33 weeks

9/18/2013 - 33 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  Belly is large and in charge.

Weight :  +22.5 lbs (see Cravings)

How I Feel -  The same.  Sometimes the numbness/pain is so bad in my right hand that I want to cut it off.  Not really...kinda sorta...thought about it.

Symptoms -  Going to the bathroom all the time, sometimes 5 mins after I just went!  Hand numbness/burning pain (retaining fluid which increases pressure in the carpal tunnel, hence my pregnancy carpal tunnel issues), swollen feet/hands and belly tightness (Braxton Hicks?).  *sigh*

I pulled this straight from babycenter.com for week 33:  Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep.

Cravings - Fruit, chocolate.  I made indoor smores and they lasted all of 2 days.  Oink Oink Oink!

Exercise - So far I've fit in one workout this week and one evening walk.  Yeah, I'm getting lazy....

What I'm Looking Forward To - My baby shower this weekend!  :feelinggiddy:  Oh, and only 6 more weeks to go!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Stretch marks, hand pain and belly tightness.

Odds & Ends -  I have noticed I'm eating less and less at each meal, there's just not enough room in my stomach to hold a lot of food.  I fare much better eating something small every 2-3 hours.  I spend the majority of my night sleeping on the couch, that's were I'm the most comfortable when trying to avoid the hand pain.  

Last weeks Dr's appointment went as expected.  I'm on track, baby girl is healthy and has a heartbeat of 135 bpm.  I'm not high risk for anything.  My blood work came back the same.  Iron only went up 1 point to 10.5, which is still considered low, so I have to continue taking iron supplements 2x's a day.  My thyroid came back the same as well so we'll have to recheck it in a month.  And I do get one more ultrasound at week 36!

Oh!  I went on a shopping spree at the outlet mall this past weekend and found clothes for her future photo shoots.  So looks like we'll be doing the 3/6/9/12 photos again.  :P  Her theme will be navy blue, pink, beige and ivory.

32 weeks

9/11/2013 - 32 weeks and 4 days 

32 weeks and 3 days. 9/10/2013

How I Look -  I think the same.  I've had a few more people tell me this week how great I look, that I don't look like I'm as far along as I really am.  Go me!  ;)

Weight :  +19.5 lbs.  I gained 31 lbs with Ryland...which means I will at least put on another 11 lbs if not more!  

How I Feel -  The same as last week.  My hands are numb ALL the time.  My belly feels super tight and pressurized, I really don't know how my belly can get any bigger without exploding!

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and swelling in my feet.  My stomach is crowded by growing baby girl and I feel really uncomfortable after eating a large meal (I read I should now eat 6 small meals a day).  The pressure also causes way more bathroom breaks.  I've also noticed my hands and belly are itchy (apparently this is normal).

Cravings - Cheetos

Exercise - Hit the gym twice this week.  

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Week 39, only 7 more weeks to go!  Also my baby shower is only 11 days away!  I love Friday's now since I have them off, which gives me plenty of time to catch up on sleep with afternoon naps!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Stretch marks and hand pain.

Odds & Ends -  Baby girl now has toenails, fingernails and hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz)!  She also really likes to kick the right side of my body and she's constantly moving.  I have another Dr's appointment tomorrow as I'm now checking in every 2 weeks.  Apparently I might have another ultrasound too!  Perhaps I'll be able to see how much hair she has on her head.  :)

Now onto my unusual sleeping positions.  I've noticed my hands go numb when they are parallel with the ground or angled upward, so I have to try and sleep propped up.  There's been quite a few times I've had to switch to the couch so that I can sleep sitting up, with a pillow on either side of my body to rest my arms/hands on.  I really miss sleeping on my stomach and even my side.  

31 weeks

9/5/2013 - 31 weeks and 5 days 

How I Look -  The same.  This week I had several people tell me I looked too small to be in my 8th month.  Love it!  

Weight :  +18.5 lbs.  Same as last week.

How I Feel -  My hands are numb ALL the time now.  The pain in my right arm still wakes me up 2-3 times a night, and sometimes I end up staying awake for a couple hours.  Sleep deprivation is taking its toll on me.  Today I felt really off, tired, low energy and just blah.

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and swelling.  I think my feet are starting to swell as well now!

Cravings - Pretty much the same.  Corn on the cob, sweets...

Exercise - Only managed to fit in one workout this week due to the holiday weekend and busy work schedule.

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Week 39.  I'm ready for my body to return to normal.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - I think the "How I Feel" section captures it all.

Odds & Ends -  It's been a busy week.  Over labor day weekend we celebrated a friends birthday, went to the pool, tailgated (in 106 degree heat!) and partied with neighbors.  Whew!  We were so busy I totally forgot to blog about our maternity photos!  I also registered us online for the hospital and had my first prenatal massage.  The massage was nice but didn't help with my hand pain. 

From here on out I'm taking every Friday off work until baby girl is born.  So tomorrow I will pamper myself with a haircut, pedi and hopefully an uninterrupted nap.  

Tailgating in Trees 8/31/2013

30 weeks

8/28/2013 - 30 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  I feel huge.  Although this week I had a male coworker tell me they thought I was only 5 months along because I looked so tiny.  :fistpump:

Weight :  +18.5 lbs.  At my doctors appointment I came in at 20 lbs (fully clothed and with shoes)

How I Feel - Still have constant numbness/pain/swelling in my right hand and occasionally in my left.  

