Monday, August 19, 2013

Week 23 and My Birth Plan

It is very hard to believe that I am 23 weeks.  Very hard.  Like I need to get stuff done, oh my gosh I have not read all of the books, I am panicking a little bit, hard.  I'm taking it one day at a time.  Also, I am trying not to go nuts on purchasing stuff because we are having multiple showers, so I keep telling myself I will get lots of stuff then and I need to cool it.  Registering almost killed me because I wanted to buy everything I was putting on the list right then!

Lately I have been feeling pretty good.  Peter is moving around a lot more and his kicks are getting stronger.  I have had a little bit of cramping, but not much.  This mainly happens when I overdo it around the house or walking Yazoo.  I have been spending lots of lazy Saturday mornings in bed to try to rest and compensate!

Additionally, I have put on quite the poundage.  I know I initially said I wasn't going to talk about my weight on the blog, but at my last doctor's appointment I was shocked!  Total for the pregnancy weeks 1-19 I gained a grand total of seven pounds.  From weeks 19-22 I gained a whopping sixteen pounds.  My doctor tried to be nice about it, but pretty much told me to slow my roll.  The thing is, I have not really eaten THAT much more.  I have allowed lots more desert than usual, fried foods, etc.  However, it still has not been that much more than I have eaten when not pregnant.  At this rate, I am going to be rolling into the maternity ward, not walking.


As for going into the maternity ward, I figured I would document my good intentions of having a nice, calm birth while I wasn't in pain.  I am not someone who has EVER thought I would have a natural birth.  That has not changed.  I would happily walk into the maternity ward, get hit in the head with a baseball bat, handed a glass of wine and the epidural stuck in my back at the admissions desk if I could.  However, since that is not a feasible option I have set myself a few goals.  First and foremost, I am going to do my very best not to be induced.  I am going to try to let nature take its course and have this baby when he is ready to be born.  However, I have also told my doctor that if the baby looks too big or if it is in his best interest, I will consider induction at one week past due.  Second, I am going to try to labor until I am five cm dilated without the epidural.  I am guessing this is the one where I might cave, but who knows I could surprise myself.  I just don't want to get the epidural and slow things down too much.  Finally, I want to try to labor for a while at home.  I want to be able to eat and drink, take a shower to relax and move about while I am laboring.  We live pretty close to the hospital where I am going to deliver, and very close to my doctor's back-up hospital, so I am going to try to remain calm and stay at home for as long as my psyche will allow.

Onto the stats...  

How Far Along:  23 weeks

Size of Baby:  He is over a pound now, about the size of a large mango, and I am measuring 24 weeks pregnant instead of 23.

Weight Gain: See above.

Gender: Boy!  Peter James Malatesta. 

Movement:  He is a consistent little kicker now.  He has moments of quietness throughout the day, and I get all nervous that he is not moving, then he goes on a thirty minute kicking spree straight into my bladder.  Little boys...

Sleep: I am still waking up pretty early in the morning, like about 4:30.  This morning I got a swift kick to the back that woke me up and I stayed up until it was time to go to work.

What I miss: Focus.  I miss being able to focus at work or on anything more than an hour TV show.

Cravings: Not much this week.  We ate Millie D's yogurt this weekend and it was like nectar from God!

Symptoms:  Heartburn. Cramping.  Leg cramps.  

Best Moment of the week:  Jake felt Peter move!  We were in the car, coming home from dinner, and we had been talking about the baby.  Jake asked me what Peter moving felt like and I told him it kind of felt like muscle twitches right now.  I grabbed his hand just as Peter gave a big kick.  His reaction was pretty priceless, he was like "Oh My God, there is something in there!"


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