Friday, October 21, 2011

5 months and Counting



Went for my 2nd trimester ultrasound and we finally learned the gender of our baby. We're having a boy! Now we can start thinking of names and start buying some clothes and baby equipment.

My asthma got pretty bad from end of August to mid October. Laying down made it worse, so sleeping was minimal. I was taking Ventalistin, which is a type of inhaler that helped at the beginning, but I ended up taking it every 2 hours, as the asthma got worse. Physical activity and even talking wiped me out, so I went to see a lung specialist and he gave me a new inhaler, which worked instantly. I was breathing normally within a minute and although I really wanted this pregnancy to be medicine free, I relented and accepted this new treatment. Well, not totally. I'm supposed to use the new inhaler every morning and evening for 30 days, but I ended up using it for only 3 days and I feel like my normal self again. So asthma is under control (even non-existent) and I feel great.

My hubby finally started converting the garage into a baby room. He's redone the electricity, pipes for the bathroom, new insulation in the ceiling, took away about 4 trucks of gravel and they poured the cement last week. A lot of work done and still a lot to do, but I'm glad it's finally happening.

Had a meeting with the "sage femme" which is a midwife in France. They are the team that supports you during the delivery. I kind of pressed her about wanting a c-section, as I'm a bit stressed about delivering downtown. She reassured me that the best method is delivering down there and that I need to have confidence that the baby and I can do this. The other week on the television, they showed a lady giving birth and we had to change the channel as we got so scared. Oh boy! Well, I'm not going to stress about that now, I'll deal with that later. On a positive note, my hubby has finally agreed to be with me during the birth. He gets faint at the sight of blood and needles, but I told him to be by my side during the event and to be sure to stay north and not to look south. I've got an aqua gym class in November to take and they will teach us the breathing techniques to use for the delivery. After that, I've got about 4 hours of courses to take with regard to taking care of the baby, breastfeeding, birthing, etc. In France they give us pregnant ladies really good support and education throughout this whole process.

-Weight gain: 4 kilos (doctors are happy that I have been relatively good about food, since I had a lot of bad habits of eating chips, cake, etc.).
-Baby movements: not really feeling too much yet and during the ultrasound the baby was quite calm. The doctor said not to worry, as it's my first pregnancy and should be feeling more by the end of the month.
-Maternity wear: bought my first pair of maternity jeans and they are sooo comfy! Heck, everyone should be wearing a pair, pregnant or not, elastic waist pants rock!

Next OB appointment, 21 November.