BABY UPDATE
Taylor officially felt baby girl kick this week!! I've been feeling her lightly flutter around for the past few weeks, especially at night, but right around hitting the 20 week mark her movements started getting much stronger. Finally this past week on Tuesday night she was moving a lot - to the point where I could not only feel but also see her moving & I quickly made Taylor put his hand on my belly & he got to feel her! We were laughing because really he could see her moving too - it was crazy!
Our next appointment isn't until 24 weeks...so far away!
MOMMA UPDATE/HOW I'VE BEEN FEELING
Symptoms. Can we talk about symptoms? In general I love being pregnant and I like to think I don't have any issues at all (and I don't really, especially not anything major), but lately there have been a few things that I'm realizing fall into the category of "pregnancy symptoms" and I feel like a need a record of them :)
It struck me yesterday as I was chatting with a 40-week pregnant momma at the playground that when people ask how I'm feeling, I generally respond "I feel great!" - and while this is over-archingly true, I am still dealing with a few things that aren't quite so great. Growing a baby is hard work, yall!
Pregnancy (and let's be real, labor and delivery too) tend to turn into a blur after the fact, so a lot of what I remember from my previous two pregnancies is just warm and fuzzy and happy, but there were definitely a few things I dealt with along the way during those 9 months before, and that I'm dealing with again now, and I just know someday one of my girls are going to ask and I'd like to actually be able to tell them which things I went through so they have a bit of a heads up of what to expect! So here goes, my pregnancy symptoms in order of least annoying to most annoying:
Body Temperature
The stereotype here is that pregnant ladies are always warm because of hormones. This one has so not been the case for me with any of my pregnancies. I'm normally cold-natured and 100% still am while I'm pregnant. I remember thinking when I was early pregnant with Arden that I'd actually like to feel extra warm....but it never happened! Whomp whomp. Ditto with Turner, and now with baby #3. Oh well!
Heartburn
Never had this with A or T. Had it once early on in 1st tri with #3 and man is it unpleasant. I generally don't ever get heartburn (when I'm not pregnant) & I'm glad this isn't really a thing for me now because it's not fun!
Racing Heart
Adding this in because because it totally happened during my first trimester and I never documented it!! Logically it makes sense, your body is pumping more blood while pregnant (30-50% more!) so duh your heart is beating faster, but the "racing" sensation is kind of nuts. If I was talking a lot and walking at the same time sometimes I get this "double beating" feeling for a minute or so and it could take my breath away. It never was something I was super concerned about, but it was a funny feeling. For me this was a 1st trimester symptom only (so far).
Dizziness
This is another one I experienced mostly in 1st trimester but is also a thing I get sometimes when I'm not pregnant. Let's just call it a tall-person-problem. If I don't eat enough, I get lightheaded if I stand up too quickly - it's intensified during pregnancy (probably because of all the extra blood?). In any case, during 1st trimester I noticed a direct correlation between what I ate the night before & if I would feel lightheaded of dizzy first thing in the mornings. Heavy-carb meal for dinner? Probably okay in the AM. Veggies and healthy chicken for dinner? Definitely light headed. I just got used to getting up slowly and making sure to eat something (toast was my preference) very quickly after waking to keep the dizziness under control.
Congestion
This one seems like such a little thing - isn't everyone just congested around the fall/spring from "allergies"??? - let me tell you, as a pregnant person, this one is a major pain in the butt!! Almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant I started noticing a slightly stuffy nose, especially when I go to bed at night. And it happens every single day. Again, I'm pretty sure it has to do with blood flow. The good thing is, this definitely goes away post-delivery so until then it's just an annoying symptom to deal with until then.
Soreness/Lower Back Pain/Round Ligament Pain
Haha I lumped these beauties all together because you really could just call this "pregnancy pain" & some form of it is around most days (but really only starting in 2nd trimester - I was pretty comfortable for 1st tri). I definitely get round ligament pain here and there, and I think lower back pain just happens because you center of gravity changes as pregnancy progresses.
