Third Trimester Update

We are now two weeks into the Third Trimester, and things are different, but the same. It's both easier and harder. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Our keiki is doing very well, still growing. She has moved up to 18th percentile in size. Bigger, but definitely not where I want her to be. My uterus is in perfectly normal size range though, and we accidentally initiated a non-stress test the last time the OB checked her heartbeat. That's when the baby moves, and you check that the baby's heart rate increased - it should go up about 10BPM for about 10 seconds. Well, I had a weird muscle twitch in my back, which she responded to quite strongly, and instantly her heart rate went up just as the laws of good pregnancy predicted. Yay! It was a fun moment, listening to her ramp up right after a good, strong movement from her.

She still lots of inactive times, but her active times are more frequent. Maybe she is active when I'm asleep, but not enough to wake me up? She most certainly was active during the ultra sound - I have a theory that she just does not like those, because she always moves around the entire time I've had every single one. In the beginning, I had no idea that ultra sounds could be so tedious - I've now had three of these growth monitoring sessions where they go over her anatomy and take a bazillion measurements. These have all lasted well over an hour. Ugh. But when they switch gears and show me profile views of her, it is always entertaining. This time around, she was laying on her back, with her legs stretched out over her, so her feet dangled over her head. I got to actually watch her do her "stretch" against my belly, and at least that day, it was actually her legs, not her back, that was pressing outwards. It's truly fascinating.

Oh, and she's definitely a girl! Whew! I was just not satisfied with their demonstration from last time, which went something like "See this, there's nothing there, so it's a girl." This time, it was "See this? That's her vagina. She's a girl!"

In the "good things that don't feel so good" category, it seems as if I can feel her growing. I feel fatter and more ungainly every day. My belly is most definitely bigger. I am not consistently gaining weight yet though. I noticed that I've lost enough weight that my too-tight winter boots are no longer too tight, but gained enough girth that my maternity jeans almost stay up by themselves. Almost isn't cutting it though, so I finally bought a pair of men's suspenders. I love them! They would look cute in public if I wasn't using them on jeans that I can't zip or button, but alas they must be covered as I hide the big gaping space so strangers don't stare at my underwear. I have not yet tried them on the maternity pants - I just don't think I could secure them well enough. Oh well. At the rate I'm going, I should be able to wear those pants just fine within a few weeks.

So now on to the category of "new things that suck to add to the old". I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I alternately want to scream, cry, babble about, or remain silent about this development. I think for now, I will just say that this was an added complication that I really didn't need. It just compounds every other thing I'm going through, bringing me to tears at least once a day. It's only the first week though, so we'll see how things are in a few days.

Also, despite the warmth and understanding and knowledgability of my diabetes testing nurse, I did not leave my teaching appointment "empowered". I left terrified, and with the conviction the next time I hear "it's for the baby", "it's not forever", or "it will all be worth it when the baby comes", the speaker better be standing well clear from me. Say, 20 feet or so? And it would probably be wise for them to consider wearing good running shoes as well. Perhaps some body padding and/or an umpire's mask?