Little Kingston has grown a lot in the past month and in a few days I will officially be halfway through pregnancy!  It's hard to believe how fast time has flown.  Pregnancy is still going well, minus recent back pain.  Going on a month now, I have had pain in my right mid upper back, that I just associated with normal aches and pains of standing on my feet all day at my job.  My OB said it probably is due to the weight of my pregnancy, even though I'm not that big yet.  It got progressively worse last week and I was in tears at work.  I took last Friday off and have been taking it easy ever since.  I've been living on a heating pad, tried icy hot patches, a handheld massager and even a muscle relaxer prescribed by my OB (safe for baby as long as I don't take it very often) and haven't gotten much relief.  There is no one to cover my positions at work, so I had to let the doctor I work for know I HAVE to sit; it's either sit or not work.  My back hasn't been as bad this week, only because I sit as much as I can while scribing.  I even grabbed a stool to sit in the lab when relaxing tissue during Mohs surgery and did some odd stretching/squatting positions while doing build-ups for my cases and making slides.  Hopefully Friday the PT can offer me some good advice and helpful stretches and exercises to strengthen my back because everyone is telling me it only gets worse!

The back pain has been a bit frustrating and I've been a little down not being able to do my normal activities.  It just isn't in my nature to take it easy.  I think that has been the hardest part of pregnancy; learning patience with my body and listening when it tells me to relax.  I asked my doctor last week about brief sharp pains I was having on the lower right side of my abdomen and she said it was normal and probably my ligaments stretching.  It's amazing how much your body grows and changes to accommodate life inside you!

I have otherwise felt great and know I am very lucky.  It's already getting to be a little challenging doing simple tasks like getting up when I'm in a relaxed position, shaving and so forth because of my rapidly growing belly.  I've even had friends say they've noticed growth in me day by day, and I have been told I have a pregnancy walk now.  Lee still puts his face right up to my belly and talks to Kingston, which I love!  I can see why women say they love being pregnant; there is a lot of excitement in watching yourself grow!  I am being a little impatient waiting to feel Kingston's first movement.  I may have already felt it, but don't know what I'm looking for.  I've heard it can feel anywhere from a flutter, gas bubbles, hunger pains, etc.  My OB told me I'd be feeling movement in the next week or so.

Next week is our big 20 week ultrasound where they look at all of the anatomy.  I'm so excited to see how big he's grown and a bit anxious, hoping everything looks normal.  My last ultrasound showed perfect growth in him.  The specialist mentioned something about my low lying placenta on my last ultrasound, but said it's too soon to worry.  I held out for as long as I could, then started googling and found out that is a sign of placenta previa, which has all different types of severity.  Obviously I had to read about all the types and stressed myself out a little, but my OB told me she's pretty sure it will move because it's posterior, which is a good thing.  Hopefully they can tell it has moved next week.

My OB also read my surgical notes from my past myomectomy and cleared me to have a vaginal child birth!  I will still prepare myself of the possibility of delivering by cesarean, but very relieved I have an option at this point.

My friend is going to help me start a registry this weekend at Babies R Us.  She has a 6 month old and can guide me as to what products are good and which ones to avoid.  Otherwise, I'll go blindly in there scanning everything that looks pretty!

I hope everyone is doing well and has a great Thanksgiving!  Please keep little Kingston in your prayers, and please add to your prayers my cousin Julie.  She tentatively has a c-section scheduled for early December, but is going weekly to UVA to monitor her baby and if anything changes, Caroline will make her grand entrance early.

XOXO,
Chelle