The baby is doing great! When we went to visit my family in Idaho they all took turns feeling it kick :) my mom was surprised at how strong it was for 21 weeks. You could feel it kicking and rolling, and you coud even see my belling bulge and move around. So fun! My little brother Allen (11) is probably the most excited for it to come! Every morning he would greet me by hugging my belly and stroking it :) silly little guy.
22 Weeks
Baby is about 10.5 inches and getting close to a pound! It is also starting to develop more distinct sleep cycles. I don't feel like I have grown much in the belly, which is good! I'm starting to realize that bigger belly equals more discomfort.
23 Weeks
Aaron and I started our birthing classes this week! After doing a lot of research we decided to go with the Hypnobabies program. Sounds totally hippie, right? It's actually not as crunchy as it sounds. I will explain more later on, but for now here are the main reasons we chose this program:
- Focused on relaxation and the mind-body connection.
- Emphasizes that pregnancy and birth are natural processes.
- What you believe and what you think plays a vital role in how you behave--therefore we only think and say positive things about pregnancy and birth (pressure waves vs. contractions, discomfort vs. pain, etc.)
- Partner plays very large role in birth process (Aaron genuinely wants to be a part of this wonderful experience!).
- Program can be used wherever you give birth and with whoever attends: home, birthing center hospital, with midwives or doctors.
- Does not guarantee a birth without discomfort or that you will simply be able to "breathe" your baby out (as opposed to some programs we researched), but it gives you a lot of tools to use at your discretion which can help you cope and enjoy your birth :)
24 Weeks
Baby is about the size of a cantaloupe: about 12 inches long and over 1 pound. Up until how his/her eyes were sealed shut, but this week they opened! If the little person were to be born right now he/she would have a 63% chance of living.
It is a very active little person; one night it rolled, punched, kicked and did jumping jacks all night. Luckily, the movements are still small enough that I was able to sleep through most of it. I can't imagine what it will be like in the next few months...
It is a very active little person; one night it rolled, punched, kicked and did jumping jacks all night. Luckily, the movements are still small enough that I was able to sleep through most of it. I can't imagine what it will be like in the next few months...
My body is definitely going through a transformation. The human body never ceases to amaze me, and now that my body is growing a little human I am amazed by my own body on a daily basis. In the past, I have occasionally had negative thoughts about my body image, but I'm slowly beginning to love and appreciate my body so much as it functions extremely well and stays healthy and strong for our little "baby child."
 |
| My "innie" is slowly becoming an "outie" |
I've heard really good things about hypnobirthing. I think you will really like it. I know girls who used the bradley method for their first, but went with hypno for the second . I highly recommend a prenatal water aerobics class. I did one with Anbrie and it was the best thing ever. Totally helped the pregnancy, labor, and recovery. Mine was at a physical therapy pool by a hospital.
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things, too! I know it helps with just regular pregnancy discomfort, so hopefully it helps with the real thing ;)
DeleteI'll look into that! I'm planning on buying a pass to the local YMCA in Seattle, so I will definitely start doing water aerobics, thanks!