28 Weeks Pregnant Post

It's been awhile since I posted any details of my pregnancy with this little boy in my belly, so I figured I would get you caught back up to date!

We came home from our summer vacation at the beginning of my 22nd week, and by the end of that week I was put on partial bed rest. My normal blood pressure is 110/60... at that appointment my blood pressure was 140/80, and I had gained 15 pounds in the three weeks since my last appointment. My OB gave me strict orders to stop work immediately and to begin resting during the day as much as possible. She also ordered what seemed like 1000 tests to be done over the course of the following week. I had developed preeclampsia/toxemia during my pregnancy with Reagan, so we were prepared to keep a close eye on things for this pregnancy... we just didn't expect to see the symptoms so soon!

Since then, my blood pressure has pretty much remained the same. All of the blood work and other lab work came back within the normal ranges, so I have managed to remain on only partial bed rest thus far. This means that I am resting either in bed or on the couch more than anything else while still being allowed to take the occasional walk around the block or to run an important errand. More than anything though, I'm being lazy! It's tough though because my nesting instinct has kicked in, and I can't really do any cleaning while laying on the couch. There was one day that I decided that all of the shoes in our house were dirty, so I put ALL of them in the washing machine. I figured that was the best way to cure my itch to clean and yet not do any physical labor in the process! And now we all have clean shoes! So far, I haven't had any other crazy cleaning urges thank goodness!

My blood pressure may be staying down, but my weight is still going up like crazy. I'm averaging about 5 pounds per week which means that at the rate I am going, if I carry to full term I could weigh over 250 pounds. It has become harder to move around or to roll over in bed or to get off the couch without feeling like I need a crane to lift me, and I know a lot of it has to do with the water that I am retaining. Just the same as with Reagan, I'm swelling in my face, hands, and feet. Oh who am I kidding... I'm swelling all over! My face, hands and feet just seem to be getting the worst of it so far!

Thankfully, I passed the Glucose Tolerance Test on the first try. I felt HORRIBLE the rest of the day that day, and I was terrified that I would have to take the extended test to rule out gestational diabetes. What a relief to know that I at least don't have to worry about that!

If the old wives tale about heartburn has any truth to it, then this baby boy is going to be born with a full head of hair. I didn't think that heartburn could get any worse than it was with Reagan (and she had a full head of hair at birth!), but this little boy has got her beat for sure. I'm eating Tums like crazy, but they only help a little bit.

Let's see, what else can I complain about in this post? How about some serious sciatica pain?! At least this ailment tends to come and go, so I am blaming it on whatever position Myers works himself into that puts extra pressure on the sciatic nerve. He must have already figured my breaking point and is testing me because every time that it seems I have had all that I can take of the pain, he thankfully gives me a few days of relief before maneuvering himself into the painful spot again!

My family would surely complain about my pregnancy hormones! Lately, I have been all over the map with dramatic and crazy and emotional ups and downs and highs and lows. I remember being hormonal when I was pregnant with Reagan, and there were a few days that I remember being "grumpy", but NOTHING like what I have been going through with Myers. This past week has been extremely emotional, and it took a toll on me for a couple of days. The worst part has been the crazy surges of raging emotions that I have had. I've taken to throwing things at people - a can of ginger ale at my sister, and a tub of butter at my husband (the ginger ale was full... the butter tub was empty!) and on more than one occasion I have felt like punching a wall. THIS IS TOTALLY NOT LIKE ME AT ALL. I am going to blame these "neanderthal" like symptoms on of all of the testosterone in my body that I am not used to. Thank you very much little boy for causing havoc on my body in so many ways! I have always known that boys can be much more of a handful than girls, but good grief I wasn't expecting to have to start dealing with it before he is even born!!!!

Speaking of this little boy, he is now the size of an eggplant at approximately 14 inches in length and just over 2 pounds. (How is that possible when I have gained almost 40 pounds already?!?!?!?!) Despite all of the craziness that is going on with my body, he is growing just as he should be. He can now blink his eyes, and he even has eye lashes. His eyesight has developed enough that he can now see light that filters through the womb. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, his brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. However, I have no plans of this baby boy being born any time soon! Right now, I'm enjoying feeling all of his kicks and punches and hiccups (except for the ones that center around the sciatic nerve of course!) from the inside.