Week 28

Strangely going into the 3rd trimester I have been having new symptoms or more intense symptoms. While I still feel pretty good most days I am starting to notice the swelling now. I also notice it's very dependent on what I eat and I swell more in the evenings and when I sleep. This morning I woke up with this feeling that my knee was injured. I worked out yesterday but I felt wonderful. It was just a normal 25-30 min walk on a treadmill but I had it just a tad faster than normal. My heart rate was normal and overall I was feeling pretty good at the pace I was going. I am not sure if this caused the swelling that seems to be in in my knee. It feels very stiff. I feel like I was running a marathon in my sleep or something. Also I have been waking up with my hands and feet numb. You know that feeling you get when your feet fall asleep? I know it's due to circulation when you sleep but it just feels so bizarre. Of course the heartburn is more increased now. Sometimes it appears during the day...instead of when I sleep.

Last night I had the craziest dream about my brother and my dad's side of the family. I dreamed that my brother had a girlfriend that he wanted to marry and he wanted to do it at my Dad's house. He asked me to plan it and get everything ready within a 24 hour period. This would also require that I get the Palomares family together as quickly as possible. In the dream I do remember feeling overwhelmed and running around trying to organize everything. Maybe my body was tensing up. I don't know. The dream seemed so real. I only woke up once last night and I remember being my kneeing being hard to stand on as I walked to the restroom. I elevated my knee after that...but since it was 3 a.m. that was only a few hours.

Last night I went into the nursery and played some of the nursery ocean lullaby's to the baby. Vesna had got me this really good collection that has all these different versions of lullaby's. I plugged in the headphones and I pressed them to the belly so the baby could here well. Nice and low. They say babies can hear at this time.

So here is what is happening in Week 28.

By your 28th week of pregnancy, your baby is about 16 inches long and weighs 3-1/2 to 4 pounds. The skin is wrinkled but will become less so as more subcutaneous fat, the layer of fat just under the skin, is laid down in the next few weeks. Fine downy hair, called lanugo, and a waxy white protective substance covering the skin, called vernix, are present on the baby's body. The baby's eyes are open. The eyebrows and eyelashes were formed in the fourth month. The baby sucks its thumb and its taste buds have developed. The baby kicks, stretches, and moves frequently in the uterus. These movements, which are readily observable to others, are often keenly felt by the mother. Some mothers may find that the pressure of the growing uterus against the stomach by this week causes heartburn. The fundus, the top of the uterus, is now about one-third of the distance between the umbilicus (bellybutton) and the xiphoid cartilage. Constipation may also occur due to uterine pressure on the lower colon, as well as hormonal slowing of peristalsis (the process of excreting waste). Uterine growth combined with increased maternal weight gain contribute to a recurrence of fatigue similar to that during the early weeks of pregnancy.