My Pregnancy: Week 29

Baby's now the size of a butternut squash!

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.  Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.  To meet her increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron.  And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice).  This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

This week has been a lot better than last, little girl.  I got over the initial shock of my diagnosis of gestational diabetes and started taking action.  I got myself registered to take a diabetes management course through the hospital (I go in tomorrow) so that I can start testing my glucose levels and get some other information.

I also took Granny D up on her offer to start walking with her (or another member of the family) each afternoon when I get off work.  It is blasted hot going at that time of the day, but I have already noticed a difference in my energy levels.

Finally, this diagnosis made me face my fears of a smelly kitchen and start cooking again.  I figured that until I get a set meal plan from the clinic, I would start off by limiting more carbs and nixing the refined sugars from my diet.  Having the motivation to cook also keeps me from laying on the couch all evening.  Overall I am feeling less intimidated by this diagnosis and more motivated than ever to ensure that I do everything I possibly can to give you a healthy start.

On a side note, a new pregnancy side effect has appeared in the last couple of weeks: my hands and feet are constantly warm.  Now, this may not seem odd or even pregnancy related unless you realize that my hands and feet are hardly ever warm.  In fact, they are usually freezing.  As such, I am even more aware of just how warm they are and it kinda bugs me.  But there is no accompanying swelling or other signs of it being a problem--just something different from my norm.