30th Week Update

It seems like it's been a while since I've posted anything; we've been so busy! While my schedule has been full of fun and interesting things, it seems like time has just been flying by and I want it to slow down. Here are a couple highlights of what I've been up to these last few weeks (the rest I will save for other posts so this one isn't too long):

Baby development at 30 weeks

Midwife Appointment: Today I had an appointment at Back Cove Midwives and it went well. The baby is doing great, he is moving a lot, his heart rate is perfect (135-140 bpm), and he is just the right size. I am doing well too: my weight gain is on track, my blood pressure is awesome, my fondus height is 30 inches (which is exactly what it should be), and my screening for gestational diabetes came back negative. The only bummer is that I am slightly anemic now, which may be contributing to me occasionally having shortness of breath. I guess during this stage of pregnancy your blood is really thing because so much is going to the baby and it is pretty common for your blood not to be able to hold as much iron. My iron level was 10.3 when it should be above 11. So the midwife prescribed me some iron supplements to take everyday and I told me to try to get more iron in my diet, which shouldn't be too difficult. During my appointment I wasn't feeling very well at all, and couldn't really enjoy hearing the baby's heartbeat or anything because I was so uncomfortable. I was really out of breath and nauseous for some reason. They gave me some juice which helped a little, and I felt 100 times better when I got outside and walked some dogs. I just needed some fresh air and to move around I guess. Robbie was with me today so at least he got to get excited about hearing the baby, and was able to take care of me when I was feeling crappy.

Yoga: Yoga has been going really great, and I look forward going to class each week. Unfortunately the class has shrunk quite a bit! One girl who was due a week before me ended up going into really early labor (2 months early!) and had her baby on mother's day! Luckily they are both healthy. Then I just found out yesterday that the other girl who was due within a week of my due date has developed preclampsia and is at the hospital to be induced and to have her baby in the next couple of days. She is also 2 months early (31 weeks)! So bizarre! I was feeling pretty nervous for a bit about going into early labor too, but I've already learned to relax about that and trust that my baby will be born when he is ready.

One person that I've started to make friends with from yoga had her baby back in March, and I had the opportunity to go them. That was really wonderful, it was beautiful to see how happy she is with her little baby girl, and really great to be able to talk to her and ask her questions about her experience so far. It made me even more excited than I already am to meet Mattimeo!

Besides meeting great people in yoga class, yoga has continued to provide me with many other benefits including physical and mental well-being and helping me prepare for childbirth. In everything we do in yoga, breathing is extremely important. We are always focused on our breath and how it moves through our bodies in the different poses we do. It keeps us relaxed and help us to pay attention to what is happening in our body. This ability to find relaxation through breath is one of the key concepts in hypnobirthing, which is the type of childbirth class Robbie and I are taking. So I feel like all the yoga I have been doing will truly benefit me in labor.

Water Aerobics: Still is a fantastic class. I feel like its a great way for me to get stronger and tone muscles, plus its a nice change from walking and swimming laps.

HypnoBirthing: Soon I will post more about this

French Class: Soon I will post more about this