Weeks 8 & 9 | Pregnancy Update
Weeks 8 & 9
Sept 3-16
Week 8 Photo courtesy: i-am-pregnant.com
Week 9 photo courtesy: medicalnewstoday.com
Warning: these pregnancy update posts are going to get pretty deep into the TMI, mkay?
Your body functions differently when you are pregnant...and some of these changes can be alarming for some of us who have never experienced them before.
Many women are too embarrassed about these changes to talk to anyone about them...even their doctor. (Please note: NEVER be embarrassed to talk to your doctor/midwife about ANYTHING!! Your experiences and situations will not shock them and may possibly be much more normal than you think!) However, I want to throw open the doors on pregnancy & all of its goings-on and symptoms I'm experiencing...even the more taboo things that may have other pregnant mamas thinking that something may be wrong with them.
Both these weeks are brought to you by intense hunger, sleepiness and no energy to do anything.
To combat the sleepiness and no energy, Antonio has had to remind me to be sure to take my prenatal vitamins. I have never taken them for my other pregnancies on any sort of regular basis and have never felt like I needed them (this is not to say that you shouldn't take them!! You should!! I'm just horrible with remembering to take pills)...but this pregnancy is really taking its toll on my body. As I write this post (in the middle of Week 9), I realize that after a few days of actually remembering to take my vitamins, I can actually feel a difference.
A big one is, and I'm not sure if its related, but I've been FINALLY able to sleep at night! After weeks of middle-of-the-night insomnia, last night I slept so good!! Do you think it was the vitamins??
Thanks to the hormone, progesterone, which causes muscles to relax, I am still experiencing looots of gas. Thanks, baby. I really appreciate it. hahaha
Occasional bouts of heartburn, even though I am hardly eating anything spicy.
Speaking of spicy, my dreams at night have been getting quite....interesting. Lots of weird sexy dreams (yeah, not going into TMI with that....use your imagination) and other extremely vivid dreams that aren't necessarily sexy but pretty weird. I have been dreaming about friends that I haven't seen in 20+ years, guys!! What?!! But, thanks to raging and fluctuating emotions, pregnant women are definitely more prone to wild and crazy dreams!
I've also (for weeks) been experiencing this nasty taste in my mouth. Like a sour sort-of metallic taste. I had no idea what to think about it....until I found out that it is actually a totally normal pregnancy symptom: Dysgeusia. Dysgeusia is just basically a sour or metallic taste in the mouth that is caused by pregnancy hormones. Hormones. Again. Sheesh. These things don't let up, do they?!
Here's a couple of more tidbits of TMI (but still need to be addressed because they are normal goings-on of pregnancy)...I am beginning to experience slight constipation and slight vaginal discharge. Both are completely normal. The constipation is due to that lovely relaxing hormone Progesterone I mentioned earlier. Be sure to drink lots of water and high fiber foods to help combat it! The vaginal discharge is just your body's way of preparing for birth. See? Your body knows what it's doing. It starts preparing way before we're even ready to think about it! hahaha (Please let your doctor/midwife know if your discharge smells foul or is discolored, as it could be a sign of infection that needs to be treated right away)
I read my copy of Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin and also ordered another of her books, Ina May's Guide To Childbirth. Both have opened my eyes to a whole different side of labor. It has explained the stages of labor and proven coping mechanisms...in easy to understand terms and in the form of dozens of birth stories from real-life moms. She even explains the "phenomenon" behind how you can be in pretty steady labor, get to the hospital and suddenly the labor seems to all but stop! She explains why this is completely normal (it's probably not the reason why you've been told it happens, though) and how doctors sometimes will try to convince you that something must be wrong with your body and how you need to have Pitocin/be induced, which leads to lots more unnecessary medical interventions. Yeah, I am just amazed at how awesome Ina May is!!
I think that EVERY woman needs to read Ina May's Guide To Childbirth. I had so many friends pop into my head that I thought could gain so much knowledge from this book...friends that are in the nursing field that I *know* did not recieve this sort of information. It will help them understand childbirth and how to help women relax and deliver their babies. Even if they aren't labor and delivery nurses! They have friends that are (or will be) pregnant...or even they themselves may be pregnant one day. This book has the experience of thousands of childbirths in it.
Which brings me to (in case you missed it last week) the fact that I have decided to have a natural non-medicated childbirth. You can read my blog post about that HERE.
I also ordered the movie, "Birth Story: Ina May & The Farm Midwives" on Amazon and got it the other day. I watched it last night. It is GOOD!! I had watched several episodes of "Call The Midwife" this week (my first time ever watching the show) and was pretty discouraged by all of the screaming and crying that the women were doing while in labor. I began to doubt if I could go the natural route. Then I watched "Birth Story". It showed real women in real labor. They weren't screaming and crying. They were strong, powerful and at peace. They were confident in their bodies. That's how I want to be. You should really buy this movie. They even showed an unmedicated home birth of a breech baby and one with shoulder dyostasia. BUY THIS MOVIE and be empowered!
Sept 3-16
Week 8 Photo courtesy: i-am-pregnant.com
Week 9 photo courtesy: medicalnewstoday.com
Warning: these pregnancy update posts are going to get pretty deep into the TMI, mkay?
Your body functions differently when you are pregnant...and some of these changes can be alarming for some of us who have never experienced them before.
Many women are too embarrassed about these changes to talk to anyone about them...even their doctor. (Please note: NEVER be embarrassed to talk to your doctor/midwife about ANYTHING!! Your experiences and situations will not shock them and may possibly be much more normal than you think!) However, I want to throw open the doors on pregnancy & all of its goings-on and symptoms I'm experiencing...even the more taboo things that may have other pregnant mamas thinking that something may be wrong with them.
