Into the 4th quarter we go!

30 weeks down, 10 to go, give or take.  Time to sing the War Hymn, saw the horns off, and head into the 4th quarter of this pregnancy.

This little one has been quite active for some time and the past few weeks have been no exception.  I never bothered to keep a "kick count" with Daniel because he was so active I felt tons of kicking and I haven't done one for Honey Badger either.  At least 10 kicks an hour?  We've usually got that within 5 minutes!

Now that I'm in the 3rd trimester I've graduated from monthly prenatal checkups to biweekly (then weekly for the final month).  I had my most recent checkup this morning.  This appointment was quick, routine one-heard the heartbeat via Doppler (131 bpm) and the midwife and her trainee measured fundus height (31cm) and felt my belly to determine fetal position.  The bad news is kiddo is still breech, but the good news is s/he has plenty of room to turn and time to do it.  Maybe s/he is just bored with nothing else to do in there and wants to save that to give something to look forward to.  If there's any doubt about whether we're in head-down position by 36 weeks another sonogram will be done at that point to get a better look, but hopefully this will resolve itself by then.  Cecily suggested I try crawling around on hands and knees to try to encourage the little one to turn so I'll start doing that (maybe turn it into a game with Daniel).

While I definitely want this kiddo to turn I have to admit that the breech position does seem to create less discomfort for me than Daniel did in head-down position.  I'm certainly visiting the restroom more than usual but less than I recall with Daniel.  I'm also not experiencing the pain of having a baby's back wedged up against my ribs and haven't had much in the way of back pain.  So, provided Honey Badger ultimately does end up turning, I'd have to say the breech chapter in this pregnancy may end up being a blessing in disguise.

While I'm still feeling pretty good for this far along heartburn has reared its ugly head and is making nightly appearances.  I didn't imagine I'd be lucky enough to escape it altogether this time but I'm glad to have avoided it as long as I did.  I'm also still sleeping pretty well, most nights only waking up once the whole night.  I don't wake up sore (thanks Tempurpedic!) but I am to the point in the pregnancy where no matter how long I sleep I don't really feel fully rested when I wake up.  And, I get fairly easily winded (that will happen when your lungs are compressed).  But all things considered it's not bad.

However, just like with Daniel, there's nothing like traveling in your 3rd trimester to make you realize that yep, I'm definitely pregnant.  Wednesday we had a long drive to Austin, thanks to holiday traffic.  That night for the first time in the pregnancy I felt my ankles swell...I guess sitting in the car all day will do that.  On the return drive home I put my feet up on the dash a lot and that seemed to help.  I've also found good use for the compression socks that I wear the day after a long run to help with recovery.  Turns out they are also good at reducing swelling.  What with it being boot weather now anyway, I'll try to wear those a few times a week to help prevent swelling.

It's been awhile since my last picture, so here are a few current ones.  The bump is definitely getting bigger!

 

 

28 weeks: 2/3 of the way there!

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Daniel I went out and bought the What to Expect When You're Expecting book.  I remember looking ahead to the chapters on the later months of pregnancy that described how big and developed the baby would be.  That seemed so far away just days after seeing that positive pregnancy test and hard to imagine that that little poppyseed was going to be the size of a squash in 7 months.  And now 3 years later, our second child is that big and less than 3 months from making his or her debut into the world.

 

Since my last baby update we've had a few developments.  At my prenatal appointment last week I learned that 1) a new sonogram shows that the placenta previa issue that was noted at 20 weeks has largely resolved, 2) I passed my glucose screening test with flying colors, and 3) baby is looking good, albeit in a frank breech position (booty down, head and limbs up).  My midwife feels confident that the baby will turn (breech position this early isn't uncommon) and that the placenta position will continue to improve, so barring later developments that suggest otherwise we're on track for another natural birth.  We won't do the full birth classes again but it is time to start reading over the Bradley materials and getting back up to speed on everything to remind ourselves what to expect.

 

While the news at the appointment was definitely reassuring, HB has been giving me frequent feedback every day (and night) that s/he is growing and strengthening those muscles.  Daniel was quite the squirmy one and his sibling seems to be just as active.  But while they were both active, HB's movements feel different.  With Daniel I remember feeling like he had wedged himself up under my ribcage.  I haven't had that sensation this time (maybe because of the breech position) but it seems like I am getting elbowed more and earlier with HB.

 

Fortunately getting elbowed is still my biggest pregnancy discomfort at this stage of pregnancy.  I'm still sleeping pretty well, but as I did with Daniel, I find that having an extra pillow up against my back is helpful so I can lay on my back but still be partly on my side.  I'll generally wake up at least once a night to use the bathroom but seldom more than twice.  I've had a little lower back pain last week but otherwise still feeling pretty good.  I'm sure the coming months will bring more discomfort but I'm thankful to be feeling as good as I do so far along.

 

We didn't make a baby registry this time because we realized that we already had just about everything we needed already.  We're reusing Daniel's old crib and dresser/changing table so I just got some sheets and a changing pad cover in a Finding Nemo pattern to go with the under the sea theme we had planned.  Last week we had the room painted, and the color turned out great.  It's a soft aqua color that should work well for a girl or boy.  Now all that's left to do is put up aquatic-themed decals on the walls, rearrange the furniture, and get old stuff out of the closet and baby stuff in.  I'll need to get some of Daniel's old newborn clothes out of storage.  If HB's a boy, we'll be all set.  If it's a girl, well, I don't think wearing boy's newborn clothes for a few weeks will cause her any gender identity issues ;)

 

 

Hopefully by my next baby update we'll have the room done and can include more pictures.  Right now the room is in a state of transition.  It was previously our guest room and had my old college bedroom furniture.  We've decided to keep the guest bed in the room but we moved the dresser into Daniel's room for his temporary use while moving the crib and changing table/dresser combo to HB's room.  The major pieces are in place now but we have a bureau, bookshelf, and rocking chair whose fate we haven't yet determined. 

 

The grand plan is to get Daniel a full new bedroom suite in the next year or two but in the meantime, we figured we might as well move the old dresser we already had into his room.  The guest bed will stay in HB's room probably till s/he is ready to move out of the crib, at which point we'll either have bunk beds/trundle in one or both kids' rooms or graduate Daniel to a full/queen bed so we have a guest bed when company comes (kids can double bunk in the other room those nights).  We'll just have to see what seems like the best plan at that point, but the current furniture swap lets us put those logistical considerations on the back burner for a few years.

 

Getting the room ready isn't the only change we've made in anticipation of HB's arrival.  Last month I bid a fond farewell to my VW Jetta I'd driven for 7+ years and moved up to the bigger VW Passat.  The Jetta was the best car I'd ever owned and no doubt had several more good years left in it but that backseat was not made to comfortably hold 2 carseats.  But the Passat has much more rear legroom so Daniel can easily rear-face behind the driver's seat with room to spare and the infant seat will fit behind the passenger seat.  The extra space will serve us well and between that and the terrific fuel economy of the turbodiesel engine (regularly averaging around 40mpg) it will probably supplant Kevin's SUV as our main road trip car.  I expected some adjustment in getting used to a bigger car but have been impressed how it really doesn't handle any bigger than the Jetta did.  Daniel likes Mommy's new car and is obsessed with playing with the keys and pushing the "lock" button on the key fob to honk the horn (sorry, neighbors).  At this rate he'll wear out the battery in no time!