Bump Update: 27 Weeks

 

The last couple of weeks have been busy to say the least! This weekend, in particular, was exhausting enough to toss this bump and I in bed (where I am now with the ball of fluff featured above) at 4:00 on this lovely Sunday. A long week followed by party prep for my husband's 30th birthday celebration we had yesterday, followed by family obligations, followed by sending out shower invites and registering, followed by an achy back and now, swollen right foot, certainly called for some laziness and bed-bound-ness! But before I drift off into an on-and-off napping and watching the Oscars routine, here are our latest pregnancy updates:

Weeks Pregnant: 27 weeks + 3 days

 
 

Baby Size: Baby boy is about the size of a head of cauliflower (14.4 inches head to heel) and approximately 2 lbs. My baby apps each say his hearing is mature enough to recognize mom and dad's voices now! <3

Weight Gain: Gained another pound this week making my total 13 lbs. at this point! Seems like I'm now making consistent gains.

Symptoms: The lower back aching just does not want to quit! It's such an odd feeling, more so towards my butt bone than in my back. I do know that the longer I'm on my feet, the more achy I get. I've had a cold for quite some time now that doesn't seem to want to go away. Lots of hot tea with honey has been great for a little instantaneous relief. As for the aching back...you guessed it, still bouncing on the ole' stability ball and stretching as much as possible. It feels fantastic in the moment and for a little bit afterwards. ;)
 

Attire: Nothing new here, stretchy pants and loose sweaters/tops. I'm still wearing wedge booties to work daily as they really are what's most comfortable for me at the moment!

Exercise: With this icky cold taking a toll on me it's been difficult to work out as much as I would have liked to over the past couple weeks. Never does a morning go by however, that I don't engage in a brief yoga practice followed by a mini meditation session. For the cold I did just recently read somewhere that a couple tablespoons of lime juice in some water does wonders. Of course I'm going to test this out this week and update with any positive outcomes!  

Movement: Movements are pretty consistent throughout the day, but we did have a little scare last week! I woke up one morning with stabbing, sharp pains in my left side and wasn't feeling little man move at all. Panicking, of course, I called my doctor who ordered a urinalysis. By the time I got there it was lunch and all labs were closed until 1:00. With the pain increasing and little man still not kicking, I had to make the choice between waiting an hour (and freaking myself out with negative thoughts the entire time) or just going to the hospital. I ended up choosing the latter and they ended up admitting us for monitoring. Sure thing, as soon as those monitors were put on my belly Finn started doing his regular acrobatics! I was so relieved to feel and hear him inside me that I didn't even care about the pain, which turned out to be just some round ligament stretching (it took a dry-cath and other testing to rule out infections and get to that conclusion, yay). Of course I was a little embarrassed about going in, but all the nurses were lovely and assured me that many women do the same when pain arises. I mean I don't know the difference between "good" pain and "bad" pain, I'm a newbie with pregnancy! In my mind pain = not good. Since then the pain has subsided and movements are again consistent, he just must have been a sleepy little guy at the convenient moment of me having those side pains. I will say, it's so amazing how the movements have gone from one central location in the middle of my lower belly, to feeling them on my sides, up near my ribs, AND in the lower belly simultaneously. :) Finn seems to be most active in the morning, John gets woken up with giggling from me sometimes because of the sensation!

Missing: Getting through the day without any aches (you bet they're worth it, though).

Cravings: Fruit and a lot of water. I feel as if I could drink gallons throughout the day and still be thirsty! Oh, and cheese has been a big one lately.

Sleep: Sleeping continues to be a challenge. The frequent getting-up-to-use-the-bathroom effects of pregnancy are back once again! I still just can't sleep comfortably on my sides for long periods of time either, a lot of shifting happening.

Mood: Pretty consistent this week. Excitement and just joy as we're getting closer and closer to meeting our human! I was feeling pretty tired again though (and like I said a nasty cold has been kickin' our tush) so early bed times have been a necessity.

 

Birth Plan: I've been doing a lot of researching lately on breathing techniques and other habits to get in to now that are beneficial for the labor process and giving birth naturally. I am realistic with the fact that I may have a plan to give birth as naturally as possible, but that things happen. Any way our little human arrives on this Earth will be a beautiful, beautiful, experience in our eyes.

What I Am Loving: Just knowing that in less than 13 weeks, we'll be snuggling our sweet boy. <3 Ohhhh and the fact that our "babymoon" to Mexico is ONE week away!

Here's a little Valentine's Day bump photo from last week (not much has changed size-wise in the belly since then).

xoxo
Kelsey

Why Chaos is Welcome

 The Simple Life…doesn’t it sound intriguing? So desirable, that “simple” life. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve shunned my cat out of sheer jealousy that she was able to exhaust herself throughout the day via napping. If only I could eat, sleep, poop, and be snuggled on a daily basis with no other responsibilities.  Chaos has taken precedence in our lovely little world today. Full-time jobs, caring for five fur-balls, renovations, daily duties of cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping (etc.), and of course, growing a precious human. It all takes a toll at some point. Right? How many times a day, week, hour, do we sit here and wish that we could somehow, in some way, relinquish any financial responsibilities and just live a simple, minimalist life. Delve into a life that’s nothing but travel, napping when we want, crafting all day long, gardening, ignoring our phones that are consistently vibrating in our pockets, living peacefully, quietly,  and doing it all without a care in the world. Sounds wonderful, eh? The question is, would we really seek such peace and simplicity, crave it, want it as badly as we do if there wasn’t chaos in between these moments serving as the antecedent to such a desire? Something tells me I don’t think so. Trust me when I say there are no words to express the joy and peace I experience while practicing yoga, vacationing with my husband, napping, or engaging in some deep, mindful meditation to bond with my bump. I find myself daydreaming about my next brush with such a feeling while at work or in the midst of other chaotic, overwhelming regularities throughout my day. But as I said, would I truly crave it as much if it weren’t just a small, beautiful part of my day but rather a large, do-it-anytime-I-want part of my day? Would living so simply just become another routine? The truth of the matter is this: if I were able to live this wonderful, free-bird style life, I wouldn’t appreciate it as much as I do now when I actually DO have an hour or so to experience the euphoria of it. It wouldn’t be such a sought-after rarity in my life anymore, it would just be routine. Without the chaos, what would drive me to want the peace, to want the travel, to need the simplicity? Surely, peace and simplicity can’t become yet another aspect of our lives that we take for granted. With that being said, we welcome chaos in our lives. We welcome overwhelming work weeks, the feelings of not having enough time, coming home to large piles of dog crap after just scrubbing the floors, stressing about what bill comes next or how we’re going to be paying off my student loans for a vast majority of our lives, the endless loads of laundry, to-do lists, and whatever else seems to add to the chaos of every day. Because without it, the peaceful and simple times just wouldn’t be so remarkable anymore. 

What's Happening @ Week 25

Well a lot has certainly been going on in the Laskowski household this week, construction is a movin'! Right now we're waiting for our kitchen cabinets to arrive/be installed and for the drywall guy to come and do his business. Until then, our first floor is off limits. Our kitchen is now emptied except for the refrigerator and our microwave has made it's way to the basement for now. We're popcorn eating fools so there's no way we were ditching that microwave for good just yet. Today our floor-man came in to give us an estimate (going from the natural hardwood floor stain to a dark walnut) which was great...just means we're getting closer and closer to getting this reno DONE. I still can't get into baby Finn's room until walls and floor are complete which won't be for about another month, which of course is pulling at my heart strings. But, all in good time. When someone's renovating there's always a goal for time frame, but we all know 99% of the time that goal needs to be flexible (bendy, eh?). As for the bump, here's what's been going on:

Weeks Pregnant: 25 weeks + 1 day

 

Baby Size: Finn is about as heavy as a rutabaga (1 and a half lbs.) and about 13 and a half inches in length. According to Baby Center his  hair has both recognizable color and texture. Right now his biggest job is packing on that baby fat that I just can't wait to pinch (in a gentle way, of course)!

Weight Gain: Gained another pound this week making my total thus far 12 lbs. It's beginning to feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball in front of me.

Symptoms: Dry skin! I don't really know if it's the babe or the icky winter weather that's the cause, but boy am I flakey all over...and that's WITH the 5 pounds of coconut oil I slather on daily. For reinforcements, I'm now coating my skin in a nice layer of Bio-Oil as well which does seem to be helping. I'm still experiencing low back ache, but bouncing on the stability ball and yoga/stretching do wonders for immediate relief. Still no swelling or stretch-marks, but heartburn... ah, the heartburn. That symptom has been showing it's face quite regularly lately. Usually towards the end of the night though and nothing that a few Tums can't handle. Finally, bloody noses have made a comeback but only mild, so NasoGel is a must in my life right now.

Attire: Aside from work, the comfier the clothing the better. Still living in leggings, baggy sweaters/t-shirts and sneakers when at home or during the weekend.

Exercise: Work was insane this week so my exercise was compromised (sleep took precedence). But still yoga, walking, stretching, and barre workouts. Here's a link to the prenatal barre DVD I brought up last week that does wonders for those with a bump!

Movement: Still tons of movement, but not as much as the weeks leading up to this which had mom and dad worried! Doctor said it's just because he's running out of room in there to give full-blown punches and kicks. What I'm feeling now is a bit more slow, but pressure as if he's rolling from one position to another.

Missing: Putting my shoes on without gasping for air afterwards.

Cravings: FRUIT and hot pretzels were my go-to's this week.

Sleep: I slept a little bit better this week than the last! Still tossing and turning but starting to make myself comfortable in that left-side position.

Mood: I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a bit hormonal and stressed this week. But aside from that, happiness. :)

Birth Plan: This week I made phone calls to local companies that do placenta encapsulating! Judge me if you wish, but that amazing organ that's giving life and nutrients to my little human right now will be consumed by me after birth. The placenta will be dehydrated  and then encapsulated so it'll be like taking a daily vitamin, not baking a potato and eating it like a steak dinner.

What I Am Loving: How much rounder my belly is in just a week. The continuous love from those around us. Shopping for the sweetest, tiniest, most adorable little man clothes. I mean, there's not much I don't love about this experience!