Welcome to a crazy cool new segment of my blog. Since I'm pregnant, I'd love to share my pregnancy journal with you! I'll post some generic information about each week at the beginning of the post and then give you some insight into my days. This is all through my eyes, a labour and delivery nurse with an avid interest in pregnancy and birth. I mean it, I'm like a junky. A birth junky, really, just ask my husband. All I read about and talk about is babies and birth, so I thought it would be interesting to listen to my perspective since I'm going through it all right now. Oh and pictures. I really want to take a bump picture each week and add them to my posts so you can see me grow. Keep reading to see this weeks picture. I have already grown a ton (well not quite, but close!), but I'm sure there is more growth to come. So, I'll get my photographer hubby to take a pic every week for everyone to see.

Pregnancy Journal: Week Twenty-Five

According to Glow, our baby is now about 35 centimetres long and 660 grams (that's 1,5 pounds for you imperial folk out there). It is the same size as a large cucumber. If we have the baby at 40 weeks we have 105 days to go! Oh my gosh, that makes things so real. Myk and I both have Glow's app to track the pregnancy and we love looking at the daily information provided about our baby's progress and growth. They also have a forum where women (and some men) love to talk about all things pregnancy and otherwise. Anywhoo, our large cucumber is kicking me real good these days. I have an anterior placenta, so I was pretty sure that I wouldn't feel the baby's movement too much, but this little one is proving me wrong.

Placenta's Are Way Cool

A little background information on placentas. They are basically the lifeline for the baby. They provide oxygen and nutrients to the baby, and if it's not functioning well, then the baby can suffer. The placenta can implant anywhere in the uterus. This is most likely a random event in the first trimester. Some implant in the back of the uterus (posterior) and some implant in the front (anterior). For me, the baby's placenta is in the front and is like padding between the baby and myself. Which is why I thought I wouldn't be feeling movement too much. There is another little snag with our placenta. Currently, it is covering my cervix. This is called placenta previa. There is still a chance that it'll move as the uterus grows, but if it doesn't, I will have to have a c-section because the placenta is blocking the baby's exit. I'm also at a higher risk for bleeds throughout the pregnancy. It's even possible that the doctors will admit me to the hospital closer to the due date since I'll be at a higher risk for bleeding if I go into labour.

More about C-Sections from Babytalk: C-sections: What Happens in The Operating Room?

These are all big ifs! Right now, I'm just taking it easy, my doctor wants me to stay off my feet, which means no work for now. It also means no exercise, which has been terrible for me. But we don't want to risk anything, so best listen to the experts. We will have another ultrasound in about two weeks to see if the placenta moves. Please keep my placenta in your prayers. The baby is doing great though. We had an ultrasound at 23 weeks, and the baby was actually in above the growth chart for its gestational age.

Pregnancy Diary

Exactly Twenty-Five Weeks

Today was the first day I felt extremely crazy tired. Like, drag-my-ass-out-of-bed tired. And I got up at 11:40 am! I remember going through this tiredness with Elias, my first son. This time around I did get a bit of my energy back at the beginning of the 2nd trimester, so the fatigue kinda hit me like a ton of bricks! I'm a vegetarian, so this past weekend I've been reading up on foods to help build my iron supply. Low iron is a common thing in pregnancy. Your body has so much more blood pumping through its system, it needs more iron for all the extra blood cells. Iron carries oxygen through your system, so it's a pretty important thing. I haven't been officially diagnosed with low iron, but I just feel so unbelievably tired, that I'm sure I could up my intake a bit. I am taking a daily dose of prenatal vitamins which also has iron, plus I've added B12 because it's known that vegetarians have a hard time getting that out of their diets.

Vegetarian Pregnancy

My diet hasn't been terrible, but it hasn't been great either. I've been eating a lot of bread and dairy, neither of which have a lot of iron. My main craving this pregnancy has been cottage cheese for some odd reason. I need to up my intake of leafy greens, beans and lentils, seeds and nuts and stuff like quinoa and flaxseed. Also, to help with the uptake of iron in these foods I need to add more citrus to my diet. Vitamin C helps with the uptake! Who knew? Nighty-night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite! Oh, I also got our pram/stroller in the mail today. Thank you Amazon Prime!

