Baby Freiman at week 33 - week of September 19

Apparently, this week Baby Girl Freiman is the size of a durian (?!?!). 

People keep telling me my pregnancy is going by so fast. I know I'll look back and think so too, but some of the symptoms and anticipation are making it seem pretty slow these days. :) On the other hand, she'll be here in around 6 weeks and when I think about everything left to do I either 1) start making lists or 2) cry. Yay hormones!

Most of the symptoms this week are not necessarily new. I've been battling restless legs and extremely chapped lips for a few weeks now, and I've also been waking up with hip pain for a couple of weeks as well. I'm up to pee every 1.5 hours anyway so it works out!

New to this week is my cankle (yes, just one). I think its due to the wart not being treated, but regardless I have one swollen foot/ankle. 

Highlights of the week:
*Whenever I get stressed I just think how close I am to meeting her. I think that will be a highlight from here on out! *Also, I didn't have to fast during Yom Kippur.

What I've learned:
*Starbucks can make the Pumpkin Spice Latte in half-caff. This is great news.
*If you're in the market for protein shakes, go with Boost over Ensure. It has 2x the protein.
*Baby class continues to be a wealth of information. I'm glad I'm informed, but try to think about labor and delivery as little as possible.
*The gestational ages of various animals are fascinating. When talking to Lana about how long she would gestate kittens, I did some research and found this chart:

Mammal	Gestation period (days)
Alpaca	335-366[5][6]
American Bison	217
Baboon	187
Bear (black)	220 [7]
Bear (grizzly)	215
Bear (polar)	241
Beaver	122
Camel (Bactrian)	360-420
Cat (domestic)	58–67, Average 64
Chimpanzee	230–250
Chinchilla	105–115 [8]
Chipmunk	31
Cow	279–292
Deer (white-tailed)	201
Dog (domestic)	58–65, Average 61
Donkey	365
Elephant (African)	645
Elephant (Asian)	616
Elk (Wapiti)	240–250
European mink	38-76 [8]
Ferret (domestic)	41-42 [8]
Fox (red)	52
Gerbil	22-26 [8]
Giraffe	420–450
Goat (domestic)	145–155
Gorilla	255-260
Guinea pig	56-74 [8]
Hamster	16-23
Hippopotamus	225–250
Horse	330–342
Human	266
Kangaroo	42
Leopard	92–95
Lion	108
Llama	330
Mink	40–75
Monkey (rhesus)	164
Moose	240–250
Mouse (domestic white)	19
Mouse (meadow)	21
Muskrat	28–30
Opossum (Virginia)	12–13
Otter	60-86
Pig (domestic)	112–115
Porcupine	112
Puma	90
Rabbit (domestic)	28–35, Average 31-32 [8]
Raccoon	63
Rat	21-23 [9]
Rhinoceros (black)	450
Sea lion (California)	350
Seal	330
Sheep (domestic)	144–151
Squirrel (gray)	30–40
Tiger	105–113
Whale (sperm)	480–590
Wolf	60–68
Wombat	26–28
Zebra (Grant's)	361-390

Here are the pics for this week - thanks to my good friend Laura for the guest appearance! (Warning: the shirt I'm wearing makes my bump appear larger than it really is):

David and I at our friends', Jen and Adam, wedding this weekend:

Baby Freiman at Week 32 - week of September 12th

Week 32 was a big deal!

First I'll start with symptoms/cravings new to this week...
Cravings - Lifesavers! We had to go a to a few different places to find the original hard candies...and they're awesome. I'm still eating a lot of cereal and smoothies and breakfast is still definitely my biggest meal (although as of this week I'm seeing a slight increase in lunch size as well...). As far as symptoms, breathing is still hard, especially after I eat. My feet are also pretty sore, mostly due to my wart still residing on my right foot. I bought shoes yesterday that are a size 6.5 to account for swelling (that is huge)! Lastly, I'm still dealing with restless legs, mostly at night. It is not uncommon to see me doing lunges around the neighborhood at 9:30pm. 

We had our 32 week appointment this week, which included a sonogram to measure growth. She is breech, hanging out with her head underneath my ribs (not surprising) and she is sitting on my cervix. The doctor also told us she is 3lbs 9oz, which is in the 12th percentile for weight. She told me to eat more protein during each meal, and suggested I try protein shakes since I'm not a big meat eater.  I will get another sonogram at 36 weeks to check her position and growth again. If she doesn't flip I might get to pick her birthday...

Hightlight of the week - DEFINITELY my baby shower!! I have the most generous, classy, and amazing friends and family. It was wonderful to have everyone together. Huge thank you to shower hostesses Susie and Teri for making it such a fun and adorable event! Baby Girl Freiman is one lucky lady, and I can't wait for her to meet everyone to say thank you in person. David and I are truly thankful. (Pics are still being organized...stay tuned.)

What I've learned - David and I started attending our childbirth class at the hospital last week and I'm really glad we signed up. We're learning a lot of about the labor process and different breathing and relaxation techniques. I'm a big fan so far of the birthing ball, general discussion around preparing a birth plan, and learning what the experience will realistically look like at our hospital.

The bump at Week 32:

First post of the New Year - Baby Freiman at weeks 30 & 31

 

L'shanah tovah (Happy New Year)!

