For the past few weeks, I've been feeling my stomach suddenly contract, hold for a few seconds, and then release. Sometimes, it happens several times in a row. Sometimes, not even once a day.
I've done my best to ignore it. At first, I thought it was some kind of reaction to Bunny kicking me, since there seemed to be a correlation in timing. Then, I thought that my tummy was reacting to overeating. I never even considered that it might be Braxton Hicks contractions, quite honestly.
I'd always "heard" that Braxton Hicks contractions only occurred later in pregnancy - nearer towards the end. And unlike every other pregnancy topic I researched, I never looked into Braxton Hicks contractions, because I figured I wasn't yet at the point where it would be a concern.
Haha, silly Future Mommy. That's exactly what it is. But I'm not worried, for once!
See, my other misconception was that Braxton Hicks contractions are a bad thing and mean that you could go into labor early. Wrong, again! Apparently, they start occurring very near to the beginning of every single pregnancy and although some women never, ever feel them, many do. And unless early contractions are accompanied by signs like lower back pain, pelvic pressure and vaginal bleeding, there's no real concern for pre-term labor.
Ok, another pregnancy mystery solved. By the time I figure out this whole process, Bunny will be 5 years old!
For more information on Braxton Hicks contractions, here are the web sites I checked out:
BabyCenter
Pregnancy @ About.com
WebMD
Have a great day, ya'll!
Hugs,
~FM~
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Unquenchable Thirst
I'm not really a big fan of water. There, I said it. I'm a terrible person. I hate drinking water.
But I've been as mindful as possible to drink as much water or water-based products (aka flavored water) in the past few months for Bunny's sake.
Recently, it's been backfiring on me. For the past few weeks, the more water I drink, the thirstier I get. Can you explain to me how that's possible? I haven't increased my caffeine intake (2 sodas per day), my milk intake, my salt intake, nothing. But the more water I drink, the more parched I feel. In fact, if I drink water before bed, forget it! I wake up so dry in the morning that I have to unglue my tongue from my teeth!
What in the heck? In my travels through Dr. Google, I have found resources that simply say to drink more water. Apparently I haven't made myself clear. The more I drink, the thirstier I get. I'm serious. I had one day where I think I consumed 30 glasses of water. I was still thirsty. So drinking more water is not the solution.
Other resources say that an unquenchable thirst could be a symptom of gestational diabetes. Mmm. Don't know on that one. Haven't done my little glucose test yet. But haven't seen any other diabetic-like symptoms.
So what's the deal? Anyone else experience this? It's getting worse as time passes. I can't wait to see Dr. S. on Monday so I can ask her what's up!!
~FM~
But I've been as mindful as possible to drink as much water or water-based products (aka flavored water) in the past few months for Bunny's sake.
Recently, it's been backfiring on me. For the past few weeks, the more water I drink, the thirstier I get. Can you explain to me how that's possible? I haven't increased my caffeine intake (2 sodas per day), my milk intake, my salt intake, nothing. But the more water I drink, the more parched I feel. In fact, if I drink water before bed, forget it! I wake up so dry in the morning that I have to unglue my tongue from my teeth!
What in the heck? In my travels through Dr. Google, I have found resources that simply say to drink more water. Apparently I haven't made myself clear. The more I drink, the thirstier I get. I'm serious. I had one day where I think I consumed 30 glasses of water. I was still thirsty. So drinking more water is not the solution.
Other resources say that an unquenchable thirst could be a symptom of gestational diabetes. Mmm. Don't know on that one. Haven't done my little glucose test yet. But haven't seen any other diabetic-like symptoms.
So what's the deal? Anyone else experience this? It's getting worse as time passes. I can't wait to see Dr. S. on Monday so I can ask her what's up!!
~FM~
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Of Weight Gain...And Weight Loss
Hi, everyone!
You know that I've been kind of throwing myself little pity parties recently over my pregnancy weight gain, starting early on in my pregnancy. But then, just like that, I hit week 22 and lost 5 pounds instead of gaining.
What the heck?
For me, my quick pregnancy weight gain was most likely due to the fact that I was underweight at the time that I became pregnant. At almost 5'5, I weighed just 100 pounds. Not grossly underweight - eating disorders need not apply here - but I've always been very skinny due to my hyperthyroidism.
So I'm now making peace with the fact that at least the first 10-15 pounds of my pregnancy weight gain were actually just to pad my scrawny body instead of really going to baby. Ok, cool. Got it. Have been trying to gain that weight for, oh, let's see, 10 years, so thanks to Bunny for making it possible.
