It feels like I JUST wrote my 18 week update - somehow 4 weeks have already gone by! Times flies when you are keeping up with a toddler. This pregnancy is going WAY faster than my one with Paul! Here's the latest!
I haven't been good about taking bump photos but here is one from around 22 weeks. With my dark shirt and the fireplace behind me, it's a little hard to see how big I am, but it gives you an idea. After losing weight during the first trimester, I had quite a jump between 16 and 20 weeks but my overall weight gain is fine and my doctor said it's normal to have a decent jump after losing weight in the first tri. Overall, I've gained 8 pounds so not too much in total. I only gained about 20 with Paul so that's my target for this pregnancy but if I gain more, so be it.
Sex of the baby: boy!
Symptoms/RA management: My RA had been better and I was just starting to taper down to a really low dose this week - and then I got a flare on Monday morning and another one last night. Womp womp. I think I need to give up on getting off prednisone. I was trying to get off it before my glucose test at 28 weeks as being on pred means I will for sure fail the test and end up with gestational diabetes. That's what happened last time so at least I know how to manage it. It's just a pain as it requires seeing a endocrinologist, non-stress tests and extra ultrasounds, not to mention watching my diet extremely close and pricking my finger 4 times/day. But I think all of that is better than painful flares so I'm just going to stay on prednisone and suck it up. It helps knowing this is my last pregnancy and I won't have to go through this again!
Recent/upcoming appointments: I had my 20 week appointment shortly after the ultrasound and it was super reassuring. I was nervous about the umbilical cord issue but my OB made me feel much better about things and assured me that it really isn't a problem and that we'll just keep an eye on Pedro's growth (Pedro is my nickname for the baby - that WILL NOT be his name!!). I love my OB so much!
Sleep: I have insomnia about 2 nights/week and end up having to get up to read - sometimes multiple times/night. It's super annoying but so be it.
Cravings/favorite foods and aversions: Nothing new to report here. Yogurt still is unappealing to me which is odd as it used to be something I ate every single day. I hope this goes away before I start the gestational diabetes diet because yogurt is a great snack since it's high in protein.
Exercise: My OB cleared me for some light weight lifting at my 20 week appointment but I have yet to start that... So I am just doing walks so far which is still a great form of exercise, especially when pregnant. I actually get into the cardio zone just going on walks since being pregnant raises my heart rate so dang easily!! One day when I was sleeping in the basement, I walked up the 2 flights of stairs to Paul's bedroom to help get him ready and Phil said, "did you just sprint up the stairs? You didn't need to do that!" since I was breathing so heavily. I was like, nope just walked up 2 flights of stairs while pregnant!
Recent baby prep/decisions: We are getting the interior walls of our main/upper levels plus the nursery painted while we are at the lake. Woo hoo! I am so excited about this as I've had paint swatches on lots of walls since February. Our main/upper walls will be Edgecomb gray which is a very neutral color. The baby's room will be Stonington Gray which has a blueish hue to it. It will be great to get this done!
Mood: My mood continues to be pretty good. I'm annoyed with my RA but overall I remind myself things could be so much worse. The baby is healthy and I feel pretty good all in all. And again, I keep reminding myself that I don't have to go through this ever again!!! Also having an active 2yo really helps to take my mind off the pregnancy!
I'll be taking next week off from blogging/reading blogs while we are up at the lake as I want to unplug from technology as much as possible! My vacation actually starts tomorrow! We took Friday off so we can all get tested for COVID first thing in the morning and then we'll isolate and head to the lake as soon as we get our results back - hopefully by Sunday!
Symptoms/RA management: My RA had been better and I was just starting to taper down to a really low dose this week - and then I got a flare on Monday morning and another one last night. Womp womp. I think I need to give up on getting off prednisone. I was trying to get off it before my glucose test at 28 weeks as being on pred means I will for sure fail the test and end up with gestational diabetes. That's what happened last time so at least I know how to manage it. It's just a pain as it requires seeing a endocrinologist, non-stress tests and extra ultrasounds, not to mention watching my diet extremely close and pricking my finger 4 times/day. But I think all of that is better than painful flares so I'm just going to stay on prednisone and suck it up. It helps knowing this is my last pregnancy and I won't have to go through this again!
