Dreams
Baby Center says that our little one weighs about two pounds and could be up to 15 inches long already. His eyes open and close and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals and may be sucking his thumb.
It also says that some experts believe that babies begin to dream by the 28th week. How they know this is a huge mystery to me. And what would an unborn baby dream about, anyway? I'm not just saying this in passing. I really want to know. I've whiled away quite a bit of time wondering about it.
Speaking of dreams, mine have gotten extraordinarily vivid. I love going to sleep at night because I can't wait to see what sort of bizarre storylines my pregnant brain will come up with. I can tell you that this is one of the things about pregnancy that I will miss.
Baby Center also points out that my uterus is now up near my rib cage. Because of this, I may now find yourself short of breath. This is true. I noticed it while walking with Cat. This "out of breath" is entirely different from asthma "out of breath". I just hope to never combine the two.
They also say that starting now, and continuing through the last three months of pregnancy, I may be plagued by leg cramps, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and an itchy abdomen. The third trimester sounds like oodles of fun! Is this nature's way of preparing you for labor and birth...making you so miserable that you actually welcome the worst pain of your life just to end the suffering? ;)
Next week, I start keeping track of the baby's movement. In preparation, I've been trying to identify his "busy times". I've not yet caught on to his schedule but I've got another week to figure it out.
Last week, I had my glucose screening. This is a standard screening they do to identify women who may have developed gestational diabetes. Up until now, I've been a model student, passing all my tests with flying colors. Not this one. I failed the screening. This doesn't mean that I have gestational diabetes. Only about 1/3 of women who fail the screening end up diagnosed with GD. Between 2% and 7% of expectant mom's develop it which makes it "one of the most common health problems during pregnancy" (again, according to Baby Center).
Because I failed the screening, I now have to go through a lengthier test. This one involves fasting for a short time prior to the test, drinking the yucky glucose drink, and having my blood drawn four more times. Fortunately, they aren't going to make me do this in the lab. I actually get to do it at the doctor's office. At least I won't need to worry about any twitchy phlebotomists this time.