Twenty Eight Weeks

How far along? 28w3d



Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, getting to be that way with the tops too. Even my giant t-shirts from my drawer of giant t-shirts that everyone seems to have (you know the one, that collection of promotional t-shirts, various t-shirts from work, t-shirts from races and sporting events, from vacations, and gifts after others' vacations that get their own drawer and are relegated to 'sleepwear' status pretty much immediately upon receipt) are starting to not fit. Same with my collection of stretchy non-maternity drawstring/elastic waist pants. I have accumulated about a dozen over the years and only a few are still working. Here's why:




Stretch marks? light ones on my bbs which have not gotten worse since their debut last month, my belly still looks great. I'm applying the belli oil every time I get out of the shower.



Sleep? Still pretty easy for me to sleep and I do it for ridiculous stretches at a time on the weekends. 10-12 hours. Can't get enough, I'm starting to get really tired really easily.



Best moment this week? We spent the long weekend at my parents' with a couple of friends who have a two year old. The best moments were watching DH and my parents with the little guy. They really loved it and you could see the excitement for our baby radiating off of them.



Worst moment? DH LOVES our dogs. More than I've ever seen him love anything in his life ever. But he is no 'dog person.' He didn't grow up with them and is only just starting to learn things about them like "don't let them run into random bushes when you're running with them at night because they're liable to be sprayed by a skunk," or "dogs cannot live on an exclusive diet of pizza crusts and whatever they lick off of plates after meals." He's a quick learner, but sometimes I forget that he's not as conscientious as a seasoned 'dog person' is when it comes to avoiding disaster. The worst moment this week was one of these moments. We all decided to go on a hike and despite the enormous cow patties that lined the trail for most of the way, I somehow lost track of reality and decided to hand off our smaller furbaby to DH. Small furbaby has one of those flexi leads and while DH was wrapped in conversation with my dad, he found a nice fresh cow patty roughly the same size as himself and took a dip (small furbaby, not DH). Just rolled himself right into it and could not get enough of it. DH noticed he had stopped and turned around - "how cute, he's rolling in the grass!" No DH, he is not a horse. He's not rolling in the grass. But it was too late. Small furbaby was covered in fresh green cow manure. And he was SO proud of himself. We passed a few other hikers and our little chihuahua mix prancing along COVERED in manure looking like he had never been happier in his life must have been quite a sight. Instead of laughing it off, I became paralyzed with fear. We had planned on a picnic and here were DH and my mom doing their best with bottled water and a random shirt they found on a fencepost (clearly abandoned as it was full of holes and covered in bird droppings) to clean the dog off enough to not offend everyone within a 3 mile radius. So now they were basically covered in the stuff too and even though I was spared from clean-up duties all I kept thinking was - there's nowhere to really clean up. No bathrooms, no soap, no running water. Lunch is coming up. A picnic, where hands would be reaching in for chips, sharing carrot sticks, passing sandwiches around...how am I going to keep the ecoli and various other parasites off of my food and out of my system. I couldn't believe my bad luck. Why couldn't we just go on a normal walk like a normal family without introducing pathogens? Of course my mom and DH thought I was being paranoid but is it too much to ask that you not stick your fingers in cow shit and then handle food around a pregnant woman (or anyone frankly)? Really, is that being paranoid?



Fortunately we ended up heading back to the house before we ate. It wasn't because of me and my 'paranoia,' it was just the way things worked out and I just happened to be a huge fan. I decided the only thing that could have made the excursion worse was if we discovered a tick infestation. And as usual, my wish was granted - we found one on both the small and large furbaby. None on ourselves thank god, but I'm still checking every corner of every sock and every inch of my person. I hate being this way. When a tick or a roll in cow manure can ruin my day. And these are the days when it would be nice to indulge in a beer or two with that picnic lunch.



Movement? Today is one of those days when he doesn't move much and it scares the s-- out of me. More than your average pregnant woman probably because of the whole T18 = less fetal movement and excess fluid thing. I started doing kick counting even though my obg doesn't recommend them until week 30 (prior to which she says I just need to feel him at least once a day). I'm not sure why I started earlier than I needed to - I think it's part because I've read that 28 weeks is a good time to start, partly because I don't think my OBG is conservative enough, and partly for reassurance. But it's only reassuring sometimes. Other times, like today, it's scary. Baby is moving only occasionally, lightly, and it took a full hour after a cup of hot chocolate to eek out 10 movements. I definitely plan to ask what a 'normal' frequency is at my appointment tomorrow. I'm sure the response will be 'there's no normal' but I also know movement is something my OBG takes seriously so hopefully there will be something helpful she can say in response to my concerns. Who am I kidding. Sometimes my relationship with my obg reminds me of that of an abused woman and her violent husband. I keep going back, wanting to believe she has my best interests at heart. I keep thinking maybe this time things will be better. I'm only disappointed, and yet I keep going back.



Food cravings? Any kind of asian food. And cheese and chocolate still.



Gender? It's a boy! As far as we know.



Bellybutton: Still in but getting shallow.



What I miss? Not being so paranoid.



What I look forward to: meeting my baby. I know the old fears will be replaced with new ones, but as I've said before, I'm not buying it completely because nothing seems to quite compare with the fear of a fatal chromosomal abnormality.



Milestones: Third trimester!



Emotions: Rough going these days. Lots of ups and downs.