Oh the weird dreams you'll have

I feel like I should have also started a dream journal. I have had some pretty amusing ones. I had heard that pregnancy dreams are weird, but wow. This is also coming from a girl that usually doesn't remember any dreams. So, having dreams at all is strange to me. I've had dreams involving random people from my life. I have had strange scenerios. One that I particularly remember was a dream that one of my good friends had the same picture of my husband as the background screen on her phone. In the dream, I wasn't even mad I was just confused as to how she got the picture. LOL - probably how I would react in real life, though. I had a dream that I got to go visit my husband while he is deployed. It was strange and crazy, but particularly difficult for the pregnant wife of a deployed marine. The dream was mostly about having to leave him and come back home and I was crying when I woke from it. I had a dream about going back and visiting my high school track coaches, but we were in the Rosecrans pool area. I wish I could remember all of them. It seems the strangest ones are more easily forgotten. I have had some bad ones about bugs. Any of you who know me know how bugs and I do not get along. They seem to think of me as a buffet.
I wonder if any of you have had similar experiences.
I meant to post a picture last weekend, but I've been exhausted. The job I started is basically 12 hours a day since traffic is so bad. It is very draining. I am thinking I will plan to start leave a while before the baby is due because I can't get anything done after work. Nothing is ready for the baby, and I think I'm going to need a couple weeks to get stuff organized.

Anyway, here are my 29 weeks photos.

I know it is the first picture in a while that I'm not all sporty spice'd out. And you can see the hematoma the crappy nurse gave me when drawing blood this week for my glucose test.

I'm a little nervous about the glucose test. I don't really have a reason to be nervous other than it is just a test I had to take that I don't have control over the outcome since gestational diabetes can affect anyone. And, I go back in a week and a half because my midwife was concerned that I'm measuring borderline small. Hopefully the results are fine for both. I gained 10 pounds since my last appointment 6 weeks ago, but she only went off of the centimeter measurement. I think it is just that I haven't let my abdominals go like some do since I work out so much. I have no worries about this little boy. He moves around and lets me know he is growing every day. Of course, I'll update after my appointment.



Another for children thingy I hate …

Arm floaties

                This one comes more from being a lifeguard than from being an early childhood professional. These are so dangerous. As a lifeguard, I saw so many parents that just totally ignored their children in the water. This is why we did not allow most of the child floatation devices, especially arm floaties. We only allowed rated life jackets (and no, not the things sewn in to the swimming suit either).

                Why are arm floaties a death trap?

Think about what they are. Little air pockets you strap around their arms. If these air pockets slide down to their wrists, now their arms are above their head and trapping their face under water – death trap. If the air pockets are tight enough to stay put, it’s like strapping a blood pressure gauge to their arm for unsaid amount of time and cutting off circulation to their arms. Even if they should happen to stay in the right place without cutting off circulation, imagine how tiring that is to keep their arms up at the sides like that. Plus, they are preventing them from learning the proper way to swim.

The first point of contention to me as far as children swimming is that parents should stay with them in the water until they are competent swimmers. No floaties strapped on so that you can lie out and work on your tan.

I do plan to have my children in the water from a very young age. Water is a natural environment. In utero they are floating in it! I do triathlons and my husband is a world class swimmer (probably could have been Olympic if he wanted), so I am lucky that we can teach swimming skills ourselves. I doubt I will ever use a floatation device (other than rated life jackets while on a boat).

Pregnant Body

I just contacted a photographer about doing a maternity photo session! I have found that I am even more confident about my body image since becoming pregnant. My body is shaping up exactly as it should and is made to be. My husband tells me all the time how beautiful I am, and I am so thankful that he believes that and lets me know. I really hope that every spouse/partner is as supportive. I know some women have trouble reconciling their body image as it changes through pregnancy. But it would be my hope that every woman feels and knows how beautiful she really is.

Some of the physical changes are difficult for me, such as getting winded easier due to the increased blood volume that occurs during pregnancy. Yet, since I know that, I don’t feel as bad about being winded after going up several flights of stairs or something. Another I am starting to notice more is the limited capacity for lifting and moving things around. While, I think some people are overly cautious (someone the other day told me not to carry another child), I know my body and pay attention to it. Some of the other changes are great. While I wasn’t as active during the first trimester since I was feeling so sick every day, I have been very active during the second trimester. It seems like I am toning and getting in shape easier even though I am gaining weight for the baby. I really hope that I passed my group fitness instructor test so that maybe I can begin to do some work with pre- and post-partum mommas.

It leaves a bad taste in your mouth

To what is the title referring, you may ask .... everything. Have any other of you mommas had the desire to brush your teeth all the time cause no matter what you eat or drink the taste afterwards is terrible? I seriously cannot stand to have a taste in my mouth for very long these days. I'm sure it has something to do with the hypersensitive smell sense that I now have, but wow. I haven't yet gotten to the point of carrying toothbrush with me, but maybe I should. Or, at least buy those little one use thingys. It also isn't the worst habit to start, in general. Especially with the increased risk for gingivitis while pregnant. I go to the dentist again in two months for that extra cleaning that our insurance covers while I'm pregnant, yay! Ok, enough about teeth.

Here is what you all want to see, I know.

This is the end of 26 weeks. The belly has really gotten big over the last two weeks. I'm eating all the time and Rollin is kicking and flipping away.