Happy 3rd Trimester!

It's so hard to believe that I've made it to 28 weeks already.  Only 12 more weeks to go and I think time is going to start flying by.  Right now it seems like a really long ways away, but once we have our baby shower in a few weeks I think things are going to really come together and we will be counting down the days.

Things have still been going fairly well with the pregnancy.  I have been increasing my insulin pretty much weekly, but that's pretty normal for this stage in pregnancy. My OB said I will probably see it leveling out in the next few weeks, but also not to be surprised if I see a little more increase in the next few weeks as well.

And lucky me .. I get another ultrasound!! They want to do a 28 week growth scan.  I think because of the Gestational Diabetes we can do another ultrasound to track her progress so that's always fun.  I love seeing my baby!! I briefly considered having a 3D ultrasound done, but they sort of freak me out and I think the pics are often a little scary looking.  I have seen some really great pictures though, but Steve reminds me that that's not a guarantee our pictures will look that way and do I want to take the risk?  So ... just another regular ultrasound for us.  Which is actually ok, because I think it's fun not to know what she's really going to look like until she's here.

I am now having OB and Endo appointments every 2 weeks, which is time consuming and exciting at the same time.  It's just one more milestone we've reached.  The OB said I will be starting NST's (nonstress tests) sometime between 32 and 34 weeks.  She didn't give me much detail, but I am pretty sure it's a weekly test and there will also be additional ultrasounds - all products of the gestational diabetes.

I am feeling lots of activity in my belly now.  She is a very active girl and is most active in the evenings. And occasionally for about an hour or so around 5 or 6 in the morning.  I am starting to feel a little more tired and after grocery shopping today, I realize that some things are becoming a little more difficult for me to do.  I have been seeing a chiropractor regularly and that's helped a lot.  I have been having some upper back pain which the doc says is my bodies way of compensating for my lower back and the pregnancy.  My only major complain at this point is the constant peeing - especially at night.  Some most nights I am up every hour on the hour (or more) to pee.  I guess this is just my practice for when she is here and has me up all night.

Here is a 28 week picture:

26 weeks

Wow .. it's hard to believe how quickly this pregnancy is flying by!! We only have 14 weeks left till we get to welcome our little girl (that's 98 days - double digits!!!).  Things have been going well and I really have no major complaints at this point.  I realize that I am very lucky with this pregnancy and despite the gestational diabetes, I feel great!

Some recent things that have been happening:

At my 20 week OB appointment the doctor decided that she wanted to be super cautious and send me for a Fetal Echo along with a level II ultrasound because the tech said at the 18 week anatomy scan the views were "limited".  So I had to make an appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine at one of the hospitals in Pittsburgh.  Luckily they were able to get me in fairly quickly and we had our scans done on Monday June 11 at 21w4days. Steve wasn't able to go so my mom came with me instead. And everything went great!! Of course baby was being stubborn and the ultrasound tech had to work really hard to get a good view of her face and one of her hands, but she's perfect in every way.  All of her measurements were spot on and when the doctor did the fetal echo her heart was perfect and not affected by the GD at all.  I did have them check gender again, just to be sure she really is a girl .. and she is!!

A week after the ultrasound we went on vacation.  Steve and I decided that because we didn't go on vacation last summer with my nephew, Dante, (something we had been doing every year for the past couple of years), we needed to do something extra special this year.  We have gone to the beach in the past, but Steve didn't want to do that again.  So instead we decided on Disney!  It was a blast!! We flew out of the local airport into Orlando which was great because we only had a 15 minute drive to the airport, no parking fees, and it was a non stop flight.  We spent 6 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and went to a different park every day.  We also made some time to go to SeaWorld.  Don't worry ... I will try to get a blog post up soon about our vacation with lots of pictures.

Symptom wise I have been feeling really good.  I have been nesting a little bit and trying to get things in the baby's room straightened out and ready for her arrival.  Steve still needs to work on her closet - redoing the light, drywalling and hanging a closet organizer. We also need to get the room painted and the floor rug scrubbed, but that means we have to get the remaining stuff out of the room.  I guess it's a good thing that all the baby furniture is on layaway and we don't have to worry about putting it somewhere.  We have been receiving some things from friends and family already, so that needs sorting and then eventually put away.

I'm starting to feel a little more tired in the past few days than I have been previously.  I am back to needing a little nap in the afternoon because I just can't seem to keep my eyes open.  I know that I only have a few more weeks until I am in the third trimester, so I am sure that I am just starting to get the early effects of being tired.

What's coming up soon:

I have another OB appointment in 2 weeks, then it will be appointments every 2 weeks from here on out.  That's always an exciting milestone to reach and the further along I get the more excited I am for her arrival.  But I'm also more and more nervous about it all as well.  I just can't wrap my mind around the idea that soon I will be bringing this little baby home .. and what the heck am I going to do with her???  I've wanted to be a mom for so long now, but yikes!! There's so many decisions to make right now and she's not even here yet.  I don't want to think about all of the decisions I will have to make once she's here.  It's very overwhelming at times, but I try to stay calm.  It's not helpful to me or the baby to be stressed out, but sometimes I just can't help it.

The baby shower is officially set for Sunday August 26.  I need to get the guest list finalized and addresses sorted out.  I'm excited for the shower and it's just one step closer to our baby being here.  Plus it's always fun to have a party and especially one that's focused around a baby that has been so badly wanted for so long.

Here's a 24 week baby bump picture: