84 days to go!
I only have 12 more weeks to go, Im both dreading and looking forward to the coming weeks! By now my baby should be about 2-3lbs and a total length of about 16 inches. At birth we are expecting about an 8 pound+ 20-21″ long baby! By now the recommended weight gain is 17-24lbs, Ive gained 18.5lbs. My uterus is measuring a bit ahead, by two weeks, but normally at 28 weeks pregnant your uterus should be about 3 inches above your belly button, because of this you might be experiencing heartburn. I definatly have noticed it more often. I try not to eat anything after dinner, if Im very hungry Ill eat a peice of bread with a bit of peanut butter on it. That seems to not give me too much trouble. Milk though, that kills me every time so that peanut butter sandwhich is eaten with water to drink and I dont drink anything but lots of water between dinner and bedtime. I also keep my liquid mylanta handy. I experimented with a bunch of different brands, flavours and types of antacids during my other pregnancies and found that the mint mylanta (or mint mylanta ‘knock off’ ) worked the best for me. Tums and other chewables never did it for me unfortunatly.
Around 28 weeks some women notice a bit of ‘leaking’ from their breasts, its colostrum, which is the pre-milk your body makes for your baby. This is some seriously great stuff that is full of antibodies and important nutrients your baby needs. If you choose not to breastfeed its a great idea to give it a shot at least the first couple of days so your little one gets this stuff, breastmilk is best but there are many women who chose to use formula but those first few days are the most important for your baby. If you are not leaking by now do not worry at all! Its totally fine to not leak anything ever during your pregnancy.
Amazingly this is my last week in my second trimester. Ive been having mixed feelings about this, on one hand I cannot believe how absolutly fast this pregnancy has gone by and at the same time I have a bit of dread with the next 14 weeks, for purely selfish reasons though. My tummy is so big already Im scared of how wrecked my body will be again. My first pregnancy obviously did the most damage, my cute flawless tummy turned into a war zone of scars from stretch marks. I knew I would get them, and thought I was prepared for them but I wasnt prepared for how bad or how large they would be. I have stretch marks from puberty so I expected the same type, but what I got in pregnancy was completly different. So far I have only one very small little pink mark where my skin has again started to scar. Ive been riding on my loose skin from weight loss until this point but its starting to get tight again. This week I am up to 173lbs- which was my weight when I got pregnant with my second child. Ive gained 17 pounds at 26 weeks- thats a normal amount of wieght gain but Im scared of what will come in the coming 14 weeks for my body.
As far as my baby- at 26 weeks she should be about TWO pounds now!! And somewhere in the vacinity of a foot long. This week also marks a big developement with the eyes! Until now they have been sealled shut so the retina can develope but this week the baby’s eyes will begin to open!
Im 25 weeks 4 days pregnant and I was 172.2lbs this morning which is a gain of about 16 pounds. In the beginning of this pregnancy I knew I would give birth at home, actually before I got pregnant this time I knew if I ever had another child they would be birthed at home. This wasnt a decision I took lightly, but one I regret that I did not make two births sooner. I had my older two children at a hospital and had aweful experiences which still scar me mentally and physically. The old saying ‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’ comes to my mind when I think about why I had hospital births with a doctor attending. I had completly uncomplicated pregnancies and I made choices to keep the interventions to the lowest possible number (no drugs etc) but so many things are ‘routine’ in a hospital and they make you feel like you have no choice. I was even given a drug after my children were born without my knowledge or consent. I didnt know until 4 years later that this happened, when I picked up copies of my medical records. I dont think thats okay. I wasnt in medical distress, there was no need for drugs, but at the hospital I delivered at its ‘routine’. This time my baby will be born at home with the assistance of a midwife, an amazing woman who I feel absolutly confident and comfortable in having in my home and at the birth of my child. Having a homebirth means a drug free and intervention free labour. It varies with the midwife but most believe a baby will come on its own, there is no ‘one hour=one centimeter dialation’ rule, labour takes how long it takes. Women who labour and deliver at home are not confined to being flat on their back in a hospital bed hooked up to monitors and a catheter, they can move into any position that feels best, they also are encouraged to push in any position other than flat on their back. Why push uphill when gravity can do some of the work for you? I never understoon the lithomy position (flat on back, knees cranked up to the ears, nurses screaming at you to PUUUUUSH!!!!) I delivered my two older sons in this fashion and I knew it was all wrong but I wasnt allowed to get into a better position because it would obscure the doctors view of my child being birthed, and it would make an episiotomy more difficult to perform (it would also negate the NEED for an episiotomy)
If you are contemplating delivering at home please contact a few midwives and chat with them! I hope you find one that is a great fit for your needs.