14 Weeks Bumpdate
My 13 Week Update was getting a tad long, so I left a few things to talk about for this week. One of which, is that we celebrated my Mother’s 60th Birthday (Happy Birthday Mommy!!) and it was a really special evening. Time with family is important and it always means a lot to all of us; we really enjoy spending time together.
During this celebration, we asked my Sister and my Brother-in-Law to be our Baby’s Godparents. Since my nieces and nephew did not know about our big news yet, we took this as a good time to let them know that they will have a new cousin. My eldest niece looked a bit apprehensive, and when we asked if she could give me a hug, she slowly said no like she was afraid to. Then, she quickly asked to do my hair, so all was well. My Sister showed my Nephew the sonogram photo and showed him where the hands, head etc were. It was very special.
Symptoms
How am I feeling this week? I am still constantly feeling several aches and pains in my tummy area. In the photo above, baby was about 2 inches long. By week 14, it is supposed to be around 3.5 inches long so there is a lot happening in there and it is no wonder why I am so sore! My back pain has subsided- that is, until my SO starts rubbing it and it feels like heaven. I don’t notice how tense and achy it feels until I get a bit of relief from it. I rarely feel nauseous anymore but I am getting more acid reflux which is unpleasant. However, it is nothing compared to the nausea I had been feeling.
I have started to feel my energy returning a bit but there are some days where I NEED a nap. Yes, it keeps me up a bit later at night. I rather sleep while I can and when my body feels like I need it. There is a constant feeling of being dehydrated so water is my best friend lately, but my diet has suffered this past week.
Diet
I have had more McDonald’s than I would ever like to admit. While it’s a bit gross, their poutines have been one of my cravings. I crave cheese curds all the time, which may be a sign I need more calcium. Therefore, I am trying to eat more cheese and drink more milk but all my tummy enjoys right now is water. I will continuously work on my diet and not make myself feel guilty over the few bad cheat meals I’ve had. It’s all about balance and I am sure my salad cravings will return soon.
Itchy Skin
I have also reached the itchy skin phase. My tummy gets a bit itchy but it is mostly my chest area that feels itchy the most frequently. Speaking of my chest- WOW. I have been small-chested my entire life. A kid called me a brick wall in elementary school. What a cool kid, right? Any change is extremely noticeable to me. Not only am I dealing with an itchy chest but bras are almost useless at this point. The ones I usually wear barely fit anymore so I try not to wear anything unless I NEED to. If I do wear them, they seem to chafe and the dryness makes it all hurt more. Needless to say, I am extremely excited to go shopping soon. My Sister and I will be making plans to go to Thyme Maternity very soon and I can’t wait.
I need new clothes!
I am still able to wear my old jeans. They are definitely not as comfortable as they used to be, but for now, they are not bad. A few shirts have become too tight though and I am wearing some of the maternity clothes my Sister had given me. I am very thankful to have those articles of clothing; I feel so much more comfortable while wearing them. One shirt, in particular, was a shirt my parents gave my Sister while she was pregnant.
She wore it when her belly was much bigger and she was much further along in her pregnancy. It is one of the most comfortable shirts I now own. I wore it during my Mother’s birthday celebrations and it is the first family event where I felt like I looked pregnant and not just bloated. My Mom even said that if people didn’t know I was expecting and they saw me, they would be wondering to themselves if I was pregnant. Exciting!
Dreams and Nightmares Continue, Migraines Start
The dreams and nightmares are continuing. I can’t even have a small nap without having crazy dreams. While the important thing is that I am sleeping, I don’t feel rested most of the time. My arms and legs go a bit numb while I am lying down, which is also normal from what I have read. It doesn’t happen all the time and it is mostly just a minor tingly feeling so it’s not a big deal.
Last week I had migraines four days in a row, which was not fun, and sleep was the only thing that fixed it. I almost have a checklist to go through when they hit: sleep, water, a bit of sugar. If none of those things work, then I just have to wait it out. I haven’t used Tylenol at all yet. My Sister said that just dealing with the pain is not worth it and to take a Tylenol since I rarely use it anyway. I know she is right but as a person who rarely feels the beneficial effects of Tylenol, it’s hard to convince myself that taking it is worth it.
