Baby Bump Wednesday: Week 27

Guess who's in their third trimester! Me! Wee! It's all happening so fast! Cue the insanity! I was just telling someone the other day how quickly the last month and a half has gone, probably because the majority of it was spent getting ready for and being on vacation, but seriously. It's the middle of August people, WHERE DID JULY GO? I swear I was just sitting on the sidewalk watching the tiny 4th of July parade go by. But apparently not. Apparently that was, uh, a month and a half ago. Odd.

The baby this week is two pounds. Two entire pounds! You mean to tell me that in the huge bump that seems to have formed in front, that the baby is only two pounds of that?! It's crazy, I tell you. 2 pounds and 14.5 inches. The head of a cauliflower. I find this one of the strangest comparisons, because that doesn't seem that big. Maybe a really LARGE head of cauliflower. Genetically engineered cauliflower. Hoo boy, doesn't that sound good?! Steam me up somma that!

The baby's eyes opened this week! Odd timing, since just this weekend Caleb was asking when that would happen, and realizing that um, everything is going to be dark in there for him. Like, no wonder they come out screaming. They go from dark, warm, cramped quarters to a cold, very brightly lit and loud room where doctors spank your bum (do they still do that?) and poke and prod you. I'd be screaming too. Other than exercising his eyelid muscles, he's developed a waking / sleeping schedule and sucking on whatever body part he can get his little lips on.

A few of the websites mentioned that my energy could start dropping now, and yeah, I've noticed that actually. While I'm not spending every moment possible tucked in bed like I was during those first few weeks, I have noticed a little decline in my energy. Yesterday after work I did the usual chores, vacuuming the house, tidying up, feeding the mutt and putting away the various items that Caleb leaves around on a daily basis (you know it's true, Cabe), I laid on the couch to rest my back and nearly fell asleep as I flipped from one Olympic station to the next. Caleb got home and tried to hurry me along so that we could meet up with our friends for dinner and a little bocce, and I couldn't be bothered to move from the couch. We ended up meeting them at the park instead and eating on the picnic benches, which was lovely, but still. Normally I'm the one prodding Caleb along so we can get out of the door. The way things are going, I'll soon be leaving my wet towel on the bed and wondering what is so wrong with my clean clothes lying on the floor.

(For the record, the towel was hung up today, thank you Caleb! That buys me three more seconds on the couch!)

I've also started to wake up again in the middle of the night to pee, which is no surprise since hello, the baby is large and in charge, and I'm already peeing every hour AT LEAST during the day. The annoying part is that it ends up being such a small amount, but it feels like there's a gallon in there. When we were at the store checking out my laptop this weekend I had to use their bathroom, despite just barely going at the last store, and had to quickly dash because it came on so sudden and the baby had decided that this large balloon called my bladder made a very nice punching bag. A punching bag filled with an ounce of liquid. I actually sat there for a good 10 seconds after because I didn't believe that was it. There had to be more. But there wasn't. And then 10 minutes later I had to pee again. It was awesome.

Today I had to go take the glucose tolerance test, a test to determine if I have gestational diabetes or not. They require everyone to do it around 28 weeks, and my doctor asked me to have it done before my appointment on Monday. Basically you go in and drink an insanely sugary drink, wait an hour, and then they draw your blood and test it to see how it reacted to all the sugar. I've heard from a lot of people that you experience a major sugar crash after, so I decided to do it at the end of the workday so I could go home and "crash" there. No one wants to see me with my head on my desk, drooling.

I walked in and got my paperwork and went to the lab to collect my lovely drink. As I stood in line a frantic nurse ran out asking for a blanket, and then they announced over the intercom that there was a team emergency or something, bla bla bla, everyone get in here. That sort of thing. Within two minutes there were three nurses and four police / EMT guys. Apparently some girl had her blood drawn and then started hyperventilating afterward and shaking. It was a very big to-do, they had her breathing in a bag and kept checking her blood pressure and the like. They said she hadn't passed out though, and I was like, PSH. GIRL. GET A GRIP. CALL ME WHEN YOU'VE PASSED OUT.

So I get my lovely little orange drink, and the woman tells me I need to drink it in 5 minutes. It's like, half the size of a Coke can or something, so there was no problem there. The flavor wasn't too bad actually, I was expecting worse. Sort of a mix between flat orange soda and that orange drink they used to give you at McDonalds when you were little. Definitely not something I'd willingly request, but managable. When I finished I asked the woman if I could use the restroom during the hour I had to wait, and she said sure, just as long as I didn't throw up. At first I thought she meant throw up as in like, bulemic throw up, and I was a little offended. And then I realized she meant throwing up because the drink is so freakin' sugary. So I started to worry a bit.

I'd brought a book with me to pass the time, but quickly decided I didn't have the attention to actually read, so I walked around the waiting room grabbing every magazine that looked semi-interesting and plopped myself down to wait. 15 minutes later the baby started moving like I'd jolted him with, well, a whole lot of sugar. Cause I had. Couple this with two little boys who thought it appropriate to run around the room pretending to set each other on fire, and it was quite the hour wait. The blood draw went well, though as soon as I sat in the comfy chair I felt myself drooping. Cue the sugar crash. And the nausea. I've felt funny on and off the rest of the night, despite eating dinner and drinking. Hopefully a good night of sleep will cure that.

That's a bump. Last night we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a roll of pre-made cookie dough and chocolate syrup to make a pizookie* with Mark and Bridgette after our bocce game. As Caleb and I stood in the line the checker looked at me and then asked Caleb if the chocolate syrup was to pour over the cookie dough. I didn't hear that part, but did hear him also ask if the cookie dough was even going to make it to the car. Like I was some crazed animal that couldn't control myself enough to not rip the cookie dough out of his grubby hands and eat it, wrapper and all, right there in the isle. Slightly miffed, I told him that no, we were making a pizookie, but that didn't deter him. He made several other jokes before we left, and it was all I could do to not give him a piece of my mind. Maybe I should have, but I didn't feel like spoiling the fun we'd just had, and besides, he wasn't worth it. Some people are just ridiculous.

*a pizookie is basically a huge flat chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whatever else you can think of, on top. Enough for several people to enjoy.

Comments

[Katie]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe the nerve of that checker! How rude of him! And by the way, congrats on hitting the 3rd trimester! You look fabulous :)

[Cyndi]

YEAH!! baby bump day!! I look forward to everyone Thursday morning so I can read your blog. I'm 17weeks now and I love see what you're going through ahead of me. Not looking forward to the sugar drink...

Thanks for a good blog (:

-Cyndi

[Liv]

Your little tum looks so great! I've been telling Kev I just don't know if I can be pregnant in summer. It's already so freakin hot.

Way to be mature about the grocery checker. I would've given him a look to make his stomach drop to his knees.

[Kjersti]

Hey, I'm glad to hear about your glucose tolerance test. I know it's not a great experience, but I'm glad you made it through without any problems. Also, I loved the part of this blog when you talk about peeing and how there's an ounce. And then you pee again in 10 minutes. That is more than true for me right now. And it's so funny after you have a baby you've gotten so used to the ounce, you feel like a total rockstar when there's a LOT more than that. Or at least I did. Too much information? :) Love you!

[baby carrier]

During pregnancy you always feel that you are full.