Saturday, May 26, 2012

14 Weeks

How far along? 14 weeks

How big is baby? The baby is now about the size of a peach- about 3.42 inches, and weighing close to 1.52 ounces. A fine layer of hair called "lanugo" is starting to form and protect the baby's skin. He/she is now relying upon the placenta and umbilical cord to nourish it, and is practicing inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid.

Total weight gain: This morning's weigh in showed a .8 increase from my base, so down a little from last week. I think this is entirely based on what I am eating + what is/isn't (ahem) coming out of me. I've actually had an amazing week of being a bit more "regular!" 

 BC asked me this morning how I could possibly only have gained .8 of a pound when my belly is getting so big? He surmised maybe it was due to losing some muscle weight. To which I replied "so you think I'm getting FLABBY?" He stopped surmising right there and then, which was definitely a smart choice.

I thought it would be fun to start recording how far along I am on notes (and yes, the sticky pad note is a tad dorky). Didn't anticipate the challenges of a mirror reflection! May have to corral BC for future shoots.

Sleep: Still good- trying to get in a 20-30 minute catnap each day when able.

Food cravings: I continue to love mango. It is like Christmas if I can find it already cut up and packaged at the store- otherwise I roll my sleeves up and do my best to hack into fresh ones (those suckers are slippery and HARD to prepare).

I also salivate every time I hear the word pancakes. Mmmmmm pancakes.

Food aversions: Nothing notable

Symptoms? I've had a few 'exciting' new things develop this past week. One was headaches. There have been several days where I get an achy headache that starts in my shoulders, emanates up my neck, and finally rests in my temples. It will taunt me until at last fall asleep at night, often with one hand nudged in a fist beneath my neck. I also awoke in the middle of the night this week to flashing migraine lights- the first I've had in awhile (and sadly there wasn't even any hanky panky preceding said migraine).

Another really strange thing that has happened is what feels like a pulled butt muscle on my left side. I really haven't been doing any strenuous exercise- mostly brisk walks, yoga, and some leg/glute strengthening. There also wasn't a moment or a discrete event that "pulled" this muscle- it just seemed to start hurting out of nowhere. My curiosity had me googling "pulled butt muscle in pregnancy" (seriously) and that led me to discover "pelvic girdle pain." During pregnancy a woman's body releases a chemical called relaxin that softens the ligaments around the pelvic area in preparation for birth. Because of this softening the pelvis is no longer in a locked position and more prone to injury resulting in swelling or pain. Sweet. Why oh why is NOW the time my beloved chiropractor decides to go to Hawaii for 2 weeks to get married?


I've forgot to mention another strange thing that has plagued me since early on in pregnancy- my right armpit itches all.the.time. I have no idea what that is about, and why it is concentrated to one side? I have also been more sensitive to earrings- they bother me & itch much more quickly than they did pre-pregnancy.

My nausea is still mostly reserved for the mornings, and pounces on me suddenly about 30 minutes after I wake up. It is a 'must eat something NOW' kind of feeling. One of my pregnancy phone apps said of 14 weeks: "If you are still feeling nausea from time to time, you may be one of the few women who experience it throughout pregnancy." Super sweet.

Most looking forward to: Planning a "Babymoon" trip with BC hopefully in August. My desire for a Mexican beach vacation got vetoed, so now we are thinking about a week in New Mexico (hey, it's still a version of 'Mexico!'). August is a fantastic time to get out of Austin's raging heat- and going to either water or the mountains sounds lovely to me.



***I also think I might have felt some 'flutterings' last night for the first time! After I laid down in bed, I felt some gentle gurgling like movement on my lower right side. I don't really ever feel food related energy down there, so paid extra attention. With this gentle fluttery gurgling feeling were a couple little 'pops'- which I imagined might be tiny feet or hands poking as the baby moved? Who knows if it was really anything, but it was super fun to imagine it might be the little one dancing around in there.***

1 comment:

  1. You might also enjoy dried mango! Easy to prepare and easy to find when fresh mangos go out of season. Your post just reminded me that I enjoyed dried mango during my labor with Noah. And I definitely remember the "must.eat.now" sensation, necessitating lotsa snacks in the handbag whenever I got more than 10 feet from a refrigerator.

    Abby

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