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Entry for the baby book: Dec 3, 2004 - first clear response to an external stimulus.

On Friday, for the first time, my physical therapist ended the session by icing my back. As soon as she placed the ice pack against my middle back, I felt a flurry of kicks and pressures on the extreme lower front of my belly. Li'l Critter was trying to move away from the sudden cold sensation.

It was the coolest thing! The first evidence that she senses and responds to her environment. Such a clever baby!

Other than the back pain, which is still intermittently troublesome, I am feeling pretty well these days. Major sixth month symptoms so far: breathlessness, dizzy spells, emotional lability.

Major emotional lability. It's so strange to have these powerful emotions coursing through me and know that they're chemically caused, and yet to not have that knowledge make a bit of difference. It's fine when they're happy and excited feelings, and even sometimes when they're sad - I don't mind crying my eyes out at sad movies, or getting tearily sentimental. But last night I came perilously close to a full-fledged panic attack, just because we were stuck in traffic and late for [livejournal.com profile] minnaleigh's birthday dinner. And a brief thought about miscarriage or fetal death can leave me jumpy and upset for hours. That side of emotional lability just sucks.

The dizzy spells bother me, because I'm not sure they're normal. It's pretty normal for a pregnant woman to feel dizzy when changing positions, because the uterus's extra demands for blood sometimes shortchange the brain. I have those dizzy spells. But I also have longer periods of dizziness that are quite disconcerting. Especially the one that happened in a steeply-banked theater balcony, as I was trying to move down stairs and across a row to my seat. I am trying to eat more frequently, on the theory that the dizziness might be due to low blood sugar, and I intend to mention it to the midwife at my next appointment on Wednesday.

The breathlessness is kind of a pain, as well. I have trouble with steps taken too quickly, and with almost every position involving bending over. I got down on the floor today to sweep up broken ornament pieces with a whisk broom, and then spent several minutes gasping for breath. We have agreed that [livejournal.com profile] curiousangel will handle all bending and stooping tasks from now on.

But mostly I feel great, and happy to be pregnant. I feel the baby almost every day now, and her movements still don't hurt at all - they're just fun and exciting. I tire easily (especially with the breathlessness), but I've still got energy for my normal day. I'm a little worried that I haven't gained more weight (I'm just about up to my pre-pregnancy weight now, which is only seven pounds over my lowest pregnancy weight), but I also recognize that if I were larger I'd have even less mobility than I do now.

Li'l Critter seems so real to me already. I'm so looking forward to meeting her, in just a few short months.

Date: 2004-12-05 05:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] geekymary.livejournal.com
Yay for fluttering critter! That's the coolest feeling.

I have those dizzy spells. But I also have longer periods of dizziness that are quite disconcerting.

You might want to have your iron level checked. I had a lot of dizziness when I was pg and it was caused by anaemia. It went away after I had Eddie, but they had me on iron and it helped a lot.

Date: 2004-12-05 08:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rivka.livejournal.com
I thought of that, but it seems so unlikely. My prenatal vitamins have iron in them, and I'm eating tons of red meat. But I know I have bloodwork coming up soon, so I'll make sure they check.

Date: 2004-12-06 10:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rivka.livejournal.com
...although anemia would also explain how quickly I get short of breath. Huh.

I checked my vitamins: they contain 150% of the RDA of iron. I wonder if that's enough to prevent pregnancy-related iron-deficiency anemia, or not.

Date: 2004-12-06 11:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nolly.livejournal.com
For me, that would probably not be enough to keep my iron high enough to give blood. And I'm not pregnant, nor have I ever been. (All the pregant women and new moms on my flist are giving my major baby cravings, but I'm just not in a position to have a baby right now.)

Date: 2004-12-06 05:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] geekymary.livejournal.com
I just checked my prenatals and they have 156% of RDA and I still had to take iron supplements. So maybe.

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