28 weeks, 5 days: The Rest of the Story

Realized today that updates have been a little thin on the ground lately, and that photos only tell part of the story, so I thought I'd fill in the blanks a little.

On Monday we went and had Devyn's 6 month checkup (postponed because we all had a cold).  She weighs 14 pounds, 2 ounces, is 26.25 inches long, and has a head circumference of 16.5 inches.  This puts her in the 10th percentile for weight, the 58th for height and the 25th for head size.  The doctor has little line graphs she shows at each visit, and Devyn is progressing along her graph perfectly, which means, basically, that although she is small, she is growing at exactly the rate they would hope to see.

She got her four regular booster shots and a flu shot.  We have to go back next month to get her a second dose of the flu vaccine (and I think mommy and daddy will get one at the same time), but other than that she is done with shots until she's a year old.

I also filled out a questionnaire about her behavior, motor skills, etc., and she was doing everything on the list consistently except putting her feet in her mouth (she grabs them all the time, but I've never seen her try to eat one) and saying syllables like "ba, ga, da," (she'll occasionally get one out, but not consistently).

Put into a sitting position, she can stay up forever—or until she gets tired and cries for someone to help her, or she reaches too far for a toy and falls over.  It's her favorite position for playing now, and she routinely sits by herself for 15, 20, even 30 minutes.

This morning, she was playing her newest game, which is to pull out all her toys one by one.  I recently bought some fabric boxes to corral toys downstairs, and keep one on her play mat; if I set it on its side, she can be entertained for quite a while, pulling the toys out and playing with them one by one.  (In fact, if you put the toys back, she's engaged for even longer!)

No crawling yet, but she is holding herself up on hands and knees now when we put her on her tummy.  She doesn't love to be on her tummy right now, though—I think because she is frustrated that she can't move or grab her toys.  I don't think it will be long, though.

We aged out of the new moms group we were going to, so now we are going to story time at the library every Tuesday and still walking with the stroller club on Wednesdays and Fridays.  She seems to really enjoy story time—mostly she likes watching all the other babies.

She's also eating solid food either once or twice a day (depending on my schedule more than anything else).  She eats apples, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, rice cereal and we just introduced chicken—which she isn't too sure of.  She eats about two to three tablespoons of food at a time.  And she LOVES drinking water out of her sippy cup.  (She will make herself sick if we let her!)

We've been weening her off of her swaddle slowly, mostly at nap times so far.  I started by leaving one arm unwrapped.  Now, this week, I've just been very loosely draping the blanket around her, for consistency's sake, and she's been sleeping pretty well!  The next step will be working on sleeping without it at night.

All in all, she is a joy, and I am loving watching her grow and develop.

Two Months: UPDATE!

Yesterday, whilst playing on her playmat, the inimitable Ms. Bean reached out and grabbed the ring suspended from the stuffed monkey and hung on for dear life, swinging it around and making the monkey rattle.

I would have thought it an adorable fluke, but then she did it again. Twice.

My brilliant daughter, ladies and gentlemen.

I would have gotten photos or video except I was on the phone with my sister at the time, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Today we go get our two month jabs. Mommy is not looking forward to it.

[EDITED TO ADD:] Getting the shots wasn't nearly as traumatic as I was expecting; she cried for a few seconds, but calmed down pretty quickly, and she was very good during her exam. The doctor pronounced her in great health. She's on the small side (15th percentile for weight and 35th for height) but not anything to worry about.

AFTER the shots, however, was another story. My little one had her first fever, which got up to 100.6, and her first dose of baby Tylenol. She slept a lot and cried a lot whenever she woke up. But after the fever broke, she seemed to feel much better.


Poor little woobie.

14 Days Old

Devyn had her first doctor visit today, and got through it with flying colors. She is up to 6 pounds, 12 ounces and 19.5 inches long.

And all those things I was worried about? All perfectly fine and perfectly normal.

36 weeks OH AND!

I can't believe I forgot to tell this story. At my doctor's appointment on Friday, I mentioned that I'd been having this weird thing with my leg.

If I stand on my left leg and have to pick up my right leg for anything bigger than a normal step (say, to put on pants, get into bed, etc.) I get this strange sensation that someone's twanging a guitar string on the front right side of my calf, just below my knee. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it tingles and goes kind of numb. It frequently causes me to feel the need to rub that spot vigorously, even though that probably does absolutely nothing productive.