I get chiropractic adjustments weekly and this helps a ton with keeping everything aligned from my pelvis/hips all the way up my back. I notice a HUGE difference after adjustment days. I really think regular adjustments helped me with Turner's natural (and quick) delivery.
I also try to do pilates daily and besides trying to stay a bit tone (as much as I can possibly can while gaining a pound a week - eye-roll here), it also really helps with flexibility and stretching. There are a handful of stretches that are really excellent to do daily during pregnancy and they not only help with general aches but also can help with round ligament pain and also prepare your body for labor.
But overall I think a general soreness/achy-ness is just part of pregnancy (growing a baby and all). Taylor is absolutely the best at rubbing my feet just about every single night and it's THE best. I also take warm baths as often as I can & I think that helps with general soreness too!
Leg Cramps
These have kind of always been an issue for me but definitely happen more frequently during pregnancy. Not entirely sure what causes them, and every now and then I eat a banana to see if that will help (because it's supposed it!), but I still get them, and usually at night. Not fun.
Weird Veins
This is one of those things I had no idea about before I was pregnant. Pregnancy can mess with your veins!? Yes, yes it can. When I was pregnant with Arden, I noticed at some point that I had developed a spider vein on the inside of my right leg. Shock and horror. Seriously! So when you're pregnant your blood flow is increased, right? Well at the same time it's decreased between your pelvis and legs, hence why people end up with weird vein issues in their legs and puffy swollen feet, etc. Spider veins that appear during pregnancy are "supposed' to fade after pregnancy. Mine may have a little, but it's back strong now and absolutely bugs me to death. There really isn't a fix for them and the only thing you can do is the bland old "put your feet up," "exercise," yada yada. Yay.
Nothing new popped up when I was pregnant with Turner, but this time I've now noticed a lovely brand new varicose vein (is it a coincidence that my girls are causing my legs to look bad!?). I even had to google it because seriously people - I had no idea that being pregnant could cause these things!!! A varicose vein is a "gnarled, enlarged vein" - lovely. They happen when the "uterus applies pressure to the large vein (the inferior vena cava) that carries blood back to the heart from your feet and legs." Stop. Just stop. There's only so much I can do....and if one of my own organs is going to cause big ugly veins to pop up in my legs...well I just give up! Here's to hoping this thing goes away after delivery (which it's supposed to, theoretically).
Swelling
Oh swelling. This happened with both my previous pregnancies and I full expect it to happen with #3 too. It definitely doesn't help that I'll be at the end of my pregnancy during the hottest summer months! Foot massages from a spouse help, as does putting my feet up. This is usually a 3rd trimester issue for me, but lately I've been noticing a tiny bit of swelling already so I'm trying to be conscious about putting my feet up when I can. I mostly swell in my feet and ankles. Not looking forward to this getting worse!
Stretch Marks
Ugh. These just make me sad. Since I was pregnant with #1, I've pretty much taken the stance of being in denial that they are hereditary because let's face it, I'm very type-A, and something hereditary would mean I have no control and I just don't accept that answer! But on a serious note, while I do understand the genetics of being predisposed to something like stretch marks, I also firmly believe that we can help our bodies be prepared for what's coming. So with each pregnancy, I try to keep hydration top of mind (let's go ahead and help skin elasticity from the inside out!), and I try to remember to lotion every day - twice a day would be ideal. Feeling like I have dry or itchy skin, especially around my belly, but really anywhere is a major red flag for me while pregnant (logically dry skin + growing belly = no bueno). I also try to eat foods that help skin elasticity (think avocados, walnuts, salmon, etc). I am also pretty aware of not gaining weight too quickly because logically I think that skin slowly expanding over time has a greater chance of coming out unscathed as opposed to having to stretch out super fast. For the most part I've been able to avoid stretch marks with previous pregnancies and only had one small mark near my belly button, but I'm sad to say that I'm pretty sure I've added a few more around the same place this time around.
