Pregnancy Part 10

Today dear husband is at a conference. I am at work and grateful to be busy. If I were sitting around at home, I would probably have more time to obsess over symptoms and things that could go wrong. Instead, I am keeping on top of my work and enjoying working with students.

Here goes the symptom roundup:

Week 16 - Sept 23-29 headache, neckache, shortness of breath, abdominal/pelvic discomfort, joint pain, leg cramps, increased thirst
Week 17 - Sept 30-Oct 6 heartburn, nipple soreness, shortness of breath
Week 18 - Oct 7-13 backache, headache, neckache, bleeding gums, tender breasts, increased thirst

We had our 18-week and second trimester screening appointment with the OB last week, everything went well. We had a list of questions that were answered. We heard the baby's heartbeat on doppler, but there was no ultrasound. I gave another vial of blood for AFP testing. I got the insurance stuff all straightened out with the State of CA screening program.

I wrote about the "babycentre" diet in previous posts, part 4 and part 5. I will admit that I have been following it loosely. It does help me see how many times I am eating fast food and not healthy food.

Week 12 - 49%
Week 13 - 26% (one fast food)
Week 14 - 28% (four fast food)
Week 15 - 28% (four fast food)

Week 16 - 26% (three fast food)

Week 17 - 31% (three fast food)
Week 18 - 37% (three fast food)

I don't feel good about these numbers, and I want to get the percentage of "following the diet" up higher, but it requires planning and shopping and with "pregnancy brain" I am really struggling with having the energy to actually sit down and decide what groceries I would need for a week. Then once the groceries are purchased, it is hard to get into that kitchen and cook all of those meals.

Regardless, I am still within normal for weight gained, but I'm starting to be afraid of a 9 pound or larger baby. We have been doing a good amount of walking. I've been monitoring the macronutrients and micronutrients on MyFitnessPal to try to get 40% carbs and 40% fats and 20% protein. More often than not, I end up with 50% carbs, 30% fats and 20% protein. But I am getting all the calcium and Vitamin A that I need.

This weekend we went back to La Quinta in Santa Ana. It was great to escape the smoke from the Saddleridge Fire (thanks climate change). We took our dog to Huntington Dog beach on Friday morning. It was absolute paradise. We went to my nephew's football game at Newport Beach. We went to Crystal Cove State Park on Saturday afternoon with my in-laws. They were escaping some fires that were set in Riverside. It was super to have two beach-walks in one weekend but it did get a bit hot at the end. The baby was kicking on the way down from the parking lot to sea level, but he calmed down once we got out to the area where the water meets the sand. On Sunday, we got to see some old friends from graduate school and spend a bit of time with their two daughters. 

Since I kept track of the items I had wished I had from our last trip, packing for this trip was a breeze. We had a wonderful time away and it was hard to come back. We put down a deposit on our prenatal classes in the Bradley Birth method, which will start around end of October. Tonight is my first prenatal workout class at Bini Birth center in Sherman Oaks. I'm excited but also nervous. I want to be strong when I am in labor. I'm afraid that if I don't work out, I will lose all my muscles that I will need to push this baby out and carry him around both before and after he is born.