The first and second trimester of this pregnancy were pretty typical...very similar to my experience w/
vienne. Mild nausea in the first few months. Bursts of nesting energy in the second. The only thing I noticed that was dramatically different was how quickly I grew. With Vienne, I didn't show until I was in my 6th month. in this one, I had a pooch by 10 wks!
I started feeling baby's movements at around 18/19 wks. I have felt that, in some ways, this baby presents itself similarly to the way Vienne did. First, I carry almost exactly the same way - wide and broad....not exceptionally high nor low. Baby sleeps through the night in the womb, as Vienne did. Baby seems shy to other's eager touches, as Vienne was. but, between me and the baby, I do feel this one's movements are larger and a bit more active than she was.
Unfortunately, by the third trimester, this journey began to get hard. The list of pitiful and miserable woes began to accumulate quickly and, now at 37 1/2 wks. I am eagerly waiting for relief and praying that I might be given it. A hip problem started to present itself more prominently in November. After Thanksgiving it got progressively worse. My chiropractor became quite certain that I have one leg shorter than the other and the strain of that has grown as the weight of pregnancy accumulated. Limping like an old man has NOT been an exaggeration. One day the pain was sooo bad I could not walk. I have been wearing a heal lift and will get xray confirmation after babe is born.
Of course, this year of all years, Vienne and I decided to collect all the sick bugs around us through the fall and winter. Vienne was literally sick for 6 wks on and off. She'd be sick for a week then seem well for a few days just for another bug to flare up. I think she battled through about 4 colds, her first ear infection, and the flu. Stress has been an understatement.
My health has been struggling as well. Around the same time the hip problem presented itself, I developed a radically itchy rash on my arms and legs that kept me up through the nights for about 3 weeks. Thankfully it subsided eventually. I did end up getting Vienne's flu bug in the 36th week, right before Christmas, that actually gave me symptoms of false labor for about 18 hours. That lasted in my system for almost a week. Then, by the end of christmas day, my throat started to give me grief, which turned into a bit of another bug....of course. Then, a few days later, my palms and feet started to itch....showing me slight symptoms of cholestasis (itchy hands and feet, loss of appetite, pale poo, exhaustion - all things I feel). Shortness of breath - severe shortness of breath - has also been a hindrance. For the past few days, I've been feeling an occasional tightening in my chest for breath.
And to add a cherry on top, we've been battling some personal struggles as well.
Can we say - fun times?! What a list of happiness, eh? I've hated to be so woeful and full of complaint.
