Weeks 24-27

Baby Helen, Ben and I are still doing fantastic!  Things are really cruising along!  Today I am 27 weeks and 2 days and we only have 89 days to go (more or less) until our little girl arrives!  According to my What to Expect app she is now the size of a head of cauliflower at about 16 inches and 2 and a half pounds.  At my last ultrasound on March 3rd, my mom came with me and Ben was still traveling for work, but Helen was being a little shy.  She is in a transverse position still (straight across my belly) with her head to my left and her feet over to my right.  I guess she likes that position because she was in pretty much the same position the ultrasound before that in January too.  This time she was napping for the most part during the ultrasound, and she was face down so it was hard to get a good picture of her to take home.  I have attached one below though that is a pretty good profile shot.  My mom and I did get to see her practicing her swallowing and breathing though during the ultrasound and she is awesome at it!  So, the ultrasound tech told us that she looks "gorgeous" and everything is accounted for and in proportion.  Her size was exactly 2 pounds and her heartbeat was a perfect 150 beats per minute.  The tech said she is not too big or too small and her size puts her just above average, in the 58th percentile.  She is still tracking a couple days ahead of the June 10th due date, but I know my dad is really hoping she holds on until June 10th so she can be born on his birthday!  And she is definitely a girl...she is not shy about showing that off in her ultrasounds!  Ha!  My mom and I really loved seeing her in action.  I will actually be having probably 2 more ultrasounds because I've had some mildly high blood pressure prior to pregnancy, they just want to make sure she continues to grow on track.  My blood pressure is very well controlled now and actually very low when I'm not at the doctor, but they still want to keep a close eye on everything.  I know she is growing just fine so I'm happy to have the extra chances to see her.  My next ultrasound is scheduled for April 1st and Ben will be there for that one, and hopefully his mom this time too!

The other test I had recently was the glucose test for gestational diabetes.  My initial one hour glucose test came back elevated so I had to go for the 3 hour test.  That was no fun!  I had to fast beforehand and then was in the lab for a period of about 3 and half hours and had my blood taken a total of 4 times.  The worst part was I was so hungry by the end, I was just getting delirious and the extra sugary stuff I had to drink for the second test was just gross!!  That test came back normal though so I don't have gestational diabetes, yay!!  I was pretty worried about it for a couple days though and was worried I haven't been exercising or eating healthy enough, but I've been trying really hard to do everything right so I was relieved when it caem back normal!  I know in reality, gestational diabetes is caused by hormone fluctuations during pregnancy anyway and it isn't always a symptom of what you do or don't do, but I'm just glad I don't have it.  Since then, I've tried to ramp up the exercise a little anyway (just walking and yoga) and continue to eat well, but I'm glad I don't have to cut out desserts because I really enjoyed myself a Wendy's Frosty just today, yum!!!

Ben and I have been making a lot of preparations.  We've been working on the nursery (pics are below) but we're not decorating completely because we're going to be moving about a month after she's born.  We've gotten such cute outfits so far from both our moms and enjoyed some baby shopping with Ben's parents when they were in town at the end of February.  Ben also bought her the cutest little outfits from Petite Bateau on Newbury Street when he was in Boston for work...he did soo good!!  Pics of those are below too.  I've been reading all kinds of books and magazines on Baby Gear, Pregnancy and Childbirth and Ben has almost finished his book, "Dad's Pregnant Too."  We took an entire weekend of Childbirth classes a couple weeks ago and it was really great.  We practiced breathing and relaxation techniques (very similar to yoga) and Ben practiced giving me massages, haha!  We learned a lot and I feel more prepared and more determined to try to have a natural childbirth.  Ben lucked out too because the DVD player wasn't working so we didn't get to see the video of an actual birth, haha!  Yesterday we went to a Baby Care Basics class, but that one wasn't as good.  The teacher was terrible and it was pretty much a waste of time.  We're taking a breastfeeding class at the end of April so hopefully that one will be better.  We also test drove some Volvos today...we're in the market for a safe, family-friendly car!

So, I think that about covers the last few weeks.  Helen is still very active and we love feeling her kick, punch and move around.  I'm still sleeping very well at this point, although I get more and more uncomfortable sometimes, like when I was sitting for a couple hours at the movies last night, it was a little tortuous.  And my feet are sore (but not swollen yet), but Ben rubs them all the time for me...he's so good!  And the heartburn is still on and off, but that's tolerable.  And I have to pee at least every hour when I'm awake, sometimes it's more like every 5 minutes, but at least I can sleep through the night so that's good!  Overall, everyone is doing great!  Enjoy the pics below!  I'll have another update soon.

Love,

Tara, Ben and Helen (and Meatball too) xo

March 3rd Ultrasound

My belly - March 2nd

The beginnings of a nursery

The little outfits Ben bought her!!