Recent/upcoming appointments: I had my 20 week appointment shortly after the ultrasound and it was super reassuring. I was nervous about the umbilical cord issue but my OB made me feel much better about things and assured me that it really isn't a problem and that we'll just keep an eye on Pedro's growth (Pedro is my nickname for the baby - that WILL NOT be his name!!). I love my OB so much!
Sleep: I have insomnia about 2 nights/week and end up having to get up to read - sometimes multiple times/night. It's super annoying but so be it.
Cravings/favorite foods and aversions: Nothing new to report here. Yogurt still is unappealing to me which is odd as it used to be something I ate every single day. I hope this goes away before I start the gestational diabetes diet because yogurt is a great snack since it's high in protein.
Exercise: My OB cleared me for some light weight lifting at my 20 week appointment but I have yet to start that... So I am just doing walks so far which is still a great form of exercise, especially when pregnant. I actually get into the cardio zone just going on walks since being pregnant raises my heart rate so dang easily!! One day when I was sleeping in the basement, I walked up the 2 flights of stairs to Paul's bedroom to help get him ready and Phil said, "did you just sprint up the stairs? You didn't need to do that!" since I was breathing so heavily. I was like, nope just walked up 2 flights of stairs while pregnant!
Recent baby prep/decisions: We are getting the interior walls of our main/upper levels plus the nursery painted while we are at the lake. Woo hoo! I am so excited about this as I've had paint swatches on lots of walls since February. Our main/upper walls will be Edgecomb gray which is a very neutral color. The baby's room will be Stonington Gray which has a blueish hue to it. It will be great to get this done!
Mood: My mood continues to be pretty good. I'm annoyed with my RA but overall I remind myself things could be so much worse. The baby is healthy and I feel pretty good all in all. And again, I keep reminding myself that I don't have to go through this ever again!!! Also having an active 2yo really helps to take my mind off the pregnancy!
I'll be taking next week off from blogging/reading blogs while we are up at the lake as I want to unplug from technology as much as possible! My vacation actually starts tomorrow! We took Friday off so we can all get tested for COVID first thing in the morning and then we'll isolate and head to the lake as soon as we get our results back - hopefully by Sunday!
Apart from the flares, it sounds like a really good report and I'm so glad all is going well. Have a terrific holiday!
ReplyDeleteYou look great and so glad you both continue to be pretty healthy given your risks!
ReplyDeleteYou look great, Lisa! And I'm glad you're going to stay on prednisone, even if it means you'll likely wind up with gestational diabetes. Those flares have to be so painful!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time at the lake!
Have a great time with your parents!
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the lake! You look great; I am glad that it is going well so far although it is a bummer about the yogurt. What about cottage cheese? Is it all dairy or just yogurt that turns you off?
ReplyDeleteI have been eating the cream cheese pancakes that I told you about pretty much every day! No sugar in them and they are quick and easy to make, plus there is lots of protein!
Yay enjoy your vacation!!!!! i am so glad you're able to get away. We were supposed to do something for our anniversary but with COVID everything is either closed or booked up :( I really need an escape. But we will make the best of it.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry your RA is still troubling you so much. I know you don't want Gestational DM - but like you said - you at least know the drill!! i am pretty positive I'll end up with it since everyone in our family seems to have it and I can only seem to consume carbs these days. But nothing I can do about it!
Have so much fun and I hope you get your results back asap! Also, hope you don't have to work while at the lake? I remember you saying you had to "be available"
You look great, Lisa and I am glad to hear everything seems to be going pretty well (minus the flares).
ReplyDeleteI hope you relaxed a lot on vacation!!! That grey with a bit of blue to it sounds really nice. I want to repaint our mainfloor sometime within the next year. I am thinking some shade of white to brighten it up, and then pops of colour in the artwork etc., but we haven't gone looking at paints yet.
ReplyDelete