Category Archives: gender

40 Weeks Of Pregnancy – Week 22

Happy Monday to everyone! Time for another installment of my week by week pregnancy guide. If you want to catch up with previous weeks, scroll to the bottom. Today I am looking at…

Week 22

All the foot swelling that probably started happening last week is definitely continuing, and may do so until after you give birth. It will probably start hurting being on your feet for long periods, so sit down often, and if possible, elevate your feet. This will make your swollen legs and feet feel a bit better.

Also, if you are used to wearing heels (like I am), you should start looking into lower heels or flats. I admit, I did not do this and continued in my high heels until the day I gave birth, but I did look. I even tried on a few pairs of flats and bought one of them. They kept all my pretty shoes company in the closet. But not everyone likes to torture their feet. Besides, what better excuse to go shoe shopping?

Right around now one of two things will start to happen. Depending on your mood swings, they may happen within seconds of each other, alternating wildly and driving those around you crazy. You will have fuller breasts, your skin will glow, and your hair will be more luscious. You may just feel unbelievably attractive. Not to mention with all the hormones you will feel more intimate than ever. Great combination. Or you will feel exhausted, frumpy, fat, and a string of other unattractive adjectives. So you may not really be in the mood for your partner.

As mentioned, these two feelings will alternate, often. So when you are feeling down, just remember it will pass. If you feel miserable your entire pregnancy, don’t despair, there are worst things, and keep your mind on the baby. If you are really feeling down and it is not going away no matter what, talk to your doctor.

What have you felt? How did you deal with it?

If you want to catch up:

40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 21

It is Monday, and time for our weekly pregnancy series. This week I am covering Week 21. If you want to read any of the previous weeks, scroll to the bottom.

Week 21

Among the other things pregnancy brings, around this time you are going to start experiencing a few more. You are going to be short of breath, especially if you are not very active to begin with. I was very active while pregnant, walking several miles a day. I used to run up flights of stairs. At this point whenever I had to walk up two flights of stairs to go to my bosses office I would arrive hyperventilating like I was about to have a heart attack. I remember standing outside her office for a few minutes each time to catch my breath so she wouldn’t think I was dying.

Also, you feet are going to start getting swollen. I remember with Munchie it wasn’t so bad, and I was able to get by, but with Ducky my shoes were starting to hurt, and only a month from now I would not be able to wear anything buy flip flops. Thank goodness I was due in the middle of summer. My swollen feet got bigger and bigger, and the water did not drain out of them until a few weeks after I gave birth. This was totally new to me and I got all scared thinking there was something wrong. Each day I would get out of bed and look down at my huge feet and ankles for a sign that they were shrinking. I am not sure if I got smaller and made it seem this way, but I swear my feet were actually getting bigger. However, I was not in any pain. I just couldn’t wear shoes. Almost two weeks after Ducky was born my feet started receding, and a few days later they were back to normal. My doctor said it happened because I wasn’t drinking enough water. This made absolutely no sense to me (when he said it, it made a lot of sense, but I didn’t fully understand it, nor am I able to repeat it. Which is probably why I am not a doctor). So talk to your doctor and see what he says.

A lot of different online sites and books will tell you that this is a perfect time to start talking to your baby, play some music, start reading, and all that. I have also heard a lot of research stating that it really doesn’t matter, and it does not affect your baby either way. With Munchie it was weird talking to my stomach. I tried to do it regularly, but after about a month, I just kind of stopped until there was more there to talk to (meaning when she started kicking and responding to sounds). With Ducky I was holding entire tribunals as soon as I found out he existed. Because I love him more? No, because I was more used to being a mother and had less of a hang up talking to a small child (or fetus in this case) that does not reply or acknowledge your existence (even as it is feeding off of you). Honestly, poke around at the different advice. Do what feels most natural to you, and you and your itsy bitsy one will be fine. Not to mention, regardless of which choice you make, your child will receive plenty of stimulation from the outside world as you listen to music, or speak to others.

What is your take on the matter? What did you experience during your twenty first week?

If you want to catch up:

40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 20

It is Monday, and time for another installment of my pregnancy week by week guide. Last week we discussed Week 19. If you want to catch up with it, or any other previous weeks, scroll to the bottom.

Week 20

Congratulations! You are at the half way point. Things should be getting a lot easier for you now until close to the end as you start adjusting to being pregnant.

At this point you may notice this dark line forming from your naval downwards. It is going to get even darker as you progress. But it goes away shortly after you give birth. With Munchie it didn’t go away until a few months after giving birth. With Ducky it disappeared almost immediately. So, as with everything else, each pregnancy is different. But my doctor assured me, it will go away, eventually.

The most exciting part of this week (both times) was the ultrasound. Aside from finding out the gender of my baby (which I discussed in Week 19), this is the first ultrasound where you can really start seeing your baby and his wonderful features.

One of the other worries a lot of moms to be have is the stretch mark. Now that you are most likely visibly pregnant, and therefore stretching, it would be a good time to start using lotion. A lot of lotion. Cocoa Butter helped me out a lot, and even after two kids I have no stretch marks. I know I am one of the lucky ones, but you too can prevent stretch marks if you apply it correctly. First of all apply it often. I only did it once a day, but honestly I recommend to do it twice (better safe than sorry). Apply the lotion on your breasts (as they too are growing rapidly), and on your expanding belly. The thing about stretch marks that a lot of people don’t realize is that they are not immediately apparent. I know women who stopped using the lotion in the last month of pregnancy because they said they could not see any marks so there must not be any. Then they gave birth, and as their bodies were returning to pre-pregnancy sure enough there were stretch marks. So use the lotion.

Have you had your ultrasound yet? Did you find out the gender?

If you want to catch up: