I haven't kept a weekly pregnancy journal, so for records sake, I'll jot down the experience here.
Weight Gain: As pictured above, I am huge. Regardless, I am so genuinely grateful that other women understand just to tell me I look good and have stayed tiny... even though I look and feel like a whale! I've gained about 30 lbs but I try to not pay much attention to the scale!
Emotions: Not as bad as I expected them to be considering I was pretty crazy on birth control!
Morning sickness: I have thrown up well over 200 times in the last 8 months but the weekly average number has dropped significantly since discovering Zofran. We nicknamed the med 'Zoey' because she has been such a lifesaver and we think of her more as a friend than as a drug. Side effects suck but they are worth it. I'm still on it by the way- the whole "morning sickness only lasts until week 13" thing is a myth!
Cravings: My answer is boring... none! Smells and cravings haven't affected me much, but I am generally a picky eater so maybe I just haven't noticed.
Heart Rate: Legend says if they baby's heart rate is over 140, it's a girl. It's been over 140 until the last appointment when it dropped just below 140.
Movement: Maybe it's just because I am moving around all day and don't notice, but every day I get scared that the baby isn't moving. If activity inside the womb predicts outside energy then our baby is going to have work out hour every night around 10:30 and not move much besides that.
Other side effects: Freaking restless leg and leg cramps. OH. MY. GOSH. Gavin hates that I can't stop shaking my leg at night. I hate it even more. The more tired I get, the more my legs move, it is the weirdest thing! There have also been countless times I've woken up in the middle of the night yelling "ow ow ow help help help rub my calf don't touch me my leg my leg my leg". These leg cramps last from 20-60 seconds and are a good combination of painful and comical.
Side note: The Chinese calendar says we're having a boy. I go very back and forth between my predictions.
Other notes: We had a tiny little scare with the heart early on and had to get an extra ultrasound from Primary Children's hospital but they said we didn't have anything to worry about. SO BLESSED. I've also had to go to the hospital for a UTI (TMI?) and to get my heart monitored (funny story).
Being pregnant is not fun. I don't understand how the human race has lived on! But it has been fun to celebrate the milestones and to have something huge to look forward to! Also, I'd take a nausea-filled, cramped-leg pregnancy over an unhealthy baby ANY DAY so I'm so glad that those have been my trials through it all instead of something much worse!
Now we're on to the final countdown! I'm getting very anxious and very excited. If for some reason you are still reading this, what were your pregnancies like? And what advice do you have for me?
I love readers & comments!
