31 week Alana update

I am now in my blessed third trimester which is my favorite and also the most difficult. I LOVE how much this little cutie moves. She kicks and wiggles and pushes and twists and spends lots of time snuggling in my right side. I love feeling her every day and feeling the anticipation of her arrival. Things have started to get more difficult though. I get mild heartburn, not near as much as with Brett. My whole body aches especially at the end of the day. I need to use the bathroom several times a night and was even a bit concerned about doing a session at the temple yesterday. My feet and hands are swollen and I can’t seem to get comfortable especially at church. Despite all the uncomfortable new symptoms, this really is the best time of pregnancy for me because of the constant reassurance her movement gives me and the closeness I feel having her all to myself for just a few more weeks.

Alana is a healthy girl! I recently had my gestational diabetes test which came back normal! Along with that blood draw they also checked my blood count and apparently I have low platelets which is a common sign of preeclampsia. Keep in mind that the normal cutoff is 150 and my number was 148. I have amazing blood pressure and feel really great for being 31 weeks pregnant. So when my ob/gyn got the results she referred me to a maternal fetal medicine doctor for a consult. I have also recently started taking a medication which I think contributed to the desire for a second consult. I went to the Perinatal clinic out in Rio Rancho on Friday and had another full anatomy scan of baby Lana. This was the 3rd full scan we’ve had and the third confirmation that she is a girl =) It was fun to see her moving and wiggling although she is super squished in my tummy. She has a full head of hair which we could see floating around, it was super cute. Since she is so squished we couldn’t get any great pictures of her but I got a really clear look at her face and she is adorable. So after the scan we concluded that the ultrasound was perfect, all her anatomy is perfect. She is 3 lbs 7 oz and in the 47 %. Since I was over 30 weeks though I had to do fetal monitors for 20 minutes and the doctor wants me to do those every week. I think I have decided to only go do them if I feel like her movement has changed. She is so wiggly that I am never worried about her movements. He retook my blood and wants to do another full anatomy scan in a month. It seems like a little much to me, but I want to make sure she’s healthy and I do love seeing her!

Here is my bump at 30 weeks.

Here is my bump at about 30 weeks with Brett.

And here’s a little update on Brett. We went to his 2 year well child check this last week and he is 36 inches (95%) and 29lbs 4oz (75%). Brett wasn’t a fan of being at the doctor but he tried really hard to be brave. He has been really really concerned about us leaving him lately and has refused to go to nursery for about a month. Since I had that appointment this last week with the perinatologist, Mom P came down to watch Brett and although he screamed when I left he calmed down and I think realized a little more that he is ok when I leave and that I will come back. Sean and I left him again with his Papa and Mimi yesterday to go to the Temple and he was so so brave! Then today I just left him in nursery and told him I would come back. He cried for about a minute and then he stayed for the full 2 hours-Go Brett! I was so proud of him!

Brett can count to 10 and is starting to recognize some of the numbers. He also can sing the abc’s and loves to look at letters and “read” them. He is a cutie and although I love to see him grow, its hard to think that he won’t always say “die die” instead of bye bye and bopies instead of bubbles and “tank ooo” instead of thank you.

He loves coloring lately. We sit for hours each week at this little table and color. His favorite crayon is the black one although I think his favorite colors are green and blue.

He loves his new train. Especially when we put a pirate on the tracks and watch the train push him around (Brett’s idea not mine). He also got some new clothes which look adorable. He looks so grown up!

He loves to cook, especially when it involves cake and mixing yummy things. He loves to “ick it” or lick the spoon. He gets really upset when I won’t let him lick the spoon when we mix up eggs or chicken or something, and he thinks we should probably make cake every day.

Last night we went to get frozen custard and Brett decided that he was finally willing to try an ice cream cone. His Papa was of course the only one who had a cone and Brett thoroughly enjoyed sharing Papa’s vanilla custard cone. It was adorable!

The other awesome thing he has been doing lately is doing more imaginary play with his toys. He loves this little farmer that he got from Papa and Mimi Z for his birthday (about the size of the fisher price little people). The farmer or “darmer” even has a little bed in Brett’s room so he can sleep when Brett does. The farmer and his cow came to church with us today and listened attentively during sacrament meeting and shared Brett’s gold fishes. Brett has also rediscovered Scout the puppy. He gives the little green dog kisses and hugs and tucks him in a blanket and gives him a sippy of milk. Its a lot of fun!