Twenty-Five Weeks and One Day

Today I've been even more tired than yesterday. Like uninspired, not willing to move off the couch tired. I did read my book for a bit and did a bit of knitting. But apart from that, I've been a couch potato.

I think part of it must be the lack of exercise. Due to the issues with my placenta, I'm not supposed to be working out at all. Movement always gives me a boost of energy, so I really think that might be contributing to this extreme exhaustion. That and of course the fact that I'm growing a baby. That's about all I can muster today.

Two Days

Today I called my doctor to find out if I actually do have low iron. Turns out I don't, which is awesome news. The reasons for my exhaustion must just be normal pregnancy stuff. The other good news is today I feel much more energetic. I got up early and have been keeping busy since Myk went to work. I mean, let's not get crazy, I'll most likely have a nap later on, but for now, I'm enjoying this mini energy boost. We still haven't put the stroller together yet, but I promise to tell you more about it once we have. I'm pretty excited about it because it has a really nice bassinet for the newborn stage. This isn't uncommon for strollers these days, but the difference with this one is that the same bassinet piece transforms into the stroller when the baby is bigger. No need for two separate pieces. There are lots of other benefits which I will share.

Three Days - Fab Hair

I washed my hair today! I have to say that they're right about pregnancy hair. It's so long, shiny, thick and healthy. I'm enjoying having nice hair, usually, it's pretty drab and thin. They say your hair is in better shape in pregnancy is due to the increased blood flow to your scalp and the fact that you don't lose a lot of hair in pregnancy so it keeps its fullness. Come the postpartum period though, beware, that's when all of it falls out.

Four Days - Nesting Already?

We had a wonderful fall Saturday today. The only thing is I decided to do some fall organizing and cleaning and might have overdone it a bit. It's evening time now and I'm completely beat. I can barely get off the chair. Maybe the nesting has begun? We are not decorating a nursery, but are going to have a little corner in our big bedroom as our nursery corner. So, we started setting that up today, I'm so excited! I'll share some more about that in a separate post. We also put the stroller together today and it's awesome. I had my first son in Iceland and got used to a different way of pushing my son around town. I was taught that it is so important for their posture not to be sitting in an upright position for long periods of time. And it's true! I see a lot of parents letting their babies sleep in car seats or strollers, and it's definitely not good for their posture long-term. So, I had a pram for him that he could lie down for longer periods of time, it's more like a bassinet or bed, and I could be guilt free about the dangers of him sleeping in weird positions. Side note. Babies nap outside in Iceland and they do so in their prams. My first son had nice long naps outside in all kinds of weather, so I plan on doing the same for this little one. The Diono Quantum Travel system we got is so cool because the bassinet changes into a stroller once the baby grows. I absolutely love it! Very happy with this purchase. It can also face forward or backward and is so easy to fold and store.

Five Days - Enjoying Life

The week is winding down, today is a beautiful fall Sunday. I'm really trying not to overdo it because of "The Silly Placenta", but I just had to enjoy the day today. We had some family visiting from abroad and we all hopped into the car for a drive through Prince Edward County. We had a lovely lunch at a winery and then picked up an apple crumble at the local orchard. I was EXHAUSTED. And I didn't really do anything. I had to take a nap once we were home and my body ached all over. I guess that's what happens when you spend most of your days indoors doing NOTHING.

Six Days - Diabetes?

Last day before little bubs turns 26 weeks. Wow, time really does fly! Nothing new to report today. My belly is getting so BIG, I feel like I see a difference every couple of hours. Maybe I'm just eating too much. I've been feeling so hungry. I'm beginning to worry that I might have gestational diabetes. Mostly because I eat too many sweets! I'm pretty sure my doctor will test for that around 28 weeks, so we'll just have to wait and see. That's it for this week! See you next week.