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and insomnia.  I've been waking up around 3 am and not able to fall back asleep for a couple hours.  I'm sure some of that has to do with the carpal tunnel pain.  Still have a dry nose, which leads to bloody nose.  :(  Increased trips to the restroom (like 4x's a night!).  Occasional twinges/pinched nerves in my lower back.

Cravings - Spinach/cranberry/almond salad with lite balsamic dressing, fresh fruits, ice cream, sweets, corn on the cob.

Exercise - Looks like I'm holding steady with 2-3 workouts a week.

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Looking forward to my baby shower in September and October delivery.  I'm soooo ready to get my body back.  I'm also super excited about the prenatal massage I scheduled for next week.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Can't think of anything.  ;)

Odds & Ends -  I had a dream the other night that I had my little girl and was doing great, however a few days later I noticed that I still felt kicking.  What the...?  Apparently I had twins and the Dr somehow missed the 2nd baby at delivery!  I had to go back to the hospital to deliver my other kid.  How crazy is that!?  In my dream I have no idea what the gender was of the twin, I woke up right after I found out about the second baby, probably from shock.  :P

Maternity pictures are in and we love them!!!  I'll post a separate blog with the pictures. 

29 weeks

8/21/2013 - 29 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  Large and in charge (SHE is in charge)

Weight :  +16.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Still have constant numbness/pain/swelling in my right hand and occasionally in my left.  My doctor confirmed last week that it's definitely pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome and I'll have to endure it the rest of the pregnancy.  :(  Other than that I'm doing well.  I think I had a pinched nerve in my back the past 2-3 weeks which was making me feel even worse, but as of Saturday morning that has gone away and I feel great.

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my right hand.  Hot showers feel awesome on my back and help me to relax.

Cravings - Chocolate, chocolate chocolate, ice cream (rocky road - chocolate of course!), fresh fruit and sweet corn on the cob.

Exercise - 3 workouts so far this week!  Go me!  :)

What I'm Looking Forward To -  I'm in the home stretch!  So ready to hit the 30+ weeks.  Baby girl is scheduled for her debut on 10/28, so that's only 10 more weeks!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - This hand/arm numbness every day and night.

Odds & Ends -  I love feeling baby girl kick and squirm.  She's very active and it's so surreal watching my belly move, it never ceases to amaze me.  I've been watching my registry and items are starting to show purchased.  It makes me giddy.  :)

Ry's Big Boy Room

Ry now has big boy furniture in his room!  A couple weeks ago we found some furniture on Craigslist that we just couldn't pass up.  It was in excellent condition for being 12 years old, plus the blue was perfect for his room.  I can't believe how quickly my little boy is growing up.  His room no longer looks like a nursery.  Ry loves all his new furniture.  I'm constantly finding stuff he's hidden in all his new drawers.  I do think he misses the rocking chair, but alas there's not enough space in his room for the rocker with all his new furniture.

Ry's reading corner

mini library plus more drawers for storage/clothes

The TV stand is the perfect place for all his stuffed animals and various other toys

Now he has 5 drawers for clothes!

And the night stand

28 weeks

8/14/2013 - 28 weeks and 4 days 
Hello 3rd trimester!

8/13/2013

How I Look -  Pregnant.  Baby girl is really sticking herself out there!

Weight :  +14.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Experiencing painful numbness in my right arm and hand.  I did some research and it sounds like I might have pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome.  It's worse at night, I'll wake up after midnight with pain in my hand and upper arm and all I can do to lessen it is walk around and try to shake it out until it subsides.  The symptoms occur every hour or so after midnight.  I haven't been able to find a sleeping position to avoid the affliction, therefore the past 2 weeks I haven't been sleeping very much.  :(  I read that wrist splints or braces can help so I guess I'll have to invest in one of those to get some sleep.  This is SO NOT FUN.  

Symptoms -  My hands swell when I go outside in this TX heat, occasional lower back aches, overall belly tightness and increased trips to the bathroom.  I'm definitely more uncomfortable this second time around.

Cravings - Ice cream, fruit and chocolate.

Exercise - I'm hoping to work out more this week.  I only made it to the gym once last week.  However after today's workout I'm losing motivation. 

What I'm Looking Forward To -  I can't wait to see our maternity photos!!  A friend of ours, who's a photographer, offered to take them for us for free.  Our session was this past Sunday and he showed me a couple pictures from his camera and they looked great!  Also praying these next 12 weeks go by fast.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - This hand/arm numbness every night, it's so painful!  Generally feeling more and more uncomfortable.

Odds & Ends -  I passed the glucose test, woohoo!  However my blood work showed that I'm anemic and need to take iron supplements (the exact same situation as when I was pregnant with Ry).  Unfortunately my thyroid came back abnormal again as well, so I'll have another blood workup in a month.  I also booked melissa q for our newborn photos in Nov, we used her for Ry's session as well.

My dad was deeply concerned over my well being after hearing about my arm numbness so he went out of his way to buy me this new pillow!  I also bought a wrist brace and tried them out last night.  So far it's working!  Instead of waking up at midnight and every hour after that, I made it until 3 am and only woke up twice with slight tingling/numbness.  I'm hoping it only gets better and soon I'll be able to sleep through the night again (barring any bathroom breaks of course).

***Update 8/16***

Dr confirmed I do have carpal tunnel syndrome.  Not much I can really do about it, she did recommend physical therapy to help so I'll need to set that up.  My iron count is so low I need to take supplements 2x's a day!  On the test I scored a 9.5 and they don't want you to drop below 11.  Yikes!  And it looks like baby girl will debut 10/28 (via c-section)!  Her vitals are great, moving all the time and heart beat was 143 bpm.