The nurse practitioner said, "Huh. Could be a blood clot."

That phrase is pretty high on my list of "things I don't want to hear a doctor say," but OK.

She went on to explain that because the area isn't red, or hot, and doesn't have any visible signs of distress, and because it's below my knee, that it probably wasn't anything to worry about, but she wanted to order an ultrasound.

Right then.

So after my checkup, I went downstairs and walked to the adjacent hospital and got all checked in to medical imaging. They gave me a patient ID bracelet and everything. And they kept asking me if I wanted a wheelchair to go 50 feet or so. I declined.

And even though everything was probably fine, and ultrasounds are probably the least scary medical procedure of all, it was still a little unnerving to find that they've worked you in to look at you RIGHT NOW.

Anyway, the tech scanned my entire vein from my groin to my ankle on the inside of my leg. And that didn't make a ton of sense to me since the pain was on the outside of my leg, but I, admittedly, never took A & P. But when he said he was finished, I casually said, "Even though the pain is over here? I mean, I'm sure you know what you're doing..." And he was very nice about it and scanned that bit too.

And then, by the time we got back to the waiting room, my doctor was on the phone for me and told me everything was fine and to buy some support hose.

So, I had more ultrasound gel on me that day than anyone should ever have and nothing came of it. But that is fine by me if it means my doctors will keep scary phrases like "blood clot" out of their vocabulary when talking about me.

28-Week Update

• Went for my 28 week checkup today, and everything is looking good. Bean's heart rate was right where it should be and my belly is measuring right where it should be (she was two weeks ahead last time, but now she's right on the money).
• Did my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes today as well. It wasn't that bad. I had to drink about eight ounces of flat, over-sweet Sprite (lemon-lime flavored dextrose syrup) and then wait an hour and have some blood drawn. We'll know by Monday if there's anything to know. They'll also check for anemia.
• And I had my Rogam shot. Seems weird that they don't even test Brandon to find out if he's negative or positive, but whatever.
• While I was waiting my requisite hour, they had me watch a video on recognizing preterm labor, and I got all weepy just looking at all the mommies and babies. This does NOT bode well; in fact, one of my big fears right now (they change almost daily) is that I will be a crying, blubbering mess through my entire labor. And don't even START on when they hand the Bean to me for the first time... I might be getting weepy just thinking about it. BLAME THE HORMONES. (It couldn't be that I am also somehow genetically predisposed to waterworks... no...)
  
• Got my diaper bag in the mail today from Aunt Marti and Uncle Joe! Thanks guys! Anyone who knows me can probably imagine how excited I am to get new organizational tools in my life. No, really—I'm thrilled! So many pockets!
• I'm washing my first ever load of diapers. I bought some gDiapers on my sister's hearty recommendation, and the instructions say to wash the liners six times in hot water before using to soften the hemp even more. Brandon asked if it was also to get rid of all the THC, and I told him he if you could get high by putting hemp on your bottom, hippies would have figured it out long ago.
  
• We are going to dinner with friends tonight at a Mexican place. I will sigh with longing as they order Margaritas. It's not the alcohol I miss; it's the having something more fun to order than water or lemonade or iced tea that I REALLY miss. On the upside, MEXICAN FOOD.

24-Week Checkup

Went for my 24-week checkup today, and the doctor said everything was progressing normally and healthfully with Baby Bean.

I, on the other hand, have gained about 25 pounds—the amount she wanted me to gain total for the whole pregnancy.

I'm of two minds about this. First, I was upset and depressed. Weight has always been an issue for me, and the very last thing I want in all the world is a) to be unhealthy while carrying Bean or b) to gain a ton of weight that I will have to worry about losing after the baby is born.

But second, I'm not sure how to feel about this. The doctor is basing this ideal weight gain number on my BMI at my first appointment. I looked it up, and my BMI at that time was 25; 25 is the beginning of the overweight category.

But really, what's the difference between a 24 and a 25? If I had been 5 pounds lighter at my first appointment, would she be telling me I'd gained too much weight?

Finally (I guess I'm of three minds), I don't know exactly what she wants me to do about it. I was told not to diet under any circumstances. I was told to eat healthfully, which I believe I am. I was told to get some exercise. Which—OK, I could get some more, but I am getting SOME.

So, all in all, I'm trying not to get too upset about it and reminding myself that I'm going to keep gaining weight regardless as the Bean grows. It's still a little hard to wrap my brain around, though.