Thoughts On Stuff » third trimester

Feeling blue

sunday — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:18:16 +0000

I sat down to work this morning, at the swivel desk chair I have at the dining room table. After a while, I looked down at my feet, and realized they were blue.

I was confused, as we just got a new blue rug, and it could very well have been blue ink. Indeed, it was not. My feet weren’t icy cold, but they had a dark blue tinge to them. When I massaged them, they went back to pink.

Jason said he thought he recalled reading something about this, then quietly sat on the couch with his iPhone until he had some more information. (Side note: he could be playing sudoku, or checking work email, so I don’t really think about what he’s doing with his phone out. It’s a nice surprise when he’s looking up something I’ve just wondered aloud about.)

Turns out, my giant midsection weighs heavily on my pelvis and legs when I’m sitting, and restricts blood flow. Since my whole job revolves around sitting, this may present a problem.

I’m going to make myself get up and walk around more, which should help. I can also prop my feet up while I’m working.

Finally, another late-term symptom! I was starting to feel guilty for not having more uncomfortable symptoms. At this point, I’d also take heartburn and sleeplessness. I’m hoping to dodge the stretch marks, though.

Big foots

sunday — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Not much about my body has changed in the past few weeks (of course, my belly has gotten bigger, by a centimeter or two every week, but at this point it’s the opposite of a drop in the bucket). Here’s what I’ve noticed:

*Now that the temperature is reaching summer levels, I’m noticing how warm I am. Some of this happens every year, as spring moves to summer and I have to recalculate what “comfortable” is. After walking home from Harvard Square on Sunday, though, it took me a good 45 minutes to cool down. Usually it takes me about 10.

*My feet are puffy. I’d been noticing that my socks were leaving marks on my legs (indicating that they were affecting fluid), so now that I’m barefoot most of the time, I’m seeing my ankle bones recede and my toes plump up.

That’s it. That’s my list of complaints. I’m pretty sure I’m in some sort of minor percentile of pregnant women who are still sleeping well, without heartburn, baby feet kicking into ribs, surprise peeing, etc.

Maybe I should do this professionally?

MUCH more belly

sunday — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:38:00 +0000

It’s been a while, and because of the pace of visible growth, you’re going to be able to tell. What I find interesting is the change to my posture.

(That’s 7, 14, 18, 22 and 31 weeks.)

I’ve also been taking pictures of what it looks like when I tighten my stomach muscles.

I should have nicknamed the fetus “The Six Pack”.

3 of 3 (welcome to the third trimester, here, have a donut)

sunday — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:31:30 +0000

Thursday marks the rollover date for The Soybean. It’s kind of like an estimated birthday, or reverse-birthday, since the actual birth day hasn’t arrived yet. Conception day sounds too creepy. Conceptión Day sounds better.

Anyway.

Yesterday marked the 28th week of my beknocked uppedness. I was always irritated by people who spoke of their pregnancy (or children’s ages) in terms of weeks, because it meant I had to divide by four to get a number that was meaningful to me. Much like how much a salary is, or how much a house costs, my ability to understand the numbers is something that came with age. 28 weeks = seven months, which would then mean that I have two months to go (8 weeks), but in reality, human gestation is a bit longer than that (40 weeks total), so I actually have 12 weeks to go.*

So what does this mean? The Soybean is over two pounds now, and if she were born now, she’d fare … ok. My plan is to keep her in for another 12 weeks.

What does this mean for me? Month 5.5-6.5 was kind of crappy, body-wise. I really couldn’t sleep in any position other than my sides, and I started getting back aches when standing or sitting for too long. This meant I was uncomfortable no matter where I was. I also was waking up a lot at night, unable to fall asleep. That may be par for some of your courses, but not me. I’m a good sleeper, and I want to get as much of it as I can NOW.

I thought (and even admitted to Jason) that if this is how crappy it is now, there’s no WAY I was going to be comfortable again for the next 3.5 months.

Starting mid-way through month six, I started being able to sleep better, and my back stopped hurting. I recognize that it’s not that much to complain about, since I’m bringing some effing life into the world in exchange.

What I’ve learned is that there’s a fine line between feeling like myself, and feeling like an incubator. When I’m not achey, when I can sleep at night, when I can wear jeans and a hoodie, I feel like myself. (I recently acquired maternity jeans and a maternity hoodie — my standard uniform, expanded.) If I’m uncomfortable, I feel so radically different, it’s surprising. It’s not like when I’m sick, even really sick. Maybe it’s knowing I’m not just outpacing a cold, I’m running the equivalent to a marathon, and it’s nowhere close to over yet.

*I’ll save all irritation at the whole gestation length being off by 2 weeks, because doctors count from your last period, instead of when you actually got pregnant, but whatever. It’s a joyous occasion, and I can’t get my panties in a bunch anyway. They’re stretched too tight.