MacNut Week 29

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• MacNut is the weight of a butternut squash - 15.2 inches and 2.54 pounds.
• Brain is busy developing billions of neurons.
• Baby's muscles and lungs are continuing to mature.
• The fetus can taste and respond to pain.

Physical:

• Weight: 149 lb (+23)
• Belly circumference: 38.25 in (+7.75)
• Fundal height: 28 in (Hmm...we're always a week behind.  Well, she's Asian.  Although I don't know how I can explain away my rapid weight-gain!)
• Really lethargic this week.
• I had four strong and mildly painful Braxton Hicks contractions that were decreasing in strength on Sunday night.  They were about 10 minutes apart.  I tried to change position and they eventually went away.  *phew*
• Camille continues to be very active.  She tends to favor the right side of the belly.  I think that's where her torso and butt are.  My belly is oftentimes lopsided. :)  This week also marked the first time that her movements started to cause me a certain degree of pain.  It's not much, but, ouch!
• My feet are really "fluffy" (as GT would say) because there have been several warm days this week.  See here?

• I forgot to take a picture of my feet in my Chacos...and the Chaco straps were hangin' on to dear life!!  And it's only gonna get worse as the weather gets warmer!
• Another physical change that I forgot to document last week was that the gang of stretch marks in my behind has headed up a Manifest Destiny campaign for my anterior!  When I look in the mirror, I can now see that the angry, red stretch marks have crept up toward the front.  They've gotten so bad that they have crept down my thighs and onto my right calf, too.  This is not too surprising, however, as I had tons of stretch marks in middle school when I had a growth spurt of 1.5 inches over the course of a year. :)  This week, I have also noted some stretch marks at the bottom of my belly.  I have heard some women refer to their pregnancy stretch marks as their badge of honor.  I just don't happen to be embracing my pregnancy in the same manner.
• I had my 2nd 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test earlier this week.  The results came back on Thursday with 2 out of the 4 values being slightly elevated.  I have gestational diabetes, guys. 

Spiritual & emotional:

• This week has not been as bad as last week in terms of sadness.  Actually, I am not sad about Caleb at all.  After the Friday night prayer time for Caleb, I had complete peace that God was in charge.  We are still fervently praying for the miraculous healing of Caleb's body.  But if God decides to take him, what a lucky duck!
• I did feel a dip in my general mood when I got news that my glucose tolerance test values were slightly elevated.  I kind of saw it coming because my dad and two brothers have diabetes and my sister had gestational diabetes.  I was bummed that I now have to watch my diet more closely.  But I think the thing that bummed me out more was anticipating the ignorant comments from people who would automatically blame me for eating too much sugar.  The more I think of it, the more I think it is unfair and stupid for me to preemptively be frustrated.
• I ate a couple of cookies after dinner yesterday.  I felt a little guilty.  But my glucose readings have been well within the normal range.  So...anyone wanna bake me some cookies? :)
  

MacNut Week 28

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• MacNut is the weight of a Chinese cabbage - ~ 14.80 inches and 2.22 pounds (1 kg!).
• She has her own regular intervals for sleeping and being awake.
• The feet are just over 2 inches (5.5cm) long.
• The hair on the head is now clearly visible.
• The milk teeth have developed under the gums.
• The eyes are starting to move in their sockets.

Physical:

• Weight: 148 lb (+22)
• Belly circumference: 38 in (+7.50)
• Fundal height: 27 in 
• I continue to go to the chiropractor to get treatments.  I am not very regular with my assigned exercises, but it's going alright.
• My appetite has been poor due to everything that has been happening in the family.
  

Spiritual & emotional:

• Emotionally speaking, this is the worst week of my pregnancy thus far.  As mentioned last week, my nephew Caleb has brain cancer.  We learned on Wednesday that it is terminal and he was then sent home to be with family and to receive hospice care.  Wednesday night, I caught a ride with a friend's mom (thank you so much, April & Charlotte!) and came down to Oregon to be with family.  It has been rough.  I don't know what else to say...
• Do you ever notice that when you experience heartache, you actually don't take deep breaths often?  It's true for me.  I do shallow breathing.  As though breathing in air reminds me that I'm actually alive...and the present reality is, well, real.  I create for myself safe and comfortable coping mechanisms.  Right now, I often retreat to the coping mechanism of entering into a million and one giveaways and contests.  It has been consuming my life...and I'm letting it because I am just so tired of crying.
• Prayer has been more or less continuous throughout the day.  It's not superb, but I sense that God has brought me to the point of greatest brokenness.  It seems that He has to bring me to a point where I am most likely to curse His name so that I can learn to praise it instead.  God, I am so there right now.
• We are praying for a big miracle.  Let it be known!  It is in writing!  We are cognizant of the scientific reality.  But we know that God is able to heal Caleb and give him physical wholeness just as He is capable of restoring spiritual wholeness to those who believe.  We are praying that it is God's will that Caleb be healed.  Please pray with us.
  

MacNut Week 27

Third trimester started this week!

A few people have asked about my "numbering" of the weeks.  I blog at the end of each gestational week.  But, technically, when a woman says she is 27 weeks along, it means she has already completed 27 weeks and is into her 28th week of pregnancy.  Today (6/11), I am actually 27 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  And it might be perplexing when people announce that they are pregnant and say, "I am four and half weeks pregnant and we just found out today!"  It is not because they are so unaware of their bodies that they have neglected to notice the pregnancy for over four weeks, it's just a bizarre standard of calculating the pregnancy timeline whereby day 1 of pregnancy is the first day of a woman's last normal menstrual period (LMP or LNMP).  Things are calculated this way because a woman can usually tell when her period starts, but she may not know when ovulation and conception occurs (although I am fortunate enough to be very regular and, from what I have learned through Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility, I was able to know with fair confidence when I ovulate...neato!).  So, really, there is actually no baby for the first couple of weeks of gestation.  And then ovulation & conception occur.  And then it takes a couple of weeks for enough of those good ol' pregnancy hormones (particularly, hCG) to be produced for a home pregnancy test to detect that there's something going on.

