27 Weeks

How far along? 27 Weeks - last week in the second trimester!

Total weight gain: Down a smidge from last week but holding steading - 14.2 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yep. Wore my maternity capris for the first time this week and to be honest they're a combination of awesome and problematic! They are stretchy and the band is super comfortable on my belly but they don't have pockets or belt loops like normal pants so there is no easy way to pull them up when they start to fall down a little. I mean they do stay up, but they're just so different from normal pants. I think they may stay up better the bigger my belly gets. Oh well, they're comfortable!

Stretch marks? None so far! Still rubbing on lotion and/or oil at least once a day (usually twice).

Sleep: Oh sleep. Overall I guess still okay. But I do have a new pregnancy symptom that I totally think happened while I was sleeping: a small sunburst shaped spider vein! Good grief just typing that out is terrifying. I noticed the little thing on the left side of my right upper calf the other day (first one I've ever seen) and it was so odd looking that I had to google it before I really figured out what it was.

According to the internets, spider veins are relatively common during pregnancy and happen because your body has a lot of extra blood circulating around and it puts more pressure on your veins, which can cause smaller veins to swell. Apparently they appearance of spider veins usually diminish after giving birth - let's hope so! Until then, the only thing I can find that helps is: make sure you're exercising enough, don't stand too long, don't sit too long, don't cross your legs, put your feet up, and drink lots of water. Ha, that all seems to be the solution for everything!

Anyway, back to my sleeping realization: so a few days later I noticed a small bruise along the vein in my leg, just a few inches under the spider vein. I pretty much freaked out at this point - what the heck is my body doing!? I started paying really close attention to any time I was crossing my legs or putting any pressure on that part of my leg - but I just wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. And then it one morning after a not-so-great night of sleep it totally dawned on me: the left of my calf definitely does not get squished when I cross my legs - but it does have a ton of pressure on it when I sleep on my right side! I woke up in pain that day because my left knee was resting exactly on the spot that was bruised on my right leg! Yes, that's right: I'm pretty sure I bruised my own leg (and caused a spider vein) while I was sleeping. This pregnancy thing is rough! Anyway, since then, I've been trying to sleep with a pillow between my legs when I'm on either side, and just generally be aware of not letting my limbs dig into each other.

Best moment(s) this week:

Our first Childbirth Prep class was Monday & it was pretty fun. There were about 30 people in the class (15 couples) - more than we were expecting. There were a few people due in June, but many due in July, August, September (and even a few due in October!). Each couple got a workbook and we went through about a third of it, covering things like signs of labor, how to tell if your water broke, what to do when you go into labor, etc. It was really interesting and while there were a few things we already knew, we felt like we did learn a good handful of new things. Next week we'll talk about the actual delivery process. That'll be interesting for sure.

My prenatal massage on Wednesday was fun but slightly underwhelming. It was at a chiropractic office (and so covered by insurance), so it wasn't very spa-like, which makes sense but just wasn't what I was expecting. Still, it was a full hour and felt great and I am scheduled for another one in the next few weeks.

We got to see sweet little Alden Marie on Wednesday and Friday. She's still precious!

Miss Anything? Cold chardonnay. Runny eggs. Not getting out of breath so easily.

Movement: All the time! And now I'm feeling limbs everywhere - all sides of my belly!

Cravings: Got my California roll fix this week at a work lunch at Steel. So yummy. Still loving fresh summer fruits (raspberries, peaches, melon, etc.) and light healthy salads. I cut out sweets from my diet a few weeks ago and it's been long enough that I think my sugar cravings have readjusted a little. Fruit tastes extra sweet and a piece of toast with strawberry jam is definitely a treat!

Symptoms: See above. Dang spider veins! Oh another (relatively) new one: killer leg cramps in the middle of the night. Ouch! They only happen once or twice a week, but man do they hurt. My feet are still swelling occasionally too.

Mood: Trying to stay positive! I'm starting to feel larger and it's getting a little frustrating.

Looking forward to: Our second childbirth prep class tonight. And also dinner with the Smiths on Thursday and then dinner with the Novaks on Friday.

Baby girl is measuring 13.6-14.8 inches & 1.5-2.5 lbs.

She's the size of a rutabaga this week!