28 weeks

I'm now in the third trimester! Second trimester didn't drag along like I thought it would, so I feel even more like third trimester is going to just fly by. We only have a handful of childbirth classes left now, and I just started my second session of yoga classes that I'm hoping to be able to finish before I go into labor. There was someone at my last class who was 3 days past her due date, so we'll see if I have the same level of dedication if I get that far :) I had front-loaded the task list I wrote up at the beginning of second trimester, so now we just have a couple of big decisions left like researching and picking a childcare provider and pediatrician, and then most of the remaining tasks I had allocated for third trimester involve maternity leave paperwork deadlines, finalizing our birth plan... and maybe picking a name (or two) and setting up the nursery eventually :)

I'm continuing to feel more movement throughout the day, and I'm also able to consistently feel some kicking now when it's not just on the right side (where I envision the placenta isn't covering since I've been able to feel movement most there), so I think the baby's getting stronger. I've had a couple of days too when it's not just kicking, but more of a thumping, belly-shaking action, which feels pretty weird and makes me wonder exactly what the baby is doing in there. I've also started to have some edema in my feet, which is making my shoes feel much more constrictive already. It started out that my feet would be swollen by the end of the day, but now I'm waking up in the morning with my feet already swollen and it's also moved into my legs. I'm still able to get the swelling down by elevating my legs, but that's a bit difficult to do at work and I suspect it won't be long before I'm stuck with the swelling regardless of what I do. The midwives have told me that the level of swelling I have is still nothing to be concerned about, as long as I don't have bad headaches, liver pain, or swelling in my face or hands too (which can all be signs of pre-eclampsia).

Here's this week's comparison picture - I think the baby may have had a growth spurt last week :)


And just for the fun of it, I did a comparison from the first belly pic I took to the beginning of second trimester to the beginning of third trimester... at least, I thought it would be fun, but apparently not much changed between 5 weeks and 14 weeks :)