Confused yet? :)

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• MacNut is as hefty as a head of cauliflower, - ~ 14.41 inches and 1.93 pounds.
• Her head is over 2.5 inches in diameter.
• Her hearing continues to develop.
• Her eyes can blink, open and close.

Physical:

• Weight: 146 lb (+20)
• Belly circumference: 38 in (+7.50)
• Fundal height: 26 in 
• I continue to have some pelvic aches...but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary.  But, for all this pain and all the stretch marks I'm getting in my behind, my pelvic opening had better be humongous and MacNut should be able to just slip out with no problem.  Sheesh!
  

Spiritual & emotional:

• This week has been really tough.  First, we heard the week before that my nephew Caleb was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Then we heard that it was most likely benign (from the absence of tumor markers in the CSF sample).  Then we received the results of the tissue biopsy and it turns out it is most likely malignant.  Caleb went through a long day of delays and then a lengthy surgery yesterday.  The result was that the surgeons could not remove much of the tumor at all as it is so poorly differentiated (it looks just like brain tissue so they can't tell what's brain and what's tumor).  Tonight, we learned that the tumor is a diffused form of glioma and the prognosis is very poor with a 10% survival rate.  My heart is so heavy.  I love this boy so much!!
• The positive part about this week is that we have been drawn into a position of prayer and submission - it is where we ought to be in the first place.  I wish I could say that my time with God has been sweet.  It hasn't.  I barely know how to pray...

 Caleb (L) with his twin brother, Joshua

 A more recent photo of Caleb on the slopes

MacNut Week 26

This week marks the end of the 2nd trimester.  I am hearing that the 2nd trimester is supposed to be the most glorious time as the 1st trimester is miserable with early pregnancy symptoms (check!) and the 3rd trimester will be full of challenges involving whale-like enormity and sleepless nights.  I would agree that the 2nd trimester has been very good to me.  I've been loving the lack of nausea and the fact that my belly is getting bigger and bigger!  My 3rd trimester will mostly be in the summer.  Hmm...I'm so glad that my sister & brother-in-law got us that air conditioner! :)

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• MacNut is as tall as an English cucumber - ~ 14.02 inches and 1.68 pounds.
• The feet are 2 inches long. Hands are very active.
• The baby's eyes begin to open around this time.
• The fetal brain scan will show response to touch. Touching and playing with the baby is possible now, as they may respond to your touch through your belly wall.
• Baby is probably very active in the womb (yes!!), as the most active weeks are typically between weeks 24 and 28.

Physical:

• Weight: 145 lb (+19)
• Belly circumference: 37.75 in (+7.25)
• Fundal height: 25 in 
• The pelvic pain was uncomfortable enough on Monday night that I had to contact a chiropractor first thing Tuesday morning to get seen.  It wasn't only that it was painful to shift positions, there was also this weird patch of neuropathic pain region on my left thigh.  This started about 2-3 weeks back.  It used to only hurt when I moved a certain way.  Starting Monday night, it was hurting when I was just sitting or laying down!  Anyway, the chiropractor explained that there is a pinched nerve in my lumbar region that is causing referred pain to this dermatome region.  Whatever it is, he's working on fixing it and I definitely felt better after 3 treatments!  There's a link to the practice here (you can mention my name if you go...and I'll get a free massage :P).  Highly recommend him.
• I'm feeling heavier this week.  My breathing is being affected.  I guess that's what happens when all of one's visceral content is squished up on one's lungs!!
• Oh!  Also this week: my belly button looks like it might want to eventually be an outtie.  I'm not sure if I'm just seeing things, but it is looking like it is protruding out a bit.  Other news from the same region is that I'm getting TONS of stretch marks in my behind.  It doesn't look too lovely.  Alice's mom got me this stretch mark prevention oil that I've been applying to my belly.  So far, not a hint of a mark on the belly.  I sometimes put some on my back but since this oil costs about $70 a bottle (*gulp*), I feel a little bad!

Spiritual & emotional:

• We've had a lot of visitors this week!  Chị Miên, Anh Nguyên, and Donovan came up to visit this past weekend.  At 2 months old, this was Donovan's first road trip from Portland.  They came up in a pickup truck and brought us their baby gift for us: a portable air conditioner!!  It's perfect!  This weekend, Chin's Mom & Grandma are here to celebrate Anna Jane's 2nd birthday and are visiting us at our apartment for the first time!
• Between hosting visitors, I've felt really lazy this week.  Just couldn't snap out of it. :(
• I found out Wednesday morning that my nephew Caleb (age 12) has a brain tumor and was taken in for surgery.  This was such sudden news and I really, really wanted to just get in the car and drive down to Portland.  Caleb and his older brother Joshua are twins.  They are my oldest nephews and they have a very special place in my heart.  The news of his brain tumor shook me to the core and brought me to prayer.  Thankfully, Caleb seems to be improving a bit after a couple of shunts have been put in place to redirect the flow of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) around the tumor while they wait for the results of the biopsy.  Analysis of the CSF came back today and the results indicate no tumor markers -- no cancer!  We will still need to wait for the biopsy results to come back to see how it should be managed.  But...praise God!!