Random Pregnancy News

Aidan's 19 weeks today!  (according to my calculations anyway - the doctors always put him a few days to a week older, hmph - probably because they all use those little pregnancy charts of theirs that most likely state that baby's age is determined by the fact that you ovulate 2 weeks after your last period, but I always tell them I ovulated a week later because I have longer cycle . . . by ANYWAY).

Last night he was being really active for a while there just after we got into bed, the most active that I've noticed so far. :D Even Noob Dad had a chance to feel it this time, 'cause usually he'd only kick (or punch?!) once and then you'd wait AGES for another one, so Noob Dad would always miss them, but not this time!

According to this size chart, he's more or less 15.3cm big now, and I can definitely see that I'm now pregnant.  And I'm finding it hard to find some nice loose-fitting tops!  It looks like I MAY have to visit a maternity store now . . .

And on a sadder note, I've gone and picked me up some stretchmarks on my boobs. :(  And it's itchy!!!  And you're not allowed to scratch because it aggravates the stretchmarks more and could make them worse.  But luckily the worst seems to be over now . . . I started using this cream about a week ago, twice a day - hopefully it helps with the marks! :

But it's a hard butter and so it's a schlepp to apply.
And I'm gonna get me some bio-oil this week too, it sounds to be pretty good:

Now onto some more "fun" pregnancy things.  From about the 14th week I started noticing that I was getting heart palpitations - it feels like a skipped heart beat and heavy pounding heart beats - it's REALLY annoying especially since it tends to become worse (ie more noticeable) when you lie down and are trying to take a nap or snooze (or at least that's when you notice it more because you're being peaceful and still)  - it's distracting and difficult to doze off while this is going on.  This last week or so it seems to have eased up a bit, thank goodness, and I don't notice it that much anymore.

It seems to be quite a normal thing during pregnancy - they say it's caused by your crazy hormones and the extra blood flowing around in your body now.

And I've been getting something like heart burn a little more regularly at times these days too - they say this is caused by the diaphragm that's a bit more relaxed during pregnancy and so acids move on up your digestive tract more freely - I'm not sure if it's real heartburn because I've heard it's quite uncomfy or painful?  I dunno, but mine is more sort of ticklish as it moves up the pipe and that makes me need to cough and that in turn sometimes gives me a stomach muscle cramp (also another common thing during pregnancy because of your muscles stretching and adjusting etc to accommodate the pregnancy) . . . aaahhh . . .  fun times.

And now onto the fun stuff.  :D  Mostly to do with baby-stuff shopping.  :D  We've collected a few items of clothes and socks and his first pair of teeny shoes, and later this week we're going to get his cot and a chest of drawers / compactum for his room. :D  I've also knitted him 2 blankies, and I got a cute baby food preparation thingy last week - so far I've tested out the steamer and it works good, and the milk bottle warmer function and that works well too!  Cooool.

I've also been googling and inquiring about milk pumps and Medela seems to be the best - the Medela Pump in Style Advanced being the best (but it goes for R5000) and the Medela Swing Pump which costs half that but it only pumps one boob at a time where the expensive one pumps both.  So since I haven't won the lottery yet, I'm looking into the Swing pump.

Let's see . . . what else was there . . . Oh yes, we still haven't quite figured out where Noob Dad's office is moving to (so that we can use the office as the nursery) - what a schlepp, I really wish we had another bedroom - but we shall make a plan!  He's reluctant to move and I don't blame him, 'cause it's the coziest and warmest room in winter. :)  All I can say is that hopefully we get to set up the nursery soon after we get the furniture. :D 

And oh! I still haven't gained any weight, in fact I'm still about 1-2kg less than what I was before I got pregnant - weird.  It must be because of my decreased appetite and often my meal portions (especially dinner) are smaller than what they used to be since I can't always eat so much anymore.  Oh well, hopefully I'm losing some much needed "extras" around the belly region, hehehe.

And finally, some general stuff - I actually can't wait for summer to come back!  And this isn't something I say all the time since I tend to not like the warmer months because they can get TOO hot at times and then I'm in heat hell.  But winters are brutal in this house and I think I've just had enough winter this year.  I think winter started early this year, so hopefully that means it'll end early too.  :)