Third Trimester here we come!

I've been slacking on the blog lately I know...I've been crazy busy at work and just tired in the evenings...plus last week I had a pulled muscle in my shoulder that was so painful...I couldn't even take a deep breath. I know...I have the strangest ailments...I think yoga was to blame for this one. I ended up going to the doctor after it was so bad that between the breathing issue and not getting any sleep...I was sleeping on the couch in a sitting up position...I couldn't take anymore. She said my oxygen level was only 96% (it's supposed to be 100%) and that it kinda sounded like I had a blood clot in my lungs...um, yikes!!! Luckily the more we talked she decided it was more likely just my shoulder and gave me three options...either go to a chiropractor, a massage therapist, or a physical therapist. I opted for the physical therapist and after 3 sessions with a heated neck wrap, little electrical pulses to exhaust the muscles, and deep tissue massage it is feeling much better. I have yoga again tomorrow so hopefully I'll make it through without incident! I also was lucky enough to catch that nasty stomach bug that is going around...I won't go in to the details because it is DISGUSTING, but thankfully that seems to be on it's way out now too. Phew! I can't wait for spring and some warm weather so I can hopefully enjoy this pregnancy without all these crazy external things interfering!

So last week we had our fast track childbirth program at the hospital. It was a long day, but overall pretty informative. It was a lot of videos...and pretty graphic ones at that. It definitely made me a little nervous about what to expect...these women looked like they were in serious pain...but it also made me pretty excited about the thought of being in labor...and knowing that we're so close to meeting little Autumn! I'm sure as the time gets closer I'll get more anxious about the actual laboring and all that it entails, but for now I'm just plain excited! The highlight of the day was when a pediatrician came to talk to us and instead of lecturing decided to play a game of jeopardy to provide us all the info. With eight couples in the room, Jacob and I ended up on the disadvantaged team with only two couples, but ended up leading the game before going in to double jeopardy! We waged our full 1800 points on double jeopardy and even got the answer mostly right, but still came in second place (she didn't believe it taking away points). The question was what percentage of weight is it safe for the baby to lose the first few weeks home from the hospital. We guessed 10-15%...with the correct answer being 10%. Another team guessed 10% exactly so she gave them the win! We didn't find out till it was over that there were prizes at stake...we might have been a little more serious...haha! We did end up getting a bottle of johnson & johnson's baby shampoo...I still think we should have won first place though...which was a nice big book on taking care of baby.

Tomorrow we will be painting the nursery...ok, Jacob will be doing most of the painting and I will be trying not to inhale too many fumes. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have some great pictures to post of the nursery, the new window seat, and a couple little craft projects I've been working. It's probably about time for my next photo shoot too...tomorrow marks 26 weeks and my last pictures were done at only 20!! So pictures will be coming soon!

One last thing...our next OB appointment will be March 8th and that will mark our last monthly appointment...from then on we'll be on the bi-weekly schedule up until 36 weeks! Crazy that we're getting so close. The third trimester is only two weeks away!! Yeah!!

24 weeks...almost 6 months!!

They're back! Unfortunately the heart palpitations have returned :o( It was kind of a stressful week at work so I was thinking maybe it was just related to that, but they don't seem to really be going away, so I guess that may not be the whole issue. I'm really trying to avoid going on the beta blockers if possible...I just hate to take medicine if I don't have to...especially while pregnant. So I've been living with them...and they are by no means as bad as they were. I probably have one every few minutes now, but still it's not fun. I think before I call and ask for medicine I might e-mail Christine at Wellbody acupuncture and see if she thinks doing acupuncture again might help. It's worth a shot!! If not and they continue then I will likely go ahead and go on a very low dose of beta blocker. So stay tuned.

I did have my monthly check-up with the OB on Monday and told him about what was going on (since the last time I talked to him I was hysterical) and he said he has several patients on beta blockers and it's no big deal...so that's goodness. The rest of my appointment Monday went well...we heard Autumn's heart on the doppler...at first it was a little muffled and he thought maybe she had her back to us, but then she turned or moved and it was clear. He told me it was time to find a pediatrician and I think we are good on that. I talked to Dr. Robert Hoffman's office (all the patients call him Dr. Bob)...he's literally two minutes from our house and came highly recommended. There are 7 other doctors in his office too so we should never have a problem getting in to see someone! I'm going to meet him on February 26th, but feel pretty confident he's our guy! And I go back for my next appointment on March 8th and do the lovely sugar test...ick! This will be to check and make sure I didn't develop gestational diabetes...so hopefully that comes back well. And after that appointment we will be going to the bi-weekly appointment. Crazy...I guess that means we're getting closer!

Last night we attended our first class at the hospital...this one was on breastfeeding. Jacob wasn't too excited to go, but I assured him if he was the only guy I would let him leave. Turns out everyone brought their husband except one...so he was stuck! The class was good...pretty informative. I learned it's a lot harder then you think it's going to be...you would think it would just be natural (and hopefully it will be), but there is definitely a technique to it...so I'm glad we went. And the lady teaching it was nice, but a little quirky. She just kept offering to go in the locker room with us and check our boobs to make sure we won't have any problems. Haha...no one took her up on it and I think she was kinda upset :o)

And the best part of this week was Jacob finally getting to feel Autumn move! We've been trying for a few weeks now, but every time he would try she would stop...or just not kick as hard and he just wasn't feeling her. But Tuesday night she was really active so I called for him to come over...and sure enough as soon as he put his hand on my stomach she stopped. I decided I was scaring her by yelling at him to come so I said the next time she got going I was just going to motion for him to come over and that was the trick! He came over and got a soft little kick and then a pretty good one...right where his hand was! His whole face lit up...it was great!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone...I hope it's a great one!