This post is another double feature, and I'm excited to be writing it with a Ravens game on in the background! :)

It's been a very productive couple of weeks at Casa de Freiman. We spent most of last weekend continuing to reorganize and purge the house. The boxes and bags of things we threw away were impressive.

We had our 30 week appointment last week, and for the first time since my pregnancy confirmation appointment in February saw "my doctor." Her heartbeat and growth were normal, and next week we go back for our last regularly scheduled sonogram- crazy!

I can say with certainty that the third trimester will be my hardest one. I was very lucky with my first and second trimesters, with minimal discomfort or symptoms. Now, I have trouble breathing basically all day, my wart makes walking painful almost all of the time, and sleeping sucks.  Swelling hands and feet are official, so I'm wearing my wedding ring as part of a necklace now.  As a friend told me today when I told her I'm at 31 weeks, "...it's all downhill from here."

What I've learned:
* Her milestones these days are awesome - for example, now all 5 of her senses are working, and she will triple in weight before she is born (assuming we make it to a full 40 weeks)
* We went on our hospital tour last weekend and it was a really good overview of what to expect! We continue our education with childbirth classes which start this weekend...

Highlights of the week:
* Seeing the house come together
* Holidays! Labor Day earlier in the week and then spending Rosh Hashanah with family
* Feeling and seeing her move. I'm more familiar with her patterns now, and she's definitely nocturnal!

Here are some recent photos:

Week 30 Bumps:

 

 

Week 31 Bump with Brenna:

 

 

 

 



 

In the Homestretch - 3rd Trimester Interview with David Freiman

Here are some updated thoughts from the father of my child as we head into the final trimester!

Anna: How has pregnancy affected you the most?
David: Cleaning the litter box

Anna: You've been to a lot of doctor's appointments. What have you learned?
David: Every pregnancy may be different, but every discomfort seems to be normal

Anna: What is your favorite part of preparations for Baby Girl Freiman?
David: Buying the push present (this was unsolicited!)

Anna: What advice would you give to other expecting dads?
David: Learn how to make smoothies

Anna: What's one thing you can't wait to do with your daughter?
David: Watch football!...and then enroll her in karate class to keep the boys away

Anna: What is the most surprising part of pregnancy?
David: It's a marathon, not a sprint. From the outside you don't realize you have to take it one day at a time.

Anna: What's been annoying so far?
David: People always telling me to sleep and eat while I can.

Anna: What is Lana's favorite part of pregnancy?
David: The pregnancy pillow...she thinks its for her

Anna: Here's the million dollar question - when will she be born?
David: November 10th

Baby Freiman at 29 Weeks - Week of August 22

These produce comparisons are starting to crack me up...apparently she's an acorn squash this week.

The biggest changes this week have really been around things I can't do anymore, such as clean bathtubs or shave my legs. Pregnancy continues to be a humbling experience!

Also, my belly is pretty itchy these days and most of my pregnancy pants that are not the full belly coverage, or were an XS and I put in the dryer, no longer fit.

Her movements are pronounced now, and I can feel a head (or a butt?) at several points throughout the day.

Highlights of the week:
*Being with friends in Virginia Beach last weekend - my last trip as a preggo
*I finished knitting my first baby hat and was able to give it to my new friend Brooklyn

What I've learned:
*Dancing "Gangnam Style" at a wedding while 28 weeks pregnant is not a good idea
*Pregnancy yoga has been awesome - it's good mental and physical preparation for labor, while also being good for stress relief. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the week.

Week 29 bump photo:

Bump at the beach:

Friday night special - the Freiman ladies:

 

Bump and Monuments!

Here are a couple of shots from our visit to the monuments.

Lady Freimans and Washington Monument:

Lady Freimans at FDR Memorial:

Baby Freiman at 28 weeks - week of August 15

Hello Eggplant Week!

It's been a fairly eventful week in the pregnancy department. We had our 28 week checkup on Wednesday, where the doctor found her very loud heartbeat right away - still in the 130s. I found out I'm a tad on the anemic side, so I have started to take an iron supplement. On Tuesday and Wednesday I had to make trips to an infusion center to have blood work done, and then a shot, for RhoGam. This is only applicable for women whose blood Rh factor is negative and the partner is positive (20% of population). I would explain more scientific details about why this is important, but quite frankly all I know is that if we do decide to have future children and I didn't have this done, my body would reject my future fetus because of antibodies exposed during this childbirth.

What I've learned:
*I'm starting to wrap my head around the fact that even though my due date is November 7th, I need to have everything done two weeks before then (at least)...so its back to the weekly to-do lists.
*Apparently there's confusion at my hospital around my social security number and the fact that its under two different names (Rosengarten and Freiman) in the system. The infusion center made this seem very complicated. I need to figure out a way to ensure this is figured out before I go into labor.
*I watched the CNN documentary, Girl Rising, last weekend. It's about the state of female education and social status in various developing countries and it was so interesting and terrifying at the same time. It made me reflect on the reality that having a girl is a privilege and I can't take raising her here in the US for granted.

Highlights of the week:
*Hearing her heartbeat will always make this list :)
*I had family in from Chicago last weekend and was able to spend Saturday afternoon touring DC with them...I think Baby Girl Freiman loved the FDR monument as much as I do.
*We went to the fair! It's definitely one of my favorite events of the year. Just so everyone knows, lawn mower racing doesn't hold a candle to the demolition derby.

Here we are at Week 28: