Hi everyone! It’s another week, another email. Here’s what’s going on with our family.
From head to toes, Kraken is about 13.5 inches and weighs about 1.5 lbs. This week’s food comparison is “an average rutabaga” – a vegetable I have never seen in person, so I can neither confirm or deny the comparison. He’s filling out and gaining weight, so his skin is less translucent. His hair, which has already grown in as much as it will for birth but was snow white, has started to turn to a color. Will it be dark brown like mine at birth, or blonde like baby Erik’s? Only 14 weeks and change until we find out! His lungs continue to develop and get ready for his first breath of air. His nostrils, previously plugged up, are beginning to open, and his vocal chords are becoming more developed to make that first big wail.
As for me, I’m luckily doing fine with the summer heat. That’s the one thing everyone (family, friends, co-workers, people on the street, the cashier at the grocery store, the mail man, etc.) have said would be horrible for me. But I’m not spending too much time outside, and I’m usually cold-natured anyway. In fact, I’m still sleeping with an extra blanket! I do have a distinct “pregnancy waddle” now – I tried to walk as I used to, but my legs hurt from compensating. So now I fully embrace my pregnancy waddle, and take my sweet time walking from one place to another. This is hard though when I still need to rush to the bathroom to vomit, which has happened several times since last week. There’s also been an increase in round ligament pains and general achiness.
Earlier this week, I had strong abdominal cramps and had not felt Kraken move for a few hours. Under my doctor’s advice, we drove over to the Labor & Delivery unit at our local hospital (the same place we will deliver at) and got checked out. Luckily, the cramps were NOT labor pains, and the doctor confirmed after a few tests that I was not at risk to go into pre-term delivery anytime soon. The abdominal cramps prevented me from feeling Kraken move, but once I heard his heartbeat from the monitor and relaxed a bit, I could feel him again. The cramps were diagnosed as “probably gas, with round ligament pains and/or some Braxton-Hicks pains”, and we went back home after a few hours. One good thing was that we got a sneak peek at the birthing center, and I was pleased that the staff was incredibly friendly – LOVED my nurse – and they worked hard to make us comfortable.
Now we are working hard to schedule birthing classes, tours of daycare/nursery facilities, find a pediatrician, and get everything organized as much as we can. I start my third trimester in less than two weeks – I can’t believe that’s almost here! – and soon will have more frequent OB appointments. They are currently every four weeks, but will be every two weeks and then every week as the due date approaches.
Have a great week, everyone!
Love,
Karen, Erik and Kraken