Both these weeks are brought to you by intense hunger, sleepiness and no energy to do anything.
To combat the sleepiness and no energy, Antonio has had to remind me to be sure to take my prenatal vitamins. I have never taken them for my other pregnancies on any sort of regular basis and have never felt like I needed them (this is not to say that you shouldn't take them!! You should!! I'm just horrible with remembering to take pills)...but this pregnancy is really taking its toll on my body. As I write this post (in the middle of Week 9), I realize that after a few days of actually remembering to take my vitamins, I can actually feel a difference.
A big one is, and I'm not sure if its related, but I've been FINALLY able to sleep at night! After weeks of middle-of-the-night insomnia, last night I slept so good!! Do you think it was the vitamins??
Thanks to the hormone, progesterone, which causes muscles to relax, I am still experiencing looots of gas. Thanks, baby. I really appreciate it. hahaha
Occasional bouts of heartburn, even though I am hardly eating anything spicy.
Speaking of spicy, my dreams at night have been getting quite....interesting. Lots of weird sexy dreams (yeah, not going into TMI with that....use your imagination) and other extremely vivid dreams that aren't necessarily sexy but pretty weird. I have been dreaming about friends that I haven't seen in 20+ years, guys!! What?!! But, thanks to raging and fluctuating emotions, pregnant women are definitely more prone to wild and crazy dreams!
I've also (for weeks) been experiencing this nasty taste in my mouth. Like a sour sort-of metallic taste. I had no idea what to think about it....until I found out that it is actually a totally normal pregnancy symptom: Dysgeusia. Dysgeusia is just basically a sour or metallic taste in the mouth that is caused by pregnancy hormones. Hormones. Again. Sheesh. These things don't let up, do they?!
Here's a couple of more tidbits of TMI (but still need to be addressed because they are normal goings-on of pregnancy)...I am beginning to experience slight constipation and slight vaginal discharge. Both are completely normal. The constipation is due to that lovely relaxing hormone Progesterone I mentioned earlier. Be sure to drink lots of water and high fiber foods to help combat it! The vaginal discharge is just your body's way of preparing for birth. See? Your body knows what it's doing. It starts preparing way before we're even ready to think about it! hahaha (Please let your doctor/midwife know if your discharge smells foul or is discolored, as it could be a sign of infection that needs to be treated right away)
I read my copy of Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin and also ordered another of her books, Ina May's Guide To Childbirth. Both have opened my eyes to a whole different side of labor. It has explained the stages of labor and proven coping mechanisms...in easy to understand terms and in the form of dozens of birth stories from real-life moms. She even explains the "phenomenon" behind how you can be in pretty steady labor, get to the hospital and suddenly the labor seems to all but stop! She explains why this is completely normal (it's probably not the reason why you've been told it happens, though) and how doctors sometimes will try to convince you that something must be wrong with your body and how you need to have Pitocin/be induced, which leads to lots more unnecessary medical interventions. Yeah, I am just amazed at how awesome Ina May is!!
I think that EVERY woman needs to read Ina May's Guide To Childbirth. I had so many friends pop into my head that I thought could gain so much knowledge from this book...friends that are in the nursing field that I *know* did not recieve this sort of information. It will help them understand childbirth and how to help women relax and deliver their babies. Even if they aren't labor and delivery nurses! They have friends that are (or will be) pregnant...or even they themselves may be pregnant one day. This book has the experience of thousands of childbirths in it.
Which brings me to (in case you missed it last week) the fact that I have decided to have a natural non-medicated childbirth. You can read my blog post about that HERE.
I also ordered the movie, "Birth Story: Ina May & The Farm Midwives" on Amazon and got it the other day. I watched it last night. It is GOOD!! I had watched several episodes of "Call The Midwife" this week (my first time ever watching the show) and was pretty discouraged by all of the screaming and crying that the women were doing while in labor. I began to doubt if I could go the natural route. Then I watched "Birth Story". It showed real women in real labor. They weren't screaming and crying. They were strong, powerful and at peace. They were confident in their bodies. That's how I want to be. You should really buy this movie. They even showed an unmedicated home birth of a breech baby and one with shoulder dyostasia. BUY THIS MOVIE and be empowered!
I was also reminded back in Week 8 of another thing that I had said I had wanted to do if I ever had another baby. I want to encapsulate my placenta.
Thaaaaat's right, folks: I'm going to be eating my placenta!
Muahahahahaha!!!
I can say this, though, I can definitely laugh at myself...because I am leaning towards the option of the encapsulation package offered that includes a postpartum placenta & fruit smoothie. The part I find the most humorous in my decision: the face that I am more freaked out that they might put banana in it than I am about any placenta pieces floating around in there.
I really hate banana.
....just when you thought that I maybe wasn't quite weird enough, right??... ::wink::
I'm planning on doing a more in-depth post on the reasons behind placenta encapsulation later on, 'kay?
Oh!! We also went and had a non-medical unoffical ultrasound done!! Check out the details and the first pictures of our baby HERE!
I also went shopping for maternity clothes! I'm planning on having a haul post and try-on pics coming up soon.
And that pretty much sums up my last two weeks!
How have you guys been?!
xoxo
Comments
Congratulations on your pregnancy.
Father God, I praise you for this new life you have created and are creating. Please make mama and baby healthy, strong, and whole. I pray that you will draw near to them as they draw near to you. May they love you Lord our God all the days of their lives. Amen.
Be blessed!
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage