29 Week Pregnancy Update!

I met a man last week who asked how far along I am.

"28 weeks!"

Confusion. 

 "Uh... I just started the third trimester." 

"I still don't understand." 

"7 months." 

Everything has been so wonderful the last few weeks- especially since finding out that Dragon is perfectly normal and healthy, and so am I!

My favorite thing to do is watch him move.  He is around 15 in. long and 2.5 lbs. so he definitely takes up most of the room in my belly without being too cramped yet. That makes this the perfect stage to watch and feel him move powerfully around. I can tell when he is about to move and will then watch my bare stomach for it. I can see a bulge follow around my belly, so we say he is "Doing the hokie pokie" because he sometimes moves in a complete circle around my belly button! When he moves like that I follow where he is and can easily feel him under my skin. I'll pick the hardest place (where a large bone probably is) and start to squeeze it. I feel like that's my way of holding his hand or something, which I love. Ben will catch me squeezing my belly and will say, "Don't hurt him!" "I'm just holding him!" Don't worry- I asked my midwife about that at my latest appointment, and she assured me that he is well protected from any harm I could inflict that way :) 

The reason we can watch and feel him move with no interruptions is because my placenta (the large organ that attaches to the uterus in the earliest stages of pregnancy and feeds the baby nutrients, oxygen, and blood through the attached umbilical cord) has shifted from my front to my back! Yes, you heard that right: it's moved! Another incredible blessing during this process :) My placenta was in front (anterior position) with Eleanor, which was one explanation we were given to explain why I didn't feel her move. The placenta is thick, and in the anterior position acts as a pillow that absorbs the baby's movements until they are bigger and stronger. We were nervous to hear it was anterior for Dragon, as well, because I wanted to monitor this baby's movements as closely as possible. At my latest Type II ultrasound Ben asked if my placenta was still anterior and the tech actually told us it  was posterior (to the back)! I didn't think the placenta could move, but my midwife explained to me that, since it attaches to the uterus, it doesn't technically pick up and move to a new location but that, as the uterus expands, the placenta can, sometimes, shift. Just like any growing muscle can move things out of it's way :) Well, a posterior placenta is exactly what I've wanted- this way I can feel and watch him move really strongly, and we may even see a hand or foot try to push itself out! 

Hearing that he is perfectly healthy, my tests coming out negative, having his lifelike 3D picture, and seeing and feeling him move constantly have really helped us bond with this little in the last couple weeks! 

These pictures were taken on Saturday when I was 28 weeks, but I'm 29 tomorrow and haven't really changed :) 

I look like a goober in this picture, but at least I'm looking at the camera and smiling! 

Thanks, as always, for being my photographer, Ben!