28th October 2016
At 17 weeks pregnant my little Pip is about the size of a pomegranate and is about 5 inches long. The weeks are really flying by now, especially with antenatal appointments and checks to take up the time! Here's what's been going on during my seventeenth week of pregnancy with baby number three.
Baby Development
Apparently Pip's bones are starting to harden now and the soft cartilage that has made up his skeleton is turning into bone. Pip's heart beat is now controlled by his brain rather than at random and it can beat up to 150 times per minute. His brain is also developing his senses, such as sight, smell, sound and touch, and his arms and legs have now reached normal proportions. If Pip turns out to be a girl, she will already be producing millions of eggs in her ovaries. I find pregnancy absolutely incredible, the development of the baby is so truly fascinating!
Body Changes
My bump is getting bigger by the day it seems! My skin is really clear and bright at the moment, and despite feeling pretty tired lots of people have been saying I'm glowing. Which is lovely to hear, even if they are just saying that to be kind. I think my hair growth might be slowing down, based purely on the fact that I'm finding I don't need to shave my legs as often!
Pregnancy Symptoms
It would seem that all the negative symptoms from the first trimester have passed now, as I'm not getting headaches anymore and haven't felt sick for a while. My asthma has gotten pretty bad, which the doctor thinks is related to pregnancy and thinks it may mean I am having a girl. What do you think? Any other old wives' tales to do with gender? We shall find out in a few weeks!
I met with the community midwife and was quite sad to learn that my old midwife is no longer in the community. The midwife I met isn't actually going to be my named midwife, as she was just covering for the regular midwife who I will meet at 28 weeks.
All was fine with the checks; my blood pressure is pretty normal and she listened in to the baby's heartbeat, which the boys really enjoyed hearing. The midwife also thinks I am having a girl, based on the fact that my asthma has been bad plus the heartbeat was fast which the old wives tale say means girl. I will need to check out a few more of the old wives tales and see what the results say!
The midwife is referring me to meet with the consultant midwife to discuss my birth planning options, as this will be a second VBAC, and possibly think about a home birth, eek!
I have been thinking about sleeping arrangements for when the baby comes. My friend has given me a gorgeous white cotbed which will be great when the baby is bigger, but before then I'd love to get a co-sleeper crib. I co-slept with the boys and it was lovely - and really great for making breastfeeding easier - but with the boys still getting in my bed most nights there won't be room for all of us. So a co-sleeper crib is definitely on the shopping list!
Antenatal Appointments
I met with the community midwife and was quite sad to learn that my old midwife is no longer in the community. The midwife I met isn't actually going to be my named midwife, as she was just covering for the regular midwife who I will meet at 28 weeks.
All was fine with the checks; my blood pressure is pretty normal and she listened in to the baby's heartbeat, which the boys really enjoyed hearing. The midwife also thinks I am having a girl, based on the fact that my asthma has been bad plus the heartbeat was fast which the old wives tale say means girl. I will need to check out a few more of the old wives tales and see what the results say!
The midwife is referring me to meet with the consultant midwife to discuss my birth planning options, as this will be a second VBAC, and possibly think about a home birth, eek!
Looking Ahead
I have been thinking about sleeping arrangements for when the baby comes. My friend has given me a gorgeous white cotbed which will be great when the baby is bigger, but before then I'd love to get a co-sleeper crib. I co-slept with the boys and it was lovely - and really great for making breastfeeding easier - but with the boys still getting in my bed most nights there won't be room for all of us. So a co-sleeper crib is definitely on the shopping list!
Glad your headaches and feeling sick has stopped, but that's not good about your asthma. You look lovely take care of yourself xx
ReplyDeletePleased to hear you're feeling a bit better lovely. We did the bicarbonate of soda test with Lottie and it was accurate. You could try that. Xx
ReplyDeletePleased to read you are feeling better. I had a HBAC (my birth story is on my blog) and it was the best thing I've ever done. We got a Chico next to me cosleeper for my second but I could never get her in it!
ReplyDeleteWe had the Chico next to me and it was brilliant. Although for the first 3 weeks he wouldn't settle in it!
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