Week 22: Startling Kicks, Massages & Fainting

We have reached week 22 and this baby is more active than ever. We have had a few first-timers this week that need to be documented so once this boy is old enough to read, he will know all of the funny things (maybe scary at times too) he caused mommy to experience.

Story #1:

The precursor: 

Baby boy is beginning to roll and kick more frequently and harder than before. He hates it if ANYTHING takes over HIS space. For example, I lean forward: somersaults non-stop until I finally can't take it anymore and lean back. Tight elastic on my pants? He will kick at it for hours until I move the elastic of my pants higher or lower... he then finds it again and begins kicking at it until I finally remove my pants (at this point, I'm at home, I wouldn't remove clothing in public I promise). Daddy decides to put his hand on moms stomach? NON STOP kicking daddy. It's like he senses when his personal space is being taken over and will not have it. Fun for daddy because he can feel his son kick/punch/roll anytime in the day!

Now on with the story... I am at work Friday, having a meeting with a couple other people in my office. I was leaning forward as one man was presenting to us a PowerPoint of some language materials we were planning to use for the Mission Presidents. Well, there goes baby, flipping and turning, and suddenly, BOOM! He just full body jolted inside my tummy. I felt a kick of some sort right by my ribs on the right side, and another right by my pelvis on the left. He must have gone with all his might ARMS and LEGS. I couldn't help but get startled by this and involuntarily let out an "Oh my gosh!" after which all eyes were on me. I had to explain that baby had startled me with his kicking, and I it was pretty embarrassing. The guy presenting just laughed and said, "well he must be excited about language learning!" yup. I guess he was.

Story #2:

Precursor:

So a few weeks back I remember reading about how my blood volume had increased 150% for the baby. Makes sense as the uterus continues to enlarge, needing more blood supply as well as the baby. In fact, the increase in blood accounts for 13% of total weight gain in pregnancy--on average. In fact, here's a fun little distribution of weight in pregnancy that I found online. Basically our hearts and lungs have to work a lot harder to get the blood through our bodies... hence the light-headedness and shortness of breath.
Pregnancy Weight Gain: Average Distribution
7 1/2 pounds is about how much the baby will weigh by the end of pregnancy.
1 1/2 pounds is how much the placenta weighs.
4 pounds is attributed to increased fluid volume.
2 pounds is the weight of the uterus.
2 pounds is the weight of breast tissue.
4 pounds is because of increased blood volume.
7 pounds is attributed to maternal stores of fat, protein and other nutrients.
2 pounds for the amniotic fluid.
Total: 30 pounds

Anyway, a few months back Groupon had a deal for a 1-hour Couple Massage for $49 (the deal is available right now if you click the link BTW) That is a GREAT deal I thought, and at that point I was hardly showing and could easily lay on my belly, so I bought it. 

Weeks and weeks went by and my stomach began to get larger. I panicked that if we didn't schedule this couple's massage soon, they wouldn't accept me or I would have to pay extra to do a prenatal massage, so we booked it this weekend, the start of our 23rd week.

We got up this morning and drove to Salt Lake to get our massages. They said they forgot this prenatal pillow that they use sometimes and so I probably wouldn't be able to lay on my belly. I figured that'd be okay and we proceeded with the massages.

Darin and I entered the dark warm room and got onto our individual massage tables. It was nice and heated and we both laid flat on our backs (with no pillows). The therapists both came in and began massaging. I started feeling the baby seem to move upward (he tends to do it at night when I lie in bed so I figured it was normal) but it started making it extremely hard for me to breathe. As the therapist continued massaging my neck, I began feeling dizzy and nauseous and asked if I could sit up. I honestly thought at that point that I was going to throw up. I sat there trying to gain composure and Darin's Therapist asked if I wanted some water, I'm pretty sure I nodded... and that's all I remember.

Suddenly I am getting woken up by my therapist from a wonderful massage that I guess I must have fallen asleep in (or so I thought). My therapist says to me, "Are you okay?" 

I felt so refreshed and great and said, "Yea I'm good." 

After which she replies, "Should I call an ambulance?"

That's when I got a little confused until I realized that the last thing I remember was sitting up feeling sick... what? I must have fainted. 

The therapist said that my eyes "did not look pleasant"and I asked her if they were open. Apparently my eyes were open the whole time, but there was no blinking and she said it was as if I was sleeping with my eyes open. 

Darin is at the other massage table watching all this and wondering why I am not responding to his therapist who comes in and says, "Here's some candy and water."

I guess immediately after that I fell back (but apparently it was very controlled so they were confused if I was still conscious or not) until they started shaking and talking to me and realized I was not. That's I guess when I came-to. 