So beyond that and up to week 22, that left 20 pounds gained. Yeesh. Still a bit much, don't you think? Taking away those first 15 pounds, that still leaves 20 pounds at just over halfway, whereas most "standard" medical advice advises gaining between 25 and 35 pounds. Oh, and that same "standard" medical advice tends to tell you that much of that weight is gained in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. So, um, my pregnancy weight gain was a bit early, wouldn'tyousay?
And then, just like that, POOF! Five pounds lost. That was lots easier to understand, actually. During the week that I lost five pounds, I was visiting my Mom in Pennsylvania. Mom owns a 4-story house. That's lots of stairs. And we worked on home improvements for her the entire time. That's lots of trips up and down lots of stairs. And Mom eats a bit erratically at times...Future Daddy had to ask her (nicely, of course) more than once to make some food for us to eat - or at least let us into her sanctus sanctorum (the kitchen) to make our own food, since Bunny was getting feisty from hunger. So DRASTIC increase in exercise due to stairs plus BIG decrease in food intake equaled the first time my pregnancy weight gain reversed into a loss.
We've been back from PA for five days now, and despite gorging due to my "all you can eat" ticket at a baseball game on Friday, I seem to have only gained a pound or possibly two since I got back. So perhaps, from here on out, we'll be more temperate in pace.
By the way, in case anyone is interested, here is the "standard" information on pregnancy weight gain:
Normal total gain: 25 to 35 pounds
1st Trimester: 2 to 5 pounds, total
2nd & 3rd trimesters: 1 pound per week, total
For us underweight folks, it's advised to gain between 28 and 40 pounds.
People who start with a few extra pounds should gain between 15 and 25.
All bets are off if you're expecting multiples. I'm still not convinced that Bunny isn't harboring a twin...seems like I'm on track to hit the 35 to 45 range predicted for twins. Haha!
Happy Eatin'!
~FM~
You know that I've been kind of throwing myself little pity parties recently over my pregnancy weight gain, starting early on in my pregnancy. But then, just like that, I hit week 22 and lost 5 pounds instead of gaining.
What the heck?
For me, my quick pregnancy weight gain was most likely due to the fact that I was underweight at the time that I became pregnant. At almost 5'5, I weighed just 100 pounds. Not grossly underweight - eating disorders need not apply here - but I've always been very skinny due to my hyperthyroidism.
So I'm now making peace with the fact that at least the first 10-15 pounds of my pregnancy weight gain were actually just to pad my scrawny body instead of really going to baby. Ok, cool. Got it. Have been trying to gain that weight for, oh, let's see, 10 years, so thanks to Bunny for making it possible.
So beyond that and up to week 22, that left 20 pounds gained. Yeesh. Still a bit much, don't you think? Taking away those first 15 pounds, that still leaves 20 pounds at just over halfway, whereas most "standard" medical advice advises gaining between 25 and 35 pounds. Oh, and that same "standard" medical advice tends to tell you that much of that weight is gained in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. So, um, my pregnancy weight gain was a bit early, wouldn'tyousay?
And then, just like that, POOF! Five pounds lost. That was lots easier to understand, actually. During the week that I lost five pounds, I was visiting my Mom in Pennsylvania. Mom owns a 4-story house. That's lots of stairs. And we worked on home improvements for her the entire time. That's lots of trips up and down lots of stairs. And Mom eats a bit erratically at times...Future Daddy had to ask her (nicely, of course) more than once to make some food for us to eat - or at least let us into her sanctus sanctorum (the kitchen) to make our own food, since Bunny was getting feisty from hunger. So DRASTIC increase in exercise due to stairs plus BIG decrease in food intake equaled the first time my pregnancy weight gain reversed into a loss.
We've been back from PA for five days now, and despite gorging due to my "all you can eat" ticket at a baseball game on Friday, I seem to have only gained a pound or possibly two since I got back. So perhaps, from here on out, we'll be more temperate in pace.
By the way, in case anyone is interested, here is the "standard" information on pregnancy weight gain:
Normal total gain: 25 to 35 pounds
1st Trimester: 2 to 5 pounds, total
2nd & 3rd trimesters: 1 pound per week, total
For us underweight folks, it's advised to gain between 28 and 40 pounds.
People who start with a few extra pounds should gain between 15 and 25.
All bets are off if you're expecting multiples. I'm still not convinced that Bunny isn't harboring a twin...seems like I'm on track to hit the 35 to 45 range predicted for twins. Haha!
Happy Eatin'!
~FM~
No Video Yet
The dang video was too long to load to YouTube and too large to load through Blogger and I didn't have enough time last night to play with editing it...so no video of Bunny's latest exploits at the perinatologist, yet! Perhaps tonight, most likely tomorrow.
Off to MSP for the day!
Hugs,
~FM~
Off to MSP for the day!
Hugs,
~FM~
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