Pregnancy Update // 28 weeks

July 30, 2016

This update post is a week later than I’d planned. I still can’t quite get over how quickly the weeks are flying by, what happened to July by the way?

Week – This week marks 28 weeks or 7 months or the start of the third trimester, however you prefer to think of it. All of these are incredible and a little overwhelming at the same time. When asked how far along I am it definitely sounds more when I reply 7 months rather than 28 weeks but that’s the reality, I am officially only 12 weeks away from my due date!

Babies growth – At 28 weeks baby is approximately 2 1/4 pounds and weighs about the same a small egg plant (aubergine). She can now blink her eyes and may even be able to see the light shining through my tummy. Almost time to reach for the torch and see if she will kick the light…anyone else do that?

Now that we’re into the third and final trimester we can expect baby to go for a serious growth spurt over the coming weeks as she really starts to develop all her muscles and get strong enough to welcome the world.

Weight changes – I have now accepted that whilst I am making good choices and keeping things varied at meal times I am well and truly off the slimming world wagon. I’ve gained a total of 24lbs since finding out I was pregnant, this does include a weekend away in Cornwall so there are likely to be a couple of holiday pounds in there too.

Symptoms – Since my last update I’ve had a meeting with the hospital physio and she was brilliant, she gave me some tips on adjusting my chair at work and how best to use a support pillow at night to take the pressure off my lower back. I’ve complained a lot less (I think) since making her changes and if you have a bad back I would seriously recommend this pillow set from Argos the wedge is great for in the car or on the sofa and has made such a difference.

Other usual symptoms of swollen feet are continuing, this reached it’s peak last week in the midst of the heat wave. Which by the way was too hot for me! And probably for most other pregnant ladies. On one particularly hot day my feet swelled so badly that my sandals left bruises and blisters on my feet.

Midwife check up – I’ve also now had my 28 week check in with the midwife, all went well although it was very difficult to take my bloods again and I still have bruises on my arm, 4 days later. Babies heart beat all sounded strong and I might also fall outside of the BMI requirements for a glucose blood test which I am very happy about.

4D Scan – I decided at the last minute that I really wanted a 4D scan, they are so expensive and we weren’t going to bother but then I suddenly didn’t want to miss out on the experience so I booked us in with a private clinic for Sunday 24th July. I was so excited, a chance to see what our little girl might look like, well as close as you can get before she’s born. We decided to gift the scan to ourselves as a fourth wedding anniversary gift as the appointment we were given was only a couple of days ahead of our special day.

If you’ve been following on Instagram you will have seen that last weekend didn’t quite go plan, little madam just didn’t want to have her photo taken. At first she had her face pressed up against my placenta and we could only see a blurry shot of her. We were sent out for a 10 min walk and a chocolate bar to see if a boost of sugar would give her a little kick to get moving.

She did move, only she turned face down and we could only see the back of her head. No matter what we did; jumping, wiggling, prodding she was having none of it. Eventually we had to give up and were offered another appointment for one last try.

Here’s the only view-able photo we got from the first appointment:

Today we had the second appointment and I must admit I was a little nervous that we wouldn’t get the shots we needed. Not only would we not get to see her, we would also have wasted the money for the scan. To give us the best chance I drank a bottle of full fat Sprite, a Mars Bar and an ice cream about 20 minutes before the appointment. This is the best advice I can give to anyone attending a scan. The boost of sugar hits your baby just in time for the appointment and really gets them wriggling around.

The scan was just amazing, we watched her moving, sucking her fingers, yawning and moving her mouth almost as if she were talking to herself. She stretched her little feet almost completely above her head (a dancer or gymnast in the making perhaps)

We were able to get some great photos of her and really see her features, I think she just might have those famous Ebuehi family cheeks…God I’m so in love with those little cheeks already.