia, which of course leads to lots of fatigue during the day.  I'm not sure if it's anxiety about baby's impending arrival or hormones (or a combination of both) that's keeping me up at night, but sleep is hard to come by these days (or nights, I guess!).  Even when I can manage to stay asleep for a few hours in a row, I don't wake up feeling especially rested, so I think it must be very light sleep.  I fight off the urge to nap all day in hopes that I'll be super tired at night and sleep will come easier, but so far that plan hasn't yielded much success.  I guess I'm just getting ready for the nights I'll be up every couple hours for feedings!

Throughout my pregnancy, I've read a lot of literature warning of loose joints made overly flexible by the hormone relaxin, but I hadn't seen the evidence of this change in my own body till recently; I've been rolling one of my ankles almost daily lately, no matter what shoes I wear!  Luckily I haven't hurt myself yet, and I'm trying to be careful not to walk on the edges of my feet.  The infamous pregnancy clumsies have arrived!

Days until my next appointment: 17 days - my next appointment is December 1st.  This past week, I took my blood glucose test and had my blood drawn to make sure I'm not anemic.  Fingers crossed both those tests come back with good results so I don't have to take the follow-up glucose test (which is three hours long and requires a lot of fasting) or start taking extra iron supplements (I've heard they can cause nausea).  I also got my flu and whooping cough vaccines this week, which means my lab work and shots are finished for this pregnancy unless I have to take another diabetes test!  Yay for being one step closer to baby's arrival!

Food aversions: Mostly just plain water and plain grilled chicken... I was able to overcome one aversion this week - pizza!  I had been turned off by it for months because I got sick after eating a couple slices one night, but I ate it for dinner yesterday when I didn't have any other choices, and it was palatable!

Food cravings: Dairy products are still the main thing I'm craving this week - chocolate milk, cheddar cheese, ice cream, etc.  I'm also really enjoying breakfast foods.  Scrambled eggs and biscuits have been hitting the spot!

This is a cheeseburger that I ordered when we went out to eat earlier this week.  I seriously don't remember the last time I ordered a burger at a "sit-down" restaurant - I think I may have been in middle school.  It was such a momentous occasion that I had to take a photo to send to my mom and sister. Normal Hannah HATES red meat.  Pregnancy is so weird!

How I'm sleeping: Like I said above, not well!  From what I've read and heard, that's common at this point in pregnancy and probably isn't going to get better anytime soon, so I'm just trying to accept it as my new normal.

What I'm looking forward to in the near future: I've been nesting like crazy this week.  We got baby's changing table and clothing storage put together in the corner of the Mister's office (we're not setting up a nursery here since we'll be moving in the spring), we've had a few rooms in the house painted so we're prepared to put the house on the market when the time comes (I wanted to make sure to have that done before baby arrives so we can focus on enjoying our time with her after she is born), and the carpet cleaner is coming on Monday.  I can't wait to feel like the house is "ready" to bring a baby home.

Feeling baby move: She still isn't moving all the time like many women report at 28 weeks, but she is gradually becoming more active and building up more force behind her movements.  It's hard not to focus on how often I feel her kick and worry myself about it.  I'm trying to remind myself that every pregnancy is different and, even if I don't feel her constantly, that she definitely makes her presence known a few to several times a day.

Innie or outie?: Still an innie!

I know I say this practically every week, but I really can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  Our weekends until Christmas are filling up - the Burlington Christmas parade next weekend, then Thanksgiving, then our baby shower two weeks after that.  We plan to have our hospital bag packed by late December and then we'll just be waiting until the beginning of February for the big event (she could of course come before that but we want her to stay in there for as close to 40 weeks as possible).  Things are getting more and more "real" with each passing day!

For your enjoyment, here's a video of Hank not understanding why he couldn't have one of the baby's toys I had out while writing thank you notes for gifts.  Some days I worry he is going to be insanely jealous and other days I'm sure they're going to be the best of friends.  We're starting professional pre-baby dog training the week after next, but any firsthand advice for acquainting my fur babies with my human one would be much appreciated!