End of the Second Trimester

I had my glucose tolerance test last Tuesday at my appointment, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to pass it.  I don't know why I had that feeling, but as it turns out, I'm in the clear.  I got a 93, which falls well below the recommended 140 mg/dL.  I picked the fruit punch flavor, mostly because I was told the orange was the nastiest.  It wasn't that bad, except that after about ten minutes, I felt pretty gross, like I had just eaten a half-dozen donuts.  I got a little shaky, and when it was time to draw blood, my hands were super sweaty.  I think the MA thought I was going to pass out as she was drawing my blood.

In two weeks, we start the Bradley Method classes at the Maternity Center up in Menomonee Falls.  It's a 2-1/2 hour class that lasts 8 weeks.  I'm hoping that it will give us some good information about having a natural childbirth (no drugs) and the process of labor and delivery.  In turn, when it comes time to making a birth plan, we'll have more knowledge than what we've got right now.

Oh, the Dreams...

Last night, I very vividly dreamed that I was throwing up.  It was so real that as I woke up from the dream, I did it ever-so-cautiously because I didn't want to barf all over the bed.  I've only puked four times in my life, and I couldn't believe how much last night felt like I had just barfed in my mouth.

Then, I had another dream that the baby's foot was protruding out of my belly and I couldn't get it back in my belly.  It looked exactly like this picture, except I wasn't blue:

By the way, do you think this picture is real?

Photoshop fun or really sweet picture?

Charting the Belly: Week 26

Packers vs. Bears Game Day

My new favorite shirt

Go Bears!!

Can't hide it anymore...

Baby Dreams

I've only had one dream that I remember about the baby and that was in the first trimester.  I dreamed it was a baby boy.  I haven't had any other dreams recently about the baby, but I've had a whole slew of bizarre and vivid dreams.

I had an intensely colorful dream about my dad several nights ago, and that's the second dream that I've had about him since he passed away.  There were tornadoes off in the distance, and he was in the lawn in his wheelchair, and I needed to bring him inside.  We talked for a bit, but I don't remember about what.  After the tornadoes had passed, there were clouds close to the ground, and a flock of about twenty snowy owls flew out.  I don't think that owls travel in flocks, but it was pretty impressive.

One website said that during the second trimester, women report an increase in dreams about animals, and another site said that dreaming about animals reminds us to "trust our instincts."  It also mentioned that seeing birds can mean freedom and success.

Regardless of what dreams mean or don't mean, the ones I've had in the past several months have been pretty amazing.

Fetuses Are Funny

I don't get my fetus.  Some days it's super quiet and doesn't do much, other than a few rolls and lazy jabs and upper cuts.  Other days, like last night and this morning, it's incredibly active, making my belly jump around like I'm cooking popcorn inside.  I can't figure out what makes it move.  It usually dances a bit after I eat and also when I am lying in bed.  But I can't seem to do a Pandora on it... Meaning that I play it music fairly often, but can't get its music tastes just right.  Last week, my mom was here, and she wanted to feel the baby move. So, I pulled out the iPod and played Yellow Sun by The Ranconteurs, and the fetus gave a "thumbs up" in the form of a head butt that was pretty powerful.  Of course, that could have meant that it didn't like it very much.  I don't know.

I've played it all sorts of other music, and some days it digs what I've got on, and other times it's like, "Blah...I've heard better."

Yes, I'm trying to figure out a fetus.  A fetus that weighs about a pound and a half, whose bones are becoming harder, and whose prime source of entertainment is exploring structures in my uterus.

A fav onesie

Yes, I'm neurotic.

Almost 100 Days Left

It's really hard to believe that I'm over halfway through this pregnancy.  Yikes.  This Thursday will mark 25 weeks, and then in a few weeks after that, I'll be in the third trimester.  And I'll get bigger and bigger and bigger...  The baby is well over a pound by now, and it's kicking and punching away like a champ.  I still can't get over how weird that feels, and I love it when Nate puts his hand on my belly and feels it moving around, too.

I'm pretty grateful with how well this is going.  I didn't have morning sickness, no complications thus far, and my husband has been beyond wonderful.  I could do without the leg cramps in the middle of the night, though.  Holy cow.  Those are pure evil.  What's up with those, anyway?  I've had three in the past month, and the most recent one was over Christmas.  That one was so utterly painful that it brought tears to my eyes at some ridiculous hour of the night.  I woke Nate up with my strained breathing, and I was in so much pain that I was practically paralyzed until it passed.  Stretching before bed has been helpful, and I think exercising has its benefits, too.