I sat up, and saw a dumdum on my lap, (not quite sure how it got there) and I was soaked with a cold sweat. I think I really scared the Therapists. I reassured them I was fine, and she raised my head with a pillow so I wasn't completely flat and continued on with the massage. I was feeling great with my root-beer DumDum and great massage, until that feeling started coming over me again... I sat up again (which by the way I realize now is not the solution, and usually makes it worse) and my ears started losing their hearing (it felt like they were really plugged like on an airplane)--I could feel myself going again and my vision started to blur and get dark. This time they got some cold rags in time and placed them on my back and I put one on my face. I tried to take some deep breaths and was able to come-to without passing out a second time. I realized it might be my body overheating--since I was lying on a heated massage table, so they got a fan and opened the door to let some cool air in. 

After that I completed my massage on my left side, SHIVERING because of the cold wet towels and fan blowing directly on me... but at least I did not pass out again.

The massage was not as fulfilling as I would have liked it to be, but they told me I could come back again once I have the baby and they will give us another couples massage at the same price. I will for sure jump on that one once I don't have this silly boy messing with my system. =)

The therapists strongly urged me to call my doctor right away, I really gave them a scare--this was the first time that had ever happened to them. I did call my doctor but they are closed for the weekend. Just to be safe I'll probably call on Monday and make sure my blood pressure levels are normal. Which I'm sure they will be fine.

Baby boy, I hope you know how much we are going through to get you here. We still love you though. 

your baby at 22 weeks

• Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn.
• He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (hint: they're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!). My thought: Our baby must not be sleeping 12-14 hrs a day because I am always feeling kicks.

Here's a picture of 22 weeks taken this morning:

And here is 21 weeks from last week (which almost seems bigger, but that's 'cause the cardigan is thicker I guess...):

Until next time!
The Brinleys (found this recently, sent from a friend's cell phone!)

It's a BOY! (weeks 20 & 21)

OVER THE HILL (as far as pregnancy goes), but not the BUMP. The Bump is still to come...

My corny-made-up line. Thank you.

Week 20 Photos:

Last week (Friday) we got to meet our sweet little boy via Ultrasound. What a sweet experience that was. He definitely already has a very distinct personality. As the nurse was trying to see the blood flow in his legs, he did not cease to kick his legs in and out (like a little frog) so the nurse could not see anything. He also burrowed his head right down at the bottom of mommy's uterus, and his face right toward her spine so we couldn't see him at all. The nurse pushed and pushed at his head to get him to move... Nothing... What a little stinker. He finally flipped over for a good minute for us to get a picture, then RIGHT back to his comfortable position, hiding his face. Here are some of the photos from the ultrasound:

This is his cute head from the side. Look at his healthy spine, cute nose and ribs. He's got a great-shaped head, although I don't think it'll be so nice and round when he comes out...

This is a harder one to make out, this is his face. He has turned his head toward the camera--it looks like a little skull... the right eye is harder to see because it's blocked by some fluid, but you can see the darkness at the top of his head, where his brain is, and his left eye is a perfect circle. you can see most of his nose hole (again, imagine a little skull). his head is a little tilted if you can see.

This shot is taken from below. It is a cross-cut of his torso. the big black hole on the right could be his bladder? possibly. the right round shape with the black circle inside is his torso. There are two things coming off of that to the left which are his upper legs, and that little thing in between them--that's right. That's how we knew he was a boy. Definitely wasn't hiding those!

There's his cute foot. Clear as day. He liked to use it to kick mom where it hurts...especially the bladder. He better play sports of some sort with those legs.

There he is! What a sweety. we love him already, and can't wait for him to come to us in another 19 weeks (or less... or more... we'll see).

He REALLY kicks non-stop, that I begin to question when he sleeps. Not an hour goes by without feeling him at least once... usually more. Some of the kicks are getting much harder, to the point that I end up letting out a good, "UH!"

The biggest changes for mom this week is a noticed difference in where the kicks are occuring. they are as high as the top of my stomach at this point. This means baby has taken over most of my stomach area. It's getting harder to breathe--lungs are running out of room. My stomach has as well -- I get feeling full VERY quickly, and yet still feel hunger pains. I guess that's what happens when my organs get pushed aside. I need to be better about eating small meals frequently, I'm sure that would help alleviate the simultaneous hunger/fullness feeling.

Baby weighed 11 ounces on last Friday, wow, at least another 6-7 pounds to go!

I've gained about 10-12 pounds at this point. Right on track!

Here is some info on the baby's development: (the pictures don't really match the websites' info, at this point it's probably dependent upon the baby)

The Updates this week : 

WEEK 20: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper

Credit: BabyCenter

WEEK 21:Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Til next time!
The Brinleys