In a word: easier.
A few things have shifted since my last update.
- Far less vomiting and nausea
- I am under contract with a new contractor! Praise! (Still will be another 5 months before I have a kitchen/bathroom/etc)
- Far more energy
- Fewer food intolerances
- Far more heartburn
- Far less sleep
- A lot of congestion
- Way more peeing
Even though I’m hardly sleeping and I still don’t have a kitchen, things feel a lot easier. It’s amazing what hiring a contractor and being able to eat will do for a girl!
My Last Appointment:
I had an appointment to check on the baby the other day and all seems to be going well. Her heart rate was strong and they found it right away. (On the last visit, it took a minute and 20 seconds to find it! Yes, I was counting.)
I learned a couple of interesting things, stemming from the fact that my weight gain is a little more than they’d like to be at this point. 🤷🏻♀️
Apparently, when you have an autoimmune condition (as I do – Hashimotos), you retain a LOT more water during pregnancy than the average person. For example, let’s say the average person gains 30 lbs during their pregnancy. A person with an autoimmune condition might gain an additional 30 lbs just from water retention.
The volume & frequency of my urination points to the fact that I’m retaining a lot of water and my body is working hard to clear it.
It’s not dangerous, it’s just kind of frustrating because the weight gain numbers become skewed and I look and feel HUGE.
My face is SO puffy, as you can see. My hands are, too. Before I learned that about the water retention, I had been complaining about how tight and uncomfortable my hands feel. Now I know why!
Fortunately, the water weight sheds quickly after delivery. Unfortunately, my weight gain will be more significant and I just look very puffy and bloated.
Maybe in the next post I’ll share a bump pic? To be perfectly honest, I need some more time adjusting to this changing body and working to improve my mindset about it before I open it up for the world to comment, ya know?
One of the other things that came up during my last visit was the upcoming oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). For the uninitiated, an OGTT requires that you drink a really, really sweet syrupy drink to see how quickly and efficiently your blood sugar returns to “normal” or baseline afterwards.
I told my doctor that I was thinking of declining this test for 2 reasons:
- I don’t want to put that highly processed beverage in my system
- I don’t think the test simulates reality. If we want to see how quickly my blood sugar returns to baseline after a normal meal, great. But after straight sugar? No thanks.
She was totally fine with it and what she suggested I do instead is check my fasting blood sugar and 2-hour post prandial once per week. I’m cool with that, I just need to get my blood sugar monitor out of the storage unit!
What I’m craving:
Organic honeycrisp apples. I’ve always loved them, but I could eat them all day every day.
Virgin spicy bloody mary’s. I haven’t had one yet, but I’ve asked a few times!
What sounds gross:
Unfortunately, meat & veggies sound pretty bad most of the time. I’m definitely challenging myself to eat clean each day. I can do better. I will do better. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. Fortunately, it’s all great opportunity for practice and I’m getting a lot of good mindset work in!
What I’m thinking about:
My next appointment is on 10/10 and will include an ultrasound. I’m really excited to see how baby girl has grown since I last saw her!
I have a lot of travel and work stuff coming up, so I’m trying to stay very focused & efficient for the next few months.
Hiring. I will be adding a director of operations to the Primal Potential team. More on that soon.
The nursery – we haven’t done anything but I’m hoping my mom & her husband can come help us lay down a floor soon. The nursery will be upstairs so we don’t have to wait on the construction.
Speaking of construction – when will it start?! How long will it take? Will it be on budget?
Relax, Elizabeth. That’s always on my mind. Relax and enjoy the moment you’re in.