32 weeks

I found an old post (4 weeks old, to be exact) and didn't realize it was still sitting in my drafts. Just so I can look back and similar, and yet how DIFFERENT every pregnancy has been.
(I copied this off my blog from when I was pregnant with #2 Annie, so ignore me talking in the present tense about a past pregnancy.)

Hello 3rd Trimester

I hit the 3rd trimester today. This pregnancy is flying by. There are just too many other things to think about, revolving around a 5 year old, a 4 year old, and an almost-2 year old.

Since I like to do comparisons, here's how pregnancy #4 is measuring up to the others.  But I will sum it up in one sentence: This pregnancy has been the closest to my first, with Kalia, hands down.

1st Pregnancy: Seemed to last for five years
2nd Pregnancy: Seemed to last for five months
3rd Pregnancy: Seemed to last for four months
4th Pregnancy: Absolutely flying by in an alarming manner. No joke.

MORNING SICKNESS:
1st Pregnancy: All day sickness, threw up 4 times, lasted 6 weeks
2nd Pregnancy: All day (off and on), didn't throw up, lasted about 3 weeks (being at home did allow me to snack frequently, this probably made a huge difference)
3rd By far the sickest I have ever been. Threw up dozens of times and couldn't even keep water down. Dr. gave me Phenegran to help. Lasted 9 weeks.
4th: Came on fast, intense @ 5 weeks, was really bad @ 7 weeks, and started disappearing @ 10 weeks. Was almost gone by 11 weeks. Didn't throw up, but I believe it's because of the Unisom and B6 I started taking.


FATIGUE:
1st: Lots in the first trimester
2nd: The entire pregnancy felt like I was pulling an all-nighter. I took a million naps to compensate.
3rd: I can't remember but I know I had a hard time sleeping at night.
4th: I took a nap every day in the first trimester. I'm always tired. Except at bedtime.

CRAVINGS:
1st: Salsa, Jamba Juice drinks (but not together)
2nd: French Fries, Baja Chalupas from Taco Bell
3rd: Taco Bell
4th: Whole organic milk...constantly. And to go with that, warm, baked foods like homemade cookies and brownies.
(Don't I eat so healthy?)

BABY MOVEMENTS:
1st: Every night at 11 p.m. I loved it every time.
2nd: This one kicks so hard, so frequently, it would often keep me awake or wake me up. So I didn't love it quite as much this time.
3rd: Can't remember
4th: Very active- every ultrasound tech has commented on my "active baby."

BABY SIZE:
1st: Measured normal throughout, but big baby in ultrasounds
2nd: Measured big throughout, but normal baby (predicted) in ultrasounds. (Actually on Tuesday they estimated that she is already 7 lbs 5 oz, so we will have to see.)
3rd: Measured normal throughout, at times a little small.
4th: Measuring normal, 28 cm at 28 weeks. 

WEIGHT GAIN:
1st: 44 lbs (9 in the last 3 weeks, lost 29 lbs within 1 week of her birth. Water weight?)
2nd: 40 lbs
3rd: 35 lbs
4th: 23 lbs (at 28 weeks), (probably up to 27 lbs at 32 weeks) My face is starting to chub up. The rest of those pounds are in the chest :), booty, and thighs. :(

EXERCISE:
1st: Walking about 10 minutes a day
2nd: Nada, zip, zero (see fatigue, above)
3rd: None
4th: Weekly volleyball night w/girls in my ward until 3rd trimester hit.

SWELLING:
1st: Like a balloon. Couldn't fit my ring on for half the pregnancy. Had awful swelling in my joints, and felt like I had arthritis for 2 months.
2nd: I can still wear my ring and see my ankle bones. No arthritis! Desert climate I guess? Cooler weather?
3rd: Very little swelling
4th: More swelling this time, just like pregnancy #1- it started all the way back at 18 weeks, but isn't an every day thing.

 HEALTH:
1st: Not great, several bouts of sinusitus and bronchitis that lasted forever.
2nd: WAY better. Never got sick in fact. Weird.
3rd: Got really sick at the end, couldn't taste or smell for weeks.
4th: Have been sick several times- stomach virus, flu, sinus problems, bronchitis. (But have been healthy for the last 8 weeks, very grateful for that.)

OTHER SIDE EFFECTS:
1st: Sciatica Pain for a few weeks, lots of rib pain.
2nd: I think I have my first hemorrhoid, but I can't say for sure. :) Rib pain is gone, sleeping pretty well...maybe it's just a smaller baby.
3rd: Burning rib pain for most of the 2nd trimester, gone by the 3rd. Hip and leg pain started @ week 38, and continued (got worse) for 6 months after she was born.
4th: WORSE burning rib pain in the 2nd trimester (just started to go away), hip and leg pain is back almost every day. If I sit a lot in a day, I can't walk normal (inner thigh pain). I'm really worried about how much worse it will get.
Also: I was not very moody with my 3rd, but was (and am) very emotional, moody, and can snap into an angry mode REALLY fast with #1, #2, and #4. I also didn't have dandruff with my 3rd, but had it with #1, #2, and #4. I also had leg slow hair growth (and lots of hair retention....hairs not falling out of my head) in #1, #2, and #4, but had crazy fast leg hair growing with #3, and all my hair was falling out of my head. Pregnancy #3 was just super unique, who knows why. That's why I was sure she was a boy.

CONTRACTIONS:
1st: Nothing recognizable til the very end
2nd: I had Braxton Hicks contractions at least 6 times a day, every day since 22 weeks. They are worse when I am active (exercise, lifting, cleaning). I am really tired of them.
3rd: Lots of contractions from 2nd trimester on
4th: Braxton Hicks started REALLy early this time, (@ 14 weeks) and some of them hurt. I tried drinking lots of water, and then ironically, started playing volleyball once a week, and they went away until 25 weeks. Now they come and go, but I'm pretty sure I'm having way less than I've had in past pregnancies.

PRE-LABOR:
1st: Baby never dropped, but I did dilate to 1 cm. at 39 weeks
2nd: Baby has already dropped, I was dilated to 1 cm. at 36 weeks, and I'll tell you if there's any more dilation tomorrow.
3rd: I dilated to 1 cm around 37 weeks, stayed that way until 3 days before my due date, when I started having regular braxton hicks contractions, and I got to my weekly appointment dilated to 2-3 cm. Had my membranes stripped, and went into labor later that night.
4th: ?

LABOR:
1st: 27 hours, then a c-section (Epidural wore completely off three times. I was on Pitocin too. Those contractions are from hell.)
2nd: Induced with a foley catheter balloon, had a 5 hour labor on Pitocin, and a VBAC. (Epidural wore off again and the baby was born before I got more.More pain from hell.)
3rd: Labored for 4 easy hours at home, was in serious pain for about an hour before she was born naturally and without pain meds.
4th: We shall see!


BABY SIZE:
1st: 9 lbs  (went into labor on my own, 3 days before due date)
2nd: 8 lbs (induced 9 days before my due date)
3rd: 8 lbs  (went into labor on my own, 3 days before due date)
4th: We shall see! My mom is scheduled to fly in, you got it, 3 days before the due date.