I am 24 weeks and 3 days today. Baby T is likely a foot tall or taller.
Now Baby T's face is fully formed and I am seeing lots of me in her precious little face. I also see my Dad. I sent the 3-D picture to my mom and dad and they saw my deceased Aunt Judy in her, which is such a special thing to me. My Aunt was the first close family relative I lost in childhood, I was 11 years old and still remember her fondly! My Aunt Judy was fun, funny, laid back and cool.
At the time my Aunt had died, I was going through a year's long phase of sleeping in my parents' walk-in closet. And a few nights after her funeral, I slept walked and woke up my parents telling them that "It's okay, I am ready to go." and I have always held this as a sign that My Aunt was speaking through me and letting my parents know she was at peace even though she died so suddenly and young! She was only 42 and died of a massive heart attack. The loss was so hard on our entire family. We had no idea she had any heart issues that should have been monitored. And it was a wake-up call to all of my Aunt's and Uncle's, and my father. Two years later at the same age, 42, my dad suffered the same heart attack but thankfully he lived.
I still have this slight bond with my deceased loved ones and dream about them telling me very important messages from beyond. But even though I have slept, walked and talked my whole life, this is the only time I heard a story like this about myself.
Belly Button - My belly button has not changed to an "outie" yet. I still don't think it will, though I am reading in "What to Expect when you're Expecting" almost every belly button turns into an "outie" in pregnancy. I will be very surprised if it happens to me. Monday, I had my 24 week appointment and my uterus measured 25 weeks. Again a week ahead, giving me peace. Baby T is still a VERY active little "beeb," but I rarely feel her moving, I think she has moved into a position that is hard for me to detect her movement.
Carpal Tunnel - Sure enough, starting about a week or two ago at night I have a lot of struggles with carpal tunnel, mostly in the evenings when I am laying down to go to sleep or wake up in the morning.
Red, Itchy Palms - This is not something I am facing yet. My palms are frequently sweaty and clammy even though I don't feel hot, nervous, or stressed.
Constipation - Actually, the last few weeks my constipation has calmed down a lot. Sunday night was the first time I struggled with it and I think it came from something I ate causing bowel distress.
Migraines - Another thing that has all but disappeared the last few weeks, thank you hormones! I am not really having headaches anymore, at least in the last week or two.
Glucose Screening - Monday at my appointment, my doctor and I scheduled my glucose screening test for a month from now. I have to go to the downtown office after drinking the glucose drink and get my blood drawn. I have to have my blood drawn to have my blood type tested for the thousandth time. Because I will get my RhoGAM shot. I will also have a routine CBC test, which I had just had at Triage, but we will watch it all so closely from now on to monitor any issues that could arise.
Doing Meal Prep - This is something I want to do again in the next few weeks as I did it not too long ago but planned to do another big week of prep before getting ready to give birth. I am going through a phase where nothing sounds good to eat except sugar and once I eat sugar, that craving is met. I am trying to clean out our freezer so we can add new freezer meals.
Weight Gain - Monday at my 24 week appointment I weighed 188, 4-5 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight. This is about on track with the 11 to 20 pound weight gain recommended to me. It is ever so slightly low, but Baby T is getting big right on track. So I don't think any of us are worried about that. I think I have just had enough fat build up to keep Baby T nice and healthy and don't need to gain weight. I also think my lifestyle is keeping me from gaining unnecessary weight. Though I crave sweets and processed foods more than I typically have in the past. I am staying very active with yoga, barre and walking. I drink even more water than I typically drink. And I am nesting.
Floss - I still floss at least once, usually twice a day. This lowers the risk of preterm birth, something I am high risk of. I am doing every preventative measure I can.
Last week we saw the cardiologist for Baby T's heart echo. The Cardiologist told us that everything looked perfect, and she had no concerns. She said that we can birth Baby T as normal and attend any pediatrician we prefer, and if a pediatrician finds a murmur, they will recommend we go back to the cardiologist.
She also measured 1 pound, 7 ounces and in the 56th percentile so now they are just watching to make sure from here on out she stays in that 56th percentile area. If she drops they will look into causes and start getting ready for induction if it continues.
I can't believe how quickly we are at the tail-end of our pregnancy.
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