Pelvic Floor
This one could really be the #1 most annoying symptom but since it's an issue that loves to linger on post-pregnancy AND because it can be worked on post-baby and eventually "theoretically" not be an issue anymore (I said theoretically!)...it get's the #3 spot. But still the #3 spot is no bueno & this is a really, really NOT fun symptom! With Arden I didn't have any issues at all, but after Turner was born I noticed how much weaker my pelvic floor was and even did a few months of PT after he was born to re-strengthen some of the muscles that really, really needed to be working properly. I still wonder if it's because my first two pregnancies were close together (A & T are 19 months apart), or if it's just because subsequent pregnancies are hard on your body, or if it's just an inevitable kind of thing, but man oh man it has not been fun this time around. Sneezing or coughing without thinking are now a thing of the past. Parenthood and pregnancy are such lovely things, no?
Diastasis
Okay this one & #3 and #1 should really all just be tied because they all stink. But this one got the #2 spot instead of #1 because like pelvic floor issues, this is something that can be worked on post-baby. Diastasis is when your ab muscles separate. They separate during pregnancy but then stay that way and so you end up with a little pooch that just doesn't go away no matter how much weight you lose post baby. It's common during pregnancy because of all the pressure your uterus is putting on your abdominal wall. While pregnant, can be made worse if you lift heavy things too much (like a toddler, right? oy), if you do exercises that put pressure or push against that abdominal wall (like crunches), or if you do things like get up and lay down without turning to your side slightly (and therefore you end up putting too much pressure on your abs). So when I was pregnant with Arden I did gentle pilates the whole way through and definitely felt like I didn't stay quite as tone during my pregnancy as I would have liked. BUT I didn't have a real issue with this afterwards. With Turner I definitely stayed more active and that quite possibly caused a bit of my problem, but really, I was also running around after a toddler so I was definitely lifting more than I should, etc. I noticed a huge problem with diastasis after Turner's birth! Diastasis is also connected to pelvic floor issues so boom, two wonderful problems wrapped up together. Part of the PT I did after Turner's birth was also to help with this, and it did help a little but I wouldn't say my abs ever fully went back to normal.
Belly Button
This is absolutely THE worst pregnancy symptom I've experienced. No, I'm not talking about just your belly button popping out a little bit around the halfway point where you look all cute and pregnant. That would be normal and cute, and most of the time if that happens your belly button will just go back to normal after you deliver. What I'm talking about is an umbilical hernia. An umbilical hernia that doesn't go away. Yep. Similar to diastasis, a UH is caused by too much pressure on your abdominal wall during pregnancy. Except that this won't just go away! I developed it when I was pregnant with Arden but it didn't become very apparent to me until after she was born. Then I noticed what had happened & told me doctor about it. She explained that it was common & in fact actually happens often with thinner people. Seriously!? #skinnypeopleprobs. Oh yea and the major downside? The only real fix is surgery....surgery that you can't have until you're totally done having kids because if you have it done and get pregnant again, that sucker is just going to come back. After Arden it wasn't terribly bad - I could notice it myself but it really wasn't super obvious. When I got pregnant with Turner my belly button seemed to "pop" right away - but really it's that once I was even a little bit pregnant, the hernia near my belly button just had nowhere to go so it just becomes super obvious. After Turner I noticed it a lot, but for the most part it wasn't terribly obvious. Now pregnant with #3, oh yea, you can see it for sure. I think this ends up as the most annoying symptom because I had no control over it and now have this major issue that I'm going to need to deal with someday...
So there you go, all (or most) of the lovely pregnancy symptoms that I've run into so far. Believe me, I'm thankful that for the most part I have pretty "normal" pregnancies and I know many, many women deal with much worse! I think most of these, especially the last few, were just such a rude awakening when I ran into them. A few of them I'd heard about or read about, but I think going into my pregnancy it just didn't occur to me that there would be issues that I would deal with that would just never go away...it didn't occur to me that things could come up during pregnancy that would change my body forever.
Stupid belly button.
Total current weight gain: 7.2 lbs (that would be another 2.5 lbs for anyone other than me keeping track). At this point with Arden I was up 9.3 lbs and with Turner I was up 8.4 lbs.