One last thing I have noticed is while I don’t get full-on nose bleeds, I do feel congested a lot more. When I do blow my nose, there is always blood on the Kleenex. All normal, ladies! There is more blood circulating through your body while you’re pregnant and the veins in your nose are already very delicate. Nose bleeds would only become a concern if they happen frequently and with a large amount of blood loss. Can’t hurt to mention all of your symptoms to your Doctor! Which, brings me to speak of my second Doctor’s appointment.
April 5, 2016- Doctor Appointment #2
This appointment could not have gone any smoother. My Dr gave us the results of all of my blood tests- all is well! She said that I am immune to Rubella, my thyroid is fine and my iron levels are extremely good for a pregnant woman. I’m at 136, so even when my iron levels eventually decrease, I have a lot of leeway. This was nice to hear since I hadn’t been able to donate blood a few times back when I was a vegetarian due to a low iron count.
We then checked my blood pressure which was good and she weighed me (111 lb). She said I was gaining the weight back that I had lost during the first trimester which she was very happy about and my BMI is 18. Yes, that’s a bit underweight. To be in the “normal” range, I would have to be at 18.5 so I’m not that far off. I still haven’t gained ALL of my weight back. It was a great appointment. We set up the next TWELVE appointments, all the way to the end of September.
When we reached October she said, “We’ll see where you’re at when we get there- if you go past your due date, we’ll have more appointments to see what the options are.” October- you feel so far and SO close all at once. The next appointment will be on May 3rd, and then on May 10th will be the next ultrasound! One more month until we can do our gender reveal! Exciting!
My Doctor said the dizziness will continue throughout the pregnancy, so just take things slow.
If I lose a lot of feeling due to numbness while I lay down, I need to mention it to her and the aches and pains are normal.
When I spoke to her about how I have non-stop dreams/nightmares she said that it is normal. But, if it gets to the point of it causing me to lose sleep (only sleeping 2 hours a night) then I need to tell her. There are a few medications that are available to me if I desire but no matter what, I don’t think I would take that route. She said the medications would get a bit complicated when it comes to which ones I can take and when I take them, how close to my delivery date I am… a bunch of factors are involved.
I don’t think it will get to the point where that will seem necessary but it is good to know there are options available if any ladies are going through it! Next week, I have to return to do part two of the Trisomy 21 blood tests but that won’t take long.
Tomorrow we are going to sign the lease for our new apartment! I can’t wait.
Stay tuned to hear about my first Maternity Shopping experience and items purchased at Thyme Maternity (the best shopping trip I’ve ever had) and to hear about Week 15!
LOVED reading this! Not that this really matters, but it sounds like we are not only the same age, but the same size – random and relatable! 🙂 I’m about 10 weeks ahead of you, give or take, my due date is 7/31, so I’m easing out of second trimester and into the third! I too lost several lbs during first trimester, down to 107/108 and regained by week 14 and now at week 24 I’m up to 128lb! The baby will probably gain about 5 more lbs before birth and I’ll hopefully max out around 135-140lbs.
While I didn’t ever endure itchy skin, I relate to not wanting to be near a bra. I had switched before pregnancy to wireless bras and in particular found one brand I LOVE. See if a boutique wireless stretchy/fitted bra helps. Mine is such a soft material. I also use lotion and then on my belly http://www.amazon.com/Burts-Bees-Belly-Butter-Ounce/dp/B00DM14TYC. It’s great!
Congrats congrats congrats!! Did they tell you the gender? I had my 14 week ultrasound and they (correctly) guessed the gender of my baby…later confirmed at week 20.
Happy Pregnancy 🙂
It’s so nice to hear of someone who went through a similar pregnancy experience (so funny we’re the same body type it seems)! It will be so nice to be able to talk more and share more stories! I look forward to reading more of your posts. I finally found bras that are making my life 1000 times more comfy, thank goodness! I also LOVE Burts Bees products they’re so good. We don’t know the gender yet, the only ultrasound we had was at 11 weeks 5 days so we’ll be having our gender reveal scan on May 10th. I am SO excited- I can’t wait. I don’t know how people can wait 9 months to find out- finding out I was pregnant was a big enough surprise haha 😉 Can’t wait to talk more & thank you so much for the lovely comments! All the best to you and the little one!! <3