28 weeks! Beginning of the third trimester!

So last Thursday I officially started my third trimester at 28 weeks.  These past two weeks, I really have "popped out."  You can definitely tell I am pregnant now and it seems like every where I go people are asking when are you due and what you are having?  I don't mind it although at times I do get sick of all the attention.

This pregnancy has not been the easiest and has been quite different from my first one with Brandon.  My cervix shortened from being normal at 20 weeks to being very short at 1.8 cm at a 25 week ultrasound I was having to check a potential placenta previa issue they saw at 20 weeks.  That had completely resolved but they found the cervix issue.  I was immediately sent to the hospital to check for contractions.  I remember crying hard and being so scared that Brandon was going to come prematurely.  Thank God I was not having contractions and I was discharged after a few hours of monitoring.  I was placed on immediate strict bed rest with Brandon and had to lie down all day, only go up the stairs once a day, and just get up to prepare short meals and go to the bathroom.  I was on strict bed rest from 25 weeks to 32 weeks.  I eventually ended up being induced and delivering Brandon at 39 weeks 1 day.

This pregnancy with baby girl, I had cervix checks starting at 17 weeks.  My cervix was shorter than normal but not abnormally short at 17 weeks.  At 20 weeks my cervix was at 2.4 cm, it was around 2.6 cm at 22 weeks, and then finally at 24 weeks it was still around 2.6 cm.  After 24 weeks, they decided not to do any more cervical checks on me because they believed my cervix was stable and my risk for pre-term labor was low.

I was really sick with a bad cold when I was 21 weeks pregnant.  I recovered from my cold but felt like I was coming down with an ear ache about a week later when I was 22 weeks pregnant. I went to the doctor and they diagnosed me with a little fluid behind my ear and a possible ear infection and I was put on antibiotics.  My right eye began bothering me a few days before I was diagnosed with Bells Palsey.  I thought I was just having dry eyes due to my contacts and I switched contacts.  I was still having problems and had to wear my glasses for half the day the day before I was diagnosed.  Then, the next day, I went to work as normal and noticed again that my right eye was bothering me.  Then I noticed though my smile was crocked on my right side of my face and I had pain behind my ear.  It was scary but I had read about Bells Palsy in my pregnancy book and was pretty sure that was what I had.  I called my OB and they got me in right away and diagnosed me with Bells Palsy.  I had to go see my ophthalmologist and wear my glasses.  I also had to take a steroid Predinsone for 6 days.

Luckily for me my case of Bells Palsy was fairly mild.  I had the pain in my face after getting off the Predinsone but the Predinsone worked well and I never lost full capability of closing my right eye.  I did not have to miss any work but did have to take quite a bit of Tylenol due to the pain in my face from the inflammed nerve. My Ophthalmologist was amazed how quickly I began to recuperate and after two weeks of the onset of it I was able to blink (although more slowly) and you really could not tell I ever had Bells Palsy.  Now I just have some pain in the area of my face where the nerves are when I press on it and my eye still does not blink completely normally so it is a little bit dryer.  I am able to wear contacts now though with the eye drops for 6-8 hours which is really good progress for me.  I am happy to not have to wear my glasses all the time.

24 weeks-my little love bug!

24 week shot

 Size wise and weight wise, I weigh a little bit less than I did with Brandon but look like I am about 4 weeks further along when comparing what I look now vs. what I looked with Brandon.  I guess it must be my stretched out stomach muscles!  Baby girl was measuring just slightly smaller than Brandon at 20 weeks she was still a good size.  I am hoping since she is a girl she might be slightly smaller than Brandon was.  I felt fairly comfortable and good until about the 26 week mark when I started getting a lot bigger and my back started hurting more.  I found that I needed to be more careful on carrying Brandon who weights 35 lbs and heavy things in general.  Other than that, i continued to try to exercise on the elliptical trainer 2-3 times a week for 35 minutes and stayed active chasing Brandon around.

I am not looking forward to the last trimester of pregnancy, which is usually the most uncomfortable but am so looking forward to meeting our baby girl.  I am also trying to cherish the time I have right now with Brandon as I know my life will never be the same with two!  I am not looking forward to the lack of sleep that a newborn brings!  Cheers to hopefully an uneventful third trimester!

28 weeks!

28 weeks-start of third trimester