Average measurments are 2.7 pounds and 16.7 inches but at our ultrasound on Tuesday baby was already measuring 3 pounds 2 ounces; measuring big again and 9 days ahead. Her head is getting bigger as her brain grows and develops. The skull remains flexible to enable the head to squeeze through the birth canal even though the rest of the skeleton begins to harden. Baby's senses are already up and functioning. She can see light and dark, receive sensations from touch, and her taste buds are even well-developed enough that the tastes of sweet and sour are discernible.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 ~ Baby's kidneys are just fine. Got a call from the doctor on Friday and the ultrasound came back normal. Baby was measuring a little larger than she was about 5 weeks ago (she was 4-5 days ahead then) but the tech said that the measurements are less accurate as the baby grows. The tools they use to measure are oval shaped and as the baby gets larger and has less space, body parts aren't perfectly oval. In fact, when she was measuring baby's torso she showed us how she couldn't get the shape to fit perfectly because baby's torso was a little crammed.
We have gone back to the drawing board with names. We had a list of five girl names and six boy names but Dan has changed his mind about many of them. We are keeping two of the original girl names and have come up with three new ones. Boy names on the other hand have been a bit more of a struggle.
I'm still right in the middle of the healthy weight gain range but bad things are happening to my thighs. My legs have always been the thinnest part of my body but oh man, these thighs are not looking pretty. I think I mentioned last week that I could see a little weight gain in my legs and face. I kicked up my walk to 8 miles today because I have another busy week. I'm hoping to still get my 15 miles in though because I'm already more than halfway there. Unfortunately I won't be able to do yoga on Saturday but it's for a fun reason - my coworkers are throwing me a shower!
My walk was really great today. The sun was out and the ocean breeze was blowing. I walked north today past dog beach and enjoyed watching the dogs play. I had a pretty intense Braxton-Hicks contraction around mile 6 and it scared me for a minute but it went away when I stopped walking so I knew it wasn't a real contraction. I sat down with the sun in my face, listening to the ocean and feeling the breeze. I was trying to store all of the sensations in my memory so that I could use them to help get my mind off of labor pains when the time comes. Visualization is one of the things that we learned in our birth classes at Hoag.
Speaking of Hoag, I don't think I've updated since our last birth class on Wednesday. I had a cupcake leftover from my coworker's baby shower on the way to the hospital. About 20 minutes into the presentation, I started feeling hot and asked Dan if he was hot. He said he was fine. I rolled up my sleeves but still wasn't any cooler and started feeling queasy, then I started feeling dizzy and seeing spots. I told Dan that I wasn't ok and he asked if I wanted to get up but I knew from past experience that getting up would make it worse. I was on the edge of passing out. I started breathing very deeply and began to sweat, which cooled me off. I felt a little bit better so Dan and I got up and walked into the hall, which was much cooler than the room we were in. There was a nurse in the hallway checking people into her class and she came over to the couch that we found to sit on. She could tell I wasn't well and said my blood sugar was low. How could my blood sugar be low? I just had a cupcake? She got me a soda and a wet washcloth and after a few minutes I was feeling much better. I asked my friend at work who is diabetic and she said that the cupcake actually caused my blood sugar to be low. It spiked my blood sugar so high that my body produced a bunch of insulin, which then caused my blood sugar to plummet. Crazy! I knew Sprinkles cupcakes were overrated.
We're planning a trip to Palm Desert sometime in the next 6 weeks or so, kind of our last hoorah weekend getaway. All I want to do is sit by the pool and have a lazy dinner one night. I'm really looking forward to it!
Thursday, March 31, 2011 ~ Our monthly appointment went well today. I'm so glad that I changed my appointment day from Tuesdays to Thursdays. The office is so much less busy on Thursdays and I was in and out in no time! The baby's kidneys are fine and her heartrate is strong. Despite the baby measuring 9 days ahead at the ultrasound my fundal height is actually measuring right on schedule now (it was 3 weeks ahead at the last two appointments). The doctor said my weight gain is ideal but that I'm slightly anemic. I hadn't been taking my iron supplement for very long before the blood draw so I'm hoping that if I become consistent with it, my iron level will raise and I won't be quite as tired as I have been for the last week or so. Another piece of good news is that I don't have to go back for 4 weeks. April is our busiest month yet and I really wasn't looking forward to adding another appointment to the mix. I'll see him in 4 weeks right before I'm 34 weeks, then at 36 weeks, and then probably every week after that.
Last night I finally got the Charley Horses that I've been reading about. I was woken up by a couple in my right leg but they went away right when I stretched them out. At 3:30 am I was bolted up by the worst cramp I've ever gotten in my left calf. Oh and it took forever to loosen up. It was so tight that my calf has been sore all day. I have still been drinking the same amount of water every day - at least 96 oz. I'm wondering if sodium can contribute to these cramps because I know I've had too much this week. I guess I'll have to increase my banana intake.
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