Pregnancy Update - 28 Weeks!

Wow, I hadn't realized it's been such a long time since I've written an update on how this pregnancy is going.

This week I turned 28 weeks pregnant and the little ticker on the right-hand side of the blog page says that the number of days is in the low 80's.  Little guy will be here before we know it!  Sometimes I wonder if this baby ever sleeps because for the last eight weeks it seems like he hasn't stopped moving at all.  I have been able to watch my tummy move with the kicks for a while even though most of the kicks aren't that strong to the touch.  I feel plenty of little wiggles, tickles and jolts and enjoy it all.  I wonder if all this will play into his personality once born?

Doctor appointments continue to go fairly well.  The monthly appointments are over and now we switch to every other week since we're in the 3rd trimester.  Our last appointment was on Friday (Megan and John were able to join me since he got off of work early!) and then I go again at the end of the month.  It was a little longer appointment this time since I had to have some blood drawn and do the 1-hour gestational diabetes test.  The nurse called yesterday to tell me the lab results.  Other than my iron being slightly on the low side everything else looked good.  No sign of the gestational diabetes (big sigh of relief!), no urinary bacteria and the antibody screen was negative.  Other stats from the last checkup are that my blood pressure remains excellent, baby's heartbeat was around 140bpm but I gained 10 pounds in the last four weeks.  The doctor scolded and said I should try and let that not happen again.

I sure can tell that I've put on a lot of extra weight because it's getting harder and harder to move around.  I actually feel like I have more energy (maybe some of the nesting instincts) but doing is an entirely different battle.  On Saturday Megan and I walked around the neighborhood twice and that was enough for me.  My lower back and even into my butt are very stiff when I walk - especially after I've been sitting for awhile.  I've been going to the chiropractor weekly but it doesn't seem to make too much of a difference.  The pain and stiffness don't seem to change too much.

Sitting on the floor playing with Megan is tough and my back gets sore pretty fast.  Even sitting upright at work all day can be tough.  Because of how low my belly is sitting, it does help to recline slightly so there's not so much pressure.  That and putting my feet up seem to be the key.  I've also started getting the occasional charlie horses in the calves of my legs while laying in bed at night which are mostly caused by the extra weight.

On a good note, I continue to be able to eat more of the foods that had turned me off earlier in the pregnancy!  I still don't want too much meat but apples, cereal bars, bananas and other things are ok again.  I am still able to zip up my winter coat (granted, I haven't used the liner all winter) but I have had to move my driver's seat back a notch because my belly was touching!  This has definitely been a good winter to be pregnant with not much ice to worry about walking on and not a lot of need to bundle up too much!