Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks
So we have hit the 28-week mark, and it feels like time has now slowed down in this pregnancy. We are approaching the third trimester and boy am I glad to finally hit the home straight. Three months's to go before this babe is born and I am hanging for labour day. I know from here on out things are going to get tougher. You know too much by your third pregnancy. Ha.
The Bump:
Is growing at a rapid pace know. Every week I can feel it expanding, the Braxton Hicks are starting to kick in, and all the niggles and stretching pains are getting more intense. It's becoming harder to do things such as bending over to pick something off the ground (if J.D is around I ask him to get it now), put my shoes on and find clothes that are flattering. It's also harder for the kids to sit on my lap because the bump is slowly pushing them further and further to the edge. Or if you are Little Miss you just use it as a seat! Ha. I am going to have a much bigger bump than my last two pregnancies, but I think that is pretty reasonable considering everything has been stretched before.
Feeling:
This past month has been tough. I thought my morning sickness had returned as I mentioned in my
but it seems to be that I either have developed a stomach ulcer or have severe reflux. It's caused me to be in such severe pain in my stomach and into my back, made me throw up and feel nauseous all day and night. I ended up going to the doc after battling with it for three weeks because it just didn't seem like normal morning sickness to me. So after some scans and blood tests, it appeared that my iron levels were beyond a joke, and there might be a possibility of a stomach ulcer. Unfortunately, because I am so late in my pregnancy, they can't do any exploratory tests (such as an endoscope) to see if this is the case. So I am currently in situ with it all taking Zantac and Gaviscon to keep the symptoms at bay until the baby is born and we can look further into it if it is still around then. As for the iron levels, I have to get an iron infusion done this past week to get my levels up to a better number. That wasn't fun. It required being hooked up to a drip which fed the iron into my blood. Hurt like anything but I am glad it's over. So I am hoping the next three month will be without any dramas and that I will feel reasonably well for the rest of the pregnancy. Fingers crossed.
Doing:
Well, this past fortnight has been very quiet. Lots of afternoon naps while the kids are sleeping (or suppose to be), too much TV watching for the kids and just plain taking it easy. Things have been really quiet on the freelance work front which is a blessing in some regards but a little disappointing that things have slowed down so much. I find it difficult to slow down and take it easy but when I feel unwell it forces me to do this, and I don't like it one bit! Ha.
We cooked our first damper in our new firepit last weekend, and it was a disaster. It came out completely charred and doughy in the middle. I know what we did wrong as this isn't our first damper we've cooked, but I think we got out of practice with it considering it's been a couple of years since we cooked a damper in a camp oven. Oh well, practice makes perfect, and we will have to try again asap. The chooks enjoyed the burnt offerings anyway.
Wearing:
Still, the same old maternity jeans that I have worn for the past two months. I have a couple of pieces in my maternity wardrobe that I am dying to pull out when the weather becomes a little warmer. Things like maxi skirts, maxi dresses and floaty tees and shorts. In the meantime, I am just grinning and bearing wearing the same five outfits for the next little while.
For this post, I decided to dress up in something that I would wear if I just so happen got to go out on a date with a hubby. That's a bit of a running joke between us at the moment as we have tried numerous times to schedule a date night in and something always crops up and we've nearly given up trying to get one in before the baby is born. I am determined though that we will. This dress is SO comfortable and would you believe it's not even a maternity dress. I think it was a bargain find at Big W for like $10. I just adjusted the length to be a bit shorter as it was below my knee and wasn't super flattering.
Eating:
Well, I've been sticking to relatively plain food now that there is a possibility I'm dealing with a stomach ulcer. So a lot of spicy and acidic food is currently off the menu such as citrus fruits, pineapple, tea and coffee, chocolate (nearly killed me staying away from that), chilli (insert sad face - I love hot sauce) and anything highly spiced or hot (chilli hot). I did the tango with some curry powder the other day, and I ended up losing that battle with it. I vowed and declared I would not eat it again until my stomach is better! So I have been eating a lot of things to promote good bacteria in the stomach in hope of improving the balance and maybe healing the ulcer naturally as I don't have any other options at the moment. So I've been eating lot's of homemade Sauer kraut, all the healthy things such as lots of vegetables and small amounts of protein. I have also been drinking kombucha every day that a kind friend passed along after hearing of my plight and a combination of carrot, apple and cabbage juice a couple of times a day as apparently, this can aid in the healing of ulcers. Don't get me started on the all the vitamins and powders I am taking to try and help as well. I am a walking, health food shop! Ha.
Enjoying:
I have loved doing this
, especially for targeting the lower back. I've been trying to do it once a week to help with my lower back and scatica pain, and I find it gives me so much relief. Plus I think trying to stay as limber as possible nearing the end of the pregnancy is always a good idea especially in preparation for labour.
At the end of a long day running after the kids, I have been sinking into epsom salts and lavendar oil bath, and it's utter bliss. I find the Epsom salts to be really helpful with my restless legs at night and for all the aches and pains that pregnancy brings.
Since I haven't been able to enjoy normal tea or coffee due to my stomach problems I've been sipping on fresh ginger tea with a bit of honey and a pinch of Tumeric. Hits the spot for the time being but I do miss a good cup of tea.
Gender:
A little girl. I think we have settled on her name now including her middle name. I gave in and compromised with hubby on the name he was gunning for. Let's just hope it's a girl now!!!
Bump Appointments:
I had my glucose tolerance test on the weekend and it was really awful. I didn't vomit thankfully but the sugar crash later in the day followed by a major headache really wasn't nice. I am hoping my results come back all clear. I have an appointment with my Ob Gyn next week so I am sure to find out the results then if not sooner if things aren't right.
