Milestones: Your baby weighs almost two pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode only lasts a few moments and they don't bother him so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
Total Weight Gain: 22.4 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Things have changed in this area! I'm not really in maternity clothes at the moment because I never leave the house. I lounge around in my sweatpants and large t-shirts during the day. However, on the rare occasion I would get to leave the house I would definitely have to be in maternity clothes. I had bought some new clothes from Old Navy before our hospitalization last week. I think most of those clothes will go back because I just won't have a need for them. As long as I have a couple of tops that fit me I should be fine for the remainder of this pregnancy. I guess that's one way to save money!
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: I do this. A lot! I really try not to sleep my day away. I wake-up about 5:30am when Kara gets up for work. And then I try not to take a nap until about 3pm. I usually sleep for about an hour until Kara gets home from work at 4:30pm. Next week Kara's work schedule is changing. She will begin working nights. So there will definitely be some adjustments to our sleeping schedule. But it will be great to have her home during the day. In terms of my comfort level when I sleep ... it is not horrible but it is not great either. I tend to do better with fewer pillows now. I actually end up pushing some of the pillows aside during the night. I also do better with harder surfaces. I still wake-up about once an hour though to flip over because my hips really start to hurt.
Best Moment of the Week: The boys are still in my belly!
It has been difficult to adjust to bed rest at home. I feel rather useless. I know my job is to cook these babies in my belly but it is hard for me to suddenly give up my independence. I have my low moments but overall I think I am doing a good job. I just feel super lucky that I have the chance to let these boys grow a bit more. I think the fear of the unknown gets to me too. We have no idea what is going to happen minute to minute and that alone can drive a person crazy. I have tried to develop a schedule for my day that helps keep things regulated for me. But there are a lot of moments I find myself staring at the wall. I love when I get text messages and phone calls though. They always make me happy! And I have had some visitors which helps too. I also get to hangout with the dogs during the day and they are the best company in the whole world.
How can you resist this bed rest buddy .... ???
Sex: Boys!!
Food Cravings: Let's talk about gestational diabetes! So my diet has changed a bit over the last week. I think for the most part I have done a fairly decent job sticking to my allotted number of carbohydrates at each meal. It helps that Kara has gone above and beyond to make certain there is food in the house that both meets my carbohydrate requirements and that tastes really good. Though I did have one slip-up on Sunday! I really, really wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. And of course my blood sugar level was through the roof when I tested it two hours after breakfast. It was 160. That one meal really threw my numbers off for the rest of the day. It was crazy. I am getting use to sticking myself four times a day. It's really not a problem. And because I am on bed rest it actually gives me something to do. How sad is that?? I will be interested to see what the OB says about my numbers at my next appointment.
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: I'm sure you are all concerned about the contractions. Yes. I still have contractions but the bed rest really has tamed them down quite a bit. I only get one or two "true" contractions an hour and really for the most part I go hour to hour without a contraction. I was getting many more contractions the week leading up to my hospitalization. I was just not aware at the time that I was actually feeling "true" contractions. I feel I can tell a difference now. That helps. Otherwise I feel decent. I am getting big. This is a good thing. I move really slow now. I think a lot of it has to do with a loss of muscle tone due to the bed rest. I allow myself to climb the stairs once a day and it almost does me in each day. It is hard to believe that a week ago I was climbing the stairs with no problem. I also tend to get short of breath very fast. I think I have a pinched nerve in my left leg as it has been bothering me for a couple of days. Again. I think it is from the bed rest. I get a small back rub from Kara each night that really does wonders for me. Overall ... I feel good.
Upcoming Events: We have an OB appointment on March 29th.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
My husband told me a few hours ago about your comment to his most recent blog post. I've spent awhile getting caught up on your journey and it does sound like we have a ton in common! Both good and bad. I hope you're doing well on home bed rest. I know we're both so incredibly thankful for our growing boys, but the sudden cervical changes and bed rest are quite scary! I wish no one else was going through this or ever had to, but it's also nice to know I'm not alone. I'm hoping and praying you feel okay and those boys stay put for several more weeks!
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