Another Week Has Gone By!
Yay! I'm getting so excited about having this baby, especially after my childbirth class. But I'll get to that in a minute. Newsletter first:
This is day number 206 and you're 30 weeks pregnant!
You have 74 days or 10 weeks left, and are 75.0% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 192 days or 28 weeks. You are due on 6/9/2006.
You may already be experiencing some hardening and contracting of your abdomen. What you're feeling are called Braxton-Hicks contractions. These early contractions usually last about 30 seconds. Some you may not feel at all, while others may become uncomfortable for you.
Your baby now weighs around 3 pounds and is about 17 inches from head to toe. An ultrasound image may show your baby yawning or even sucking its thumb, and you may also notice that your baby does not move at all during your Braxton Hicks contractions. This is because your muscles tighten and constrict his or her movement. By now your baby is probably more used to Braxton Hicks than you are.
75% of the way there! But 10 weeks is still so far away, when you think about it. Matthew is getting stronger and stronger. He can kick (hit, knee, elbow, etc.) me anywhere from way down low so that it feels like he's literally kicking me right in the...ummm...birth canal, all the way up to my lower ribcage. What's really weird is when he moves his whole body and I feel it in two or more very different places at once. I am also getting Braxton-Hicks fairly frequently - usually 5 or more a day - and my hips are starting to bother me quite a bit at night again. I didn't sleep very well at all last night between the baby kicking, hip pain, trips to the bathroom and cat walking all over me. I tried to see it as practice for when the baby comes and I have to wake up several times a night for feedings, but I still got pretty irritated by morning.
The childbirth class on Saturday went very well. I'm so happy that hubby and I decided to participate in one, as many people don't really think they're necessary. I suppose they're not, but it sure helps to know what to expect! The hospital I'll be delivering in is fairly progressive, I think. They do not do routine IVs (although they do put in a heparin lock - look it up if you really want to know) unless you have an epidural or some complication. They have a rocking chair, birthing ball, squat bar and hydrotherapy tub in every birthing suite, so there are a number of positions to choose from to try to cope with contractions. I'm going to try to go for as long as I can without any medication (all the way, if possible, but I'm trying to not be naive about the extent of the pain!), so it's important to me that I have a lot of options. They also do not take the baby to the nursery unless you request it. Which is good also, because from my understanding it is important to get breastfeeding established early if you're going to breastfeed, which I definitely am. The hospital encourages skin-to-skin contact between Mom and baby for the first full hour after birth, so that will be a good time to get the first "feeding" in. Even if baby doesn't quite get it, at least the routine gets started. And my husband and I practiced all of our breathing and relaxation techniques. I discovered that shoulder massages do relatively little to distract me from pain (did you know that attaching a plastic clothes pin to the top of your pinky finger hurts pretty bad?), but light neck and scalp massages work wonders. He will be very busy during labor :o)
Anyway, I said last week that I would have a lot to write about, and I guess I did. But I better get going - almost time to go home! I love how time kinda flies these days. I won't like it, though, during my maternity leave. And I'm sure that once I'm back to work time will slow way down while I'm waiting for the day to be over so I can pick my baby up from daycare. So I'll enjoy this time while it lasts!
This is day number 206 and you're 30 weeks pregnant!
You have 74 days or 10 weeks left, and are 75.0% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 192 days or 28 weeks. You are due on 6/9/2006.
You may already be experiencing some hardening and contracting of your abdomen. What you're feeling are called Braxton-Hicks contractions. These early contractions usually last about 30 seconds. Some you may not feel at all, while others may become uncomfortable for you.
Your baby now weighs around 3 pounds and is about 17 inches from head to toe. An ultrasound image may show your baby yawning or even sucking its thumb, and you may also notice that your baby does not move at all during your Braxton Hicks contractions. This is because your muscles tighten and constrict his or her movement. By now your baby is probably more used to Braxton Hicks than you are.
75% of the way there! But 10 weeks is still so far away, when you think about it. Matthew is getting stronger and stronger. He can kick (hit, knee, elbow, etc.) me anywhere from way down low so that it feels like he's literally kicking me right in the...ummm...birth canal, all the way up to my lower ribcage. What's really weird is when he moves his whole body and I feel it in two or more very different places at once. I am also getting Braxton-Hicks fairly frequently - usually 5 or more a day - and my hips are starting to bother me quite a bit at night again. I didn't sleep very well at all last night between the baby kicking, hip pain, trips to the bathroom and cat walking all over me. I tried to see it as practice for when the baby comes and I have to wake up several times a night for feedings, but I still got pretty irritated by morning.
The childbirth class on Saturday went very well. I'm so happy that hubby and I decided to participate in one, as many people don't really think they're necessary. I suppose they're not, but it sure helps to know what to expect! The hospital I'll be delivering in is fairly progressive, I think. They do not do routine IVs (although they do put in a heparin lock - look it up if you really want to know) unless you have an epidural or some complication. They have a rocking chair, birthing ball, squat bar and hydrotherapy tub in every birthing suite, so there are a number of positions to choose from to try to cope with contractions. I'm going to try to go for as long as I can without any medication (all the way, if possible, but I'm trying to not be naive about the extent of the pain!), so it's important to me that I have a lot of options. They also do not take the baby to the nursery unless you request it. Which is good also, because from my understanding it is important to get breastfeeding established early if you're going to breastfeed, which I definitely am. The hospital encourages skin-to-skin contact between Mom and baby for the first full hour after birth, so that will be a good time to get the first "feeding" in. Even if baby doesn't quite get it, at least the routine gets started. And my husband and I practiced all of our breathing and relaxation techniques. I discovered that shoulder massages do relatively little to distract me from pain (did you know that attaching a plastic clothes pin to the top of your pinky finger hurts pretty bad?), but light neck and scalp massages work wonders. He will be very busy during labor :o)
Anyway, I said last week that I would have a lot to write about, and I guess I did. But I better get going - almost time to go home! I love how time kinda flies these days. I won't like it, though, during my maternity leave. And I'm sure that once I'm back to work time will slow way down while I'm waiting for the day to be over so I can pick my baby up from daycare. So I'll enjoy this time while it lasts!
posted by flannel04 @ 3:33 PM
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