Symptoms. Can we talk about symptoms? In general I love being pregnant and I like to think I don't have any issues at all (and I don't really, especially not anything major), but lately there have been a few things that I'm realizing fall into the category of "pregnancy symptoms" and I feel like a need a record of them :)
It struck me yesterday as I was chatting with a 40-week pregnant momma at the playground that when people ask how I'm feeling, I generally respond "I feel great!" - and while this is over-archingly true, I am still dealing with a few things that aren't quite so great. Growing a baby is hard work, yall!
Pregnancy (and let's be real, labor and delivery too) tend to turn into a blur after the fact, so a lot of what I remember from my previous two pregnancies is just warm and fuzzy and happy, but there were definitely a few things I dealt with along the way during those 9 months before, and that I'm dealing with again now, and I just know someday one of my girls are going to ask and I'd like to actually be able to tell them which things I went through so they have a bit of a heads up of what to expect! So here goes, my pregnancy symptoms in order of least annoying to most annoying:
Body Temperature
The stereotype here is that pregnant ladies are always warm because of hormones. This one has so not been the case for me with any of my pregnancies. I'm normally cold-natured and 100% still am while I'm pregnant. I remember thinking when I was early pregnant with Arden that I'd actually like to feel extra warm....but it never happened! Whomp whomp. Ditto with Turner, and now with baby #3. Oh well!
Heartburn
Never had this with A or T. Had it once early on in 1st tri with #3 and man is it unpleasant. I generally don't ever get heartburn (when I'm not pregnant) & I'm glad this isn't really a thing for me now because it's not fun!
Racing Heart
Adding this in because because it totally happened during my first trimester and I never documented it!! Logically it makes sense, your body is pumping more blood while pregnant (30-50% more!) so duh your heart is beating faster, but the "racing" sensation is kind of nuts. If I was talking a lot and walking at the same time sometimes I get this "double beating" feeling for a minute or so and it could take my breath away. It never was something I was super concerned about, but it was a funny feeling. For me this was a 1st trimester symptom only (so far).
Dizziness
This is another one I experienced mostly in 1st trimester but is also a thing I get sometimes when I'm not pregnant. Let's just call it a tall-person-problem. If I don't eat enough, I get lightheaded if I stand up too quickly - it's intensified during pregnancy (probably because of all the extra blood?). In any case, during 1st trimester I noticed a direct correlation between what I ate the night before & if I would feel lightheaded of dizzy first thing in the mornings. Heavy-carb meal for dinner? Probably okay in the AM. Veggies and healthy chicken for dinner? Definitely light headed. I just got used to getting up slowly and making sure to eat something (toast was my preference) very quickly after waking to keep the dizziness under control.
Congestion
This one seems like such a little thing - isn't everyone just congested around the fall/spring from "allergies"??? - let me tell you, as a pregnant person, this one is a major pain in the butt!! Almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant I started noticing a slightly stuffy nose, especially when I go to bed at night. And it happens every single day. Again, I'm pretty sure it has to do with blood flow. The good thing is, this definitely goes away post-delivery so until then it's just an annoying symptom to deal with until then.
Soreness/Lower Back Pain/Round Ligament Pain
Haha I lumped these beauties all together because you really could just call this "pregnancy pain" & some form of it is around most days (but really only starting in 2nd trimester - I was pretty comfortable for 1st tri). I definitely get round ligament pain here and there, and I think lower back pain just happens because you center of gravity changes as pregnancy progresses.
I get chiropractic adjustments weekly and this helps a ton with keeping everything aligned from my pelvis/hips all the way up my back. I notice a HUGE difference after adjustment days. I really think regular adjustments helped me with Turner's natural (and quick) delivery.
I also try to do pilates daily and besides trying to stay a bit tone (as much as I can possibly can while gaining a pound a week - eye-roll here), it also really helps with flexibility and stretching. There are a handful of stretches that are really excellent to do daily during pregnancy and they not only help with general aches but also can help with round ligament pain and also prepare your body for labor.
But overall I think a general soreness/achy-ness is just part of pregnancy (growing a baby and all). Taylor is absolutely the best at rubbing my feet just about every single night and it's THE best. I also take warm baths as often as I can & I think that helps with general soreness too!
