Pregnancy Journal: Week 7

I am tired!  I have been thankful for every small symptom that I have been feeling this week.  Mainly, I feel exhausted.  I have been taking regular rest/nap periods every afternoon.  This does not make Arin happy because that means that she now has to take regular rest/nap periods as well - something that she had given up several months ago.

The past two days, I have had slight nausea around lunchtime, but once I eat, I have felt perfectly normal again.  My lower back has been hurting, which is something that has happened at the beginning of every pregnancy so far, so I consider that a symptom. 

Photo Source: babycenter.com

According to Baby Center, the baby is now a half inch, or about the size of a blueberry. It is growing arms and feet this week, which look like paddles.

Arin and Ella continue to hug and kiss the baby on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.

I met with a new midwife yesterday.  I really liked her and we are planning to go forward with a homebirth.  To this point, I have only given birth in a hospital, so this will be a big change, but we are looking forward to it.  My midwife is encouraging daily exercise in the form of swimming, brisk walking, and prenatal yoga.  A minimum of 30 minutes a day is what I should aim for.  She also wants me to eat 75-100 grams of protein (meat, eggs, nuts, nut butters, legumes, cheese, yogurt, etc.) each day along with lots and lots of vegetables.  Carbs should be limited to whole grains and small portions.  The main reason for this (other than the obvious nutrient-dense foods) is because I am already overweight and I have a history of big babies, so we don't want to pack on needless pounds due to empty calories.  Yesterday was just a consultation.  My first prenatal appointment is scheduled for April 5th.

Swimming season has officially begun.  The girls went swimming at my brother and sister-in-law's over the weekend, and then after meeting with the midwife, we all went swimming as a family yesterday.  The pool at our apartment complex is heated, but it is still cool enough that you want to keep moving while in it.  Another couple of weeks and it'll be really nice to go swimming. 

On Sunday, my niece threw a baby shower for my little sister, who is due in about two and a half weeks.

Left: Candace (sister) ~ Right: Lauryn (niece)

The baby shower was so nice and I was quite emotional.  Lots of tears flowing from my little sister and myself.  I consider that a symptom as I am not normally a person that cries that easily.  When I first sat down, my niece came over to me and presented me with a gift.  What?  I was not the guest of honor, though for a moment, I sure felt like I was!  This is what she gave me:

Inside, was this cupcake, frosted half with blue frosting and half with pink frosting, which a white question mark.  So sweet of her to think of me too!

So that is all the "good" stuff that has happened this week.  Unfortunately, I bled a little in the night last night.  I called my midwife and she has put me on bedrest for the next three days.  The bleeding, which was bright red, has stopped now and hopefully was only caused by the exercise yesterday.  For the next three days, I am to stay off my feet, drink lots of water, no exercise, no lifting, etc.  Basically just a wait, watch, and see.  Of course this happened after I finally was feeling like everything was going well, which it still might be (trying to stay positive), but this of course makes me nervous all over again.