28 Week Bumpdate with Baby #2

Third trimester, baby!

If I was to sum up my first two trimesters it would go like this:

First trimester: utterly exhausted, can’t find anything to eat, losing weight, and barely holding on. Second trimester: renewed zest for life, eating everything in sight, and feeling like myself again.

Needless to say, the second trimester treated me a lot better than the first.

I am super curious about the third trimester. With my first pregnancy, I had my baby at 37 weeks 2 days because of complete placenta previa. So I’ve never been more pregnant than 37 weeks along. With this pregnancy, I can go the full 42 weeks without any fuss from my midwives, so I have a lot of questions including:

• How long will I carry this baby? Will I go way past my due date?
• What is it like to be more pregnant than 37 weeks along? I felt pretty comfortable up until that point, so it will be fascinating to go farther.
• How big will my baby be? I am super curious what the fully-grown weight of my baby will be since he/she can decide when he/she wants to come this time around. Gideon was 6 lbs and 2 oz, but he probably would have been about 7 1/2 lbs if he came closer to his due date.
• What will recovery from a vaginal birth be like in comparison to a c-section?
• What will labor be like for me?

My first pregnancy gave me a lot of perspective. I remember seeing other women post and bemoan the latter days of pregnancy, and I would just yearn for even the chance to carry my pregnancy to the end. I am so tickled that this time around I can carry this baby as long as he/she wants, and that I will get the excitement of not knowing when that day will arrive, and going through labor and delivery!

How far along: 28 weeks

Books I’m Reading: I’ve been reading Cut, Stapled and Mended which is more of a memoir than a birth book. It is beautifully written, if somewhat–ahem–indiscreet at times (the author holds nothing back). I just got to her first birth, and I’m excited to get to the VBAC story in the book.

Due date: August 23

Gender: It’s a surprise! 

How big is baby?  Baby is as big as an eggplant, and weighs around 2.2 lbs.

This week, baby: is packing on the fat, and practicing opening and closing his/her eyes.

Exercise: Still going on daily walks of 1-3 miles. I have a goal of walking 3 miles every day this week.

What I’m googling: rentals in our town.

Purchases I’ve made: We hit up the second of three major town-wide garage sale days in our neighboring towns, and I managed to snag:

• A GPS system for our van for $5!
• A LaZBoy recliner/rocking chair for $15!
• A smattering of little baby girl clothes in newborn-3 months, just in case (I have tons of boy things).
• A BUNCH of maternity clothes for $1 each (YAY!!)

How’s the apartment search going? I am sad to report that the apartment that we had planned on moving into in the end of June (the one that I loved: two stories plus a basement, washer/dryer, a backyard) is no longer part of our game plan. The landlord contacted us, and let us know (with less than a month’s notice before we were planning on moving) that it would not be available until mid-August (what else is happening in August? Oh yes. I’m having a baby).

That was a complete shock, and I definitely cried for a day. We really don’t want to move close to my due date so now we’ve been plunged back into the maelstrom that is apartment hunting. Ugh. The market is super hot in our tiny college town, and it is hard to find something that is both affordable and in good condition. I am calling landlords every day, praying about it, and just trying to make peace with the fact that we might, after all, be in our one-bedroom apartment when baby #2 arrives. We would make it work, but I am still hopeful that something pops up before then.

How are you feeling? Feeling really good!

Sleep: Still sleeping really well. 

Best moment this week: Hitting up the garage sales.

Movement: Lots of crazy movement! 

Cravings/Eating: The other night, all I wanted was a dark chocolate brownie that wasn’t sweet at all, just chocolatey, and a bit of ice cream. I didn’t hunt down this craving, but it was all I could think about.

Symptoms: weekly headache/neck pain. 

For comparison, here is my 28 Week Bumpdate with Baby #1

What questions do you have for me?