Leg Cramps
These have kind of always been an issue for me but definitely happen more frequently during pregnancy. Not entirely sure what causes them, and every now and then I eat a banana to see if that will help (because it's supposed it!), but I still get them, and usually at night. Not fun.
Weird Veins
This is one of those things I had no idea about before I was pregnant. Pregnancy can mess with your veins!? Yes, yes it can. When I was pregnant with Arden, I noticed at some point that I had developed a spider vein on the inside of my right leg. Shock and horror. Seriously! So when you're pregnant your blood flow is increased, right? Well at the same time it's decreased between your pelvis and legs, hence why people end up with weird vein issues in their legs and puffy swollen feet, etc. Spider veins that appear during pregnancy are "supposed' to fade after pregnancy. Mine may have a little, but it's back strong now and absolutely bugs me to death. There really isn't a fix for them and the only thing you can do is the bland old "put your feet up," "exercise," yada yada. Yay.
Nothing new popped up when I was pregnant with Turner, but this time I've now noticed a lovely brand new varicose vein (is it a coincidence that my girls are causing my legs to look bad!?). I even had to google it because seriously people - I had no idea that being pregnant could cause these things!!! A varicose vein is a "gnarled, enlarged vein" - lovely. They happen when the "uterus applies pressure to the large vein (the inferior vena cava) that carries blood back to the heart from your feet and legs." Stop. Just stop. There's only so much I can do....and if one of my own organs is going to cause big ugly veins to pop up in my legs...well I just give up! Here's to hoping this thing goes away after delivery (which it's supposed to, theoretically).
Swelling
Oh swelling. This happened with both my previous pregnancies and I full expect it to happen with #3 too. It definitely doesn't help that I'll be at the end of my pregnancy during the hottest summer months! Foot massages from a spouse help, as does putting my feet up. This is usually a 3rd trimester issue for me, but lately I've been noticing a tiny bit of swelling already so I'm trying to be conscious about putting my feet up when I can. I mostly swell in my feet and ankles. Not looking forward to this getting worse!
Stretch Marks
Ugh. These just make me sad. Since I was pregnant with #1, I've pretty much taken the stance of being in denial that they are hereditary because let's face it, I'm very type-A, and something hereditary would mean I have no control and I just don't accept that answer! But on a serious note, while I do understand the genetics of being predisposed to something like stretch marks, I also firmly believe that we can help our bodies be prepared for what's coming. So with each pregnancy, I try to keep hydration top of mind (let's go ahead and help skin elasticity from the inside out!), and I try to remember to lotion every day - twice a day would be ideal. Feeling like I have dry or itchy skin, especially around my belly, but really anywhere is a major red flag for me while pregnant (logically dry skin + growing belly = no bueno). I also try to eat foods that help skin elasticity (think avocados, walnuts, salmon, etc). I am also pretty aware of not gaining weight too quickly because logically I think that skin slowly expanding over time has a greater chance of coming out unscathed as opposed to having to stretch out super fast. For the most part I've been able to avoid stretch marks with previous pregnancies and only had one small mark near my belly button, but I'm sad to say that I'm pretty sure I've added a few more around the same place this time around.
Pelvic Floor
This one could really be the #1 most annoying symptom but since it's an issue that loves to linger on post-pregnancy AND because it can be worked on post-baby and eventually "theoretically" not be an issue anymore (I said theoretically!)...it get's the #3 spot. But still the #3 spot is no bueno & this is a really, really NOT fun symptom! With Arden I didn't have any issues at all, but after Turner was born I noticed how much weaker my pelvic floor was and even did a few months of PT after he was born to re-strengthen some of the muscles that really, really needed to be working properly. I still wonder if it's because my first two pregnancies were close together (A & T are 19 months apart), or if it's just because subsequent pregnancies are hard on your body, or if it's just an inevitable kind of thing, but man oh man it has not been fun this time around. Sneezing or coughing without thinking are now a thing of the past. Parenthood and pregnancy are such lovely things, no?
