Happy Thanksgiving! As of today, we’re 28 weeks pregnant!

We spent the day prepping a vegan Thanksgiving dinner for seven.  Luckily, my brother Matt showed up in the morning to help me and Kurt with the kitchen chaos. It turned out well, and we were only 30 minutes late getting it on the table!

In other news, we had our routine monthly OB appointment on Tuesday. My blood pressure and BunBun’s heartbeat (141 beats per minute) were both good. They informed us that BunBun is laying horizontally, with his head on my right side and his bum on my left, which explains why a lot of the kicking action has been on my left side. (The doctor was able to “see” where his head was based on the location of bumps and bulges in my belly – weird!)

This week beats all previous weeks in frequency and intensity of the movement I can feel. I’ve been taken off-guard so many times in the last few days by BunBun’s sudden jolts of energy as he kicks and wiggles around. Last weekend, in response to Kurt tapping my belly, BunBun surprised him with a couple of solid kicks to his palm. Having the ability to feel his movements is such a sweet gift. It’s a daily reminder of the fact that there is a baby boy growing in my belly that will soon change our lives forever. ❤

Development

BunBun is now the size of a roller blade, about 16 inches long, and weighs about 2.5 pounds. His adrenal glands are now secreting hormones which signal my body to begin lactation. His wrinkles are starting to disappear as he packs on more fat, which will aid him in regulating his body temperature. This, along with the surfactant in his lungs, are two main things BunBun needs to be able to thrive outside the womb. He is capable of coughing and dreaming now, too!

Symptoms

I’m definitely moving a bit slower, and I have random aches around my rib cage. I’ve gained about 30 pounds during the pregnancy thus far. To keep any further weight gain in check, Kurt and I joined a gym to motivate ourselves to stay active during the last couple cold months of the pregnancy. The fact that my favorite ice cream joint has switched to its [much shorter] winter hours won’t hurt either.