Pregnancy Favorites and Update

Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating our Lord’s birth. We sure did. My brother, Marcus, was able to be home for the holidays. There was a chance he was going to have to miss and be home in January instead but the Lord worked it out and he was able to take his leave right over Christmas break. I loved having the entire family under one roof again.

I thought it would be fun to do some pregnancy favorites of mine thus far into pregnancy along with a baby update.

I am 25 weeks and 5 days today, 46.5 inches around the belly, and I’ve gained my 14th pound. Doctor says I’ll probably start packing on the pounds now that babies are pretty much fully developed, their job is just to gain weight and get nice a chunky. Babies are the size of Napa Cabbage, about 14 inches long, and weighs close to two pounds each. 

At my last appointment they both were head down, which is great news for me, with their feet sticking up by my ribs. Everyone keeps saying how “small” I look but let me say for one, it’s because you see me sitting down all the time. When I stand, I definitely pop and two, my babies are laying up and down, not outward. I hope they stay head down so I can proceed with the natural birth that I want. At this point there is no reason to schedule a C-section, everything looks great, and there are no complications. I’m not sure how it is for singletons but I was kind of amazed that my doctor said if I wanted to just schedule a C-section now and not deal with the other stuff that I could! I declined though. I am now scheduled to see my OB every 3 weeks, and I think she said once I hit 30 weeks we’ll do every other week appointments just to be on the safe side since there are two and the room will start running out. I still have no cravings, and I still cannot do vegetables except for broccoli. I have pregnancy carpel tunnel which means my left arms is asleep most of the time… and I have also been “diagnosed” with gestational diabetes. I put the quotations because while I failed both the one hour and the three hour glucose test, I have been well below the limit when eating my normal diet. Obviously I never eat THAT much sugar in one sitting… I was irritated at the time when they told me I would have to prick my finger four times a day to check my levels but then I told myself, “I know it’s an inconvenience but you’ve done so much for these littles already, let’s just keep going and make sure they are as healthy as they can be.” So with the pricking/testing, I’m also seeing a dietitian who says she’s not concerned with my diet at the moment. I’m getting a good variety at the correct amounts, and I have a good appetite. She’d like to see more veggies but I told her we’ll see. No point on eating them if they’re just gonna come right back up.

Some TMI updates – my skin is super itchy (I hear that’s a sign of a growth spurt). I’m especially itchy around the boobs and stomach areas. I can’t laugh or sneeze without a little peeing, panty liners are my best friend!

Okay, so my pregnancy favorites are;

A body pillow: This does not have to be the expensive “pregnancy pillow.” If you haven’t noticed I like to do things cheap or free so I’ve been using a regular pillow to put my tummy on when I sleep on my sides. When I got too big for that I moved onto my stuff animal Bruno, he’s a four foot dog that I sleep with my leg thrown over and my tummy on. When that gets too uncomfy I go to the body pillow I’ve have for years. It’s about almost five feet long and I use it the same way as Bruno, with on leg thrown over and my tummy resting on it. There’s nothing wrong with the actual Pregnancy Pillows, but remember they are huge, and take up a lot of room on the bed. If you have a California King, it won’t matter but if you have a Queen like I do, you’ll be pushing your hubby off.

Vitamin E and Petroleum Jelly: Talk about moisture. I love using both of these on my dry, itchy skin. Vitamin E helps protect against stretch marks (although if you’re going to get them, NOTHING will stop their appearance. TRUST ME). And Petroleum Jelly/Vaseline etc., will sooth and calm irritated skin.

A LARGE water bottle: Pregnancy thirst is REAL!!! I am thirsty all the time and drinking water is extremely important in pregnancy as it helps keep up the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby. I noticed I wasn’t drinking as much as I should be, especially at work because that would mean I had to stop what I was doing, roll myself to the kitchen (still in a wheelchair guys), fill up my 8oz glass, roll back to my desk and down that water in less than 5 minutes and I’m in the same exact position I was in 20 minutes ago. One of my co-workers found me my 64oz water bottle at Ross and it is a life saver! I am able to fill it up in the morning, drink it all day long at work, and refill it sometime once I’m home. It was $6, go get one!

Comfy Bra: I have already bought some nursing bras, why? For a few reasons. One, I do not fit in my normal bras any more. Two, they do not have underwire to poke you. Three, you have room to grow. Four, they feel nice up against your breasts. During the first trimester my breasts were very sore and they needed an almost nothing feel against them, in come the nursing bras. Then weeks 13 – 24 they were fine, no problems and now they’re starting to get tender again. So glad I bought these bras way in the beginning. Found them on Amazon if you’re interested.

Lightweight T-shirts/Maternity Pants: These don’t have to be maternity shirts but I’ve found that those are the best for me. They are light, airy, and don’t tighten around your belly. If anything I would say I absolutely HATE things around my stomach now, so big t-shirt = the best! Maternity pants and shorts speak for themselves. The huge elastic band is much more comfortable than buttons digging into you.

Foot massages: I know I’ve had a special case going on with my feet lately but ask any pregnant mama and they’ll tell you a foot massage hits the spot. The closer you get to your due date the more your feet swell and that foot rub takes the stress away. I do it two different ways, sometimes I ask my hubby if he’ll rub my feet or I have a foot bath that I fill with hot water, let my feet soak for a minute and then turn on the jets.

Kinesiology Tape: If you haven’t heard of this I suggest you look into it. I’m all about natural remedies, especially now that I can’t take any kind of pain relievers and what not and this is amazing. When you apply the tape correctly it lifts the skin to create small space between the muscle and skin layers. That space takes the pressure off swelling or injured muscles. LOTS of athletes do this but it can be done in pregnancy as well. There are MANY ways to apply the tape to give you the greatest relief, it can help relieve back pain, swollen feet, sciatica, carpal tunnel, etc. Since I’ve started using this my feet have been less swollen and less painful. Love love love!! I would say this is my number one must have during pregnancy, and always.