Diastasis
Okay this one & #3 and #1 should really all just be tied because they all stink. But this one got the #2 spot instead of #1 because like pelvic floor issues, this is something that can be worked on post-baby. Diastasis is when your ab muscles separate. They separate during pregnancy but then stay that way and so you end up with a little pooch that just doesn't go away no matter how much weight you lose post baby. It's common during pregnancy because of all the pressure your uterus is putting on your abdominal wall. While pregnant, can be made worse if you lift heavy things too much (like a toddler, right? oy), if you do exercises that put pressure or push against that abdominal wall (like crunches), or if you do things like get up and lay down without turning to your side slightly (and therefore you end up putting too much pressure on your abs). So when I was pregnant with Arden I did gentle pilates the whole way through and definitely felt like I didn't stay quite as tone during my pregnancy as I would have liked. BUT I didn't have a real issue with this afterwards. With Turner I definitely stayed more active and that quite possibly caused a bit of my problem, but really, I was also running around after a toddler so I was definitely lifting more than I should, etc. I noticed a huge problem with diastasis after Turner's birth! Diastasis is also connected to pelvic floor issues so boom, two wonderful problems wrapped up together. Part of the PT I did after Turner's birth was also to help with this, and it did help a little but I wouldn't say my abs ever fully went back to normal.
Belly Button
This is absolutely THE worst pregnancy symptom I've experienced. No, I'm not talking about just your belly button popping out a little bit around the halfway point where you look all cute and pregnant. That would be normal and cute, and most of the time if that happens your belly button will just go back to normal after you deliver. What I'm talking about is an umbilical hernia. An umbilical hernia that doesn't go away. Yep. Similar to diastasis, a UH is caused by too much pressure on your abdominal wall during pregnancy. Except that this won't just go away! I developed it when I was pregnant with Arden but it didn't become very apparent to me until after she was born. Then I noticed what had happened & told me doctor about it. She explained that it was common & in fact actually happens often with thinner people. Seriously!? #skinnypeopleprobs. Oh yea and the major downside? The only real fix is surgery....surgery that you can't have until you're totally done having kids because if you have it done and get pregnant again, that sucker is just going to come back. After Arden it wasn't terribly bad - I could notice it myself but it really wasn't super obvious. When I got pregnant with Turner my belly button seemed to "pop" right away - but really it's that once I was even a little bit pregnant, the hernia near my belly button just had nowhere to go so it just becomes super obvious. After Turner I noticed it a lot, but for the most part it wasn't terribly obvious. Now pregnant with #3, oh yea, you can see it for sure. I think this ends up as the most annoying symptom because I had no control over it and now have this major issue that I'm going to need to deal with someday...
So there you go, all (or most) of the lovely pregnancy symptoms that I've run into so far. Believe me, I'm thankful that for the most part I have pretty "normal" pregnancies and I know many, many women deal with much worse! I think most of these, especially the last few, were just such a rude awakening when I ran into them. A few of them I'd heard about or read about, but I think going into my pregnancy it just didn't occur to me that there would be issues that I would deal with that would just never go away...it didn't occur to me that things could come up during pregnancy that would change my body forever.
Stupid belly button.
Total current weight gain: 7.2 lbs (that would be another 2.5 lbs for anyone other than me keeping track). At this point with Arden I was up 9.3 lbs and with Turner I was up 8.4 lbs.
WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO
Arden brought home some math homework for us to do together:
I got to go to a "Moms of the Shores" Game Night in our neighborhood & meet some fun mommas! We played spoons & I even won a round!
Taylor ran a 5k - the Trinity River Levee Run!
We came to cheer him on.
It was freezing!
Taylor has been running this race for years and in the past I used to do the 5k too!
After the race we went to Klyde Warren Park:
We were the only ones there because it was so cold & Arden serenaded us with "Let It Go" from Frozen (sung at the top of her lungs):
We've been to the doctor twice in the past two weeks...first because Arden had the flu and now has an ear infection. She's a trouper though and really had a great attitude the whole time!
We're getting a few beautiful spring-like days here and there & taking advantage of being outside whenever we can!
21 Weeks with Arden
21 Weeks with Turner
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