makins of a jenkins

this has been the biggest leap of change. this 20-24 weeks. 

my belly. the movement. some actual things happening that are more pregnant life. 

I’m 6 months now. what the what. that sounds like a real pregnant girl status.

And I’ve finally hit ok so this is what pregnancy feels like. because up to this point – aside from the tired’ness and morning sickness – which of course felt like pregnancy, but in a different way bc my body didnt feel preg. i just felt tired and like i may throw up walking down random aisles at the grocery store. now my body feels pregnant.

so i had my first scary little event. a few weeks ago, my sister and i drove out to Dave (dave matthews concert at the gorge that CJ and friends go to every year) – we hung out during the day, went to the show at night. and considering i just shot 12 hours at a wedding the day prior, i actually felt pretty good. being there after a few hours, i was getting some indigestion and just wasnt comfortable at the show. standing on the sloped hill or sitting or laying. by the end, i wasnt feeling good. we got into the car and drove 25 min back to the condo and i knew something wasnt right, more than sour stomach or being sore that i was feeling before…i was having crazy back pain and it was coming around into the front right of my uterus, cramping. again and again. it was so uncomfortable and i was just trying to breathe thru it. we got home and got up into bed – which i didnt know at the time was making it worse because it was so soft, it wasnt giving me any support. i was on my hands and knees. on my back. i couldnt get comfortable and was in a lot of pain. after a while, i felt like i was getting contractions almost every minute….not necessarily like my uterus was hard-contractions but more like cramps in my right uterus. eventually we felt like we needed to call our midwife hotline to talk to someone because i was getting a little scared, this definitely seemed more than what was a typical thing. she called us back and went thru all these options of what it could be. some were scary, some were random…she advised i get into a bath and see how i do and to call back if things didnt let up. at that point, we were kind of in the middle of nowhere in WA so we gave the bath a try and it helped so much. i was able to localize where the pain was coming from. which was good that it was my back…and not my uterus. i think it was just a side effect of being so tense and so much pain in my back, it was wrapping around.

so out of the bath and CJ helped me so much. put my clothes on. lotion on my legs. into bed. the whole time he was so calm and great and i couldnt help but think it was a little preview of what labor was going to be looking like. 3am. i was able to sleep in a certain frozen position and we drove back to Seattle the next day. car ride = the worst ever. i was able to get into a acupuncturist that same day which was a miracle because it was monday, a labor day. then the next day was able to get into a prenatal massage. at that point, i thought it was my sciatic nerve. once i got into the massage therapist, he was able to help me and see it was more muscular and most likely not sciatic. which was a relief because i know sciatic can last a while.

fast forward 2 weeks and i’m still in pain. every day is different and the worst when i 1) am driving 2) on a plane (just took my last flight yesterday! thank the lord)  3)  sitting too long while i work. 4) and carrying basically anything heavy. i saw a chiropractor this week, twice now, and he was really helpful. said that basically by repetitive shooting and carrying heavy gear while being pregnant – i basically fatigued those muscles so much that they ended up getting some tears in the ligaments and muscle. so its gonna take some time to heal, and a good lesson learned from the pregnancy guide. i need to be more careful. i had been feeling so amazing i hadnt changed anything along the way. i hired someone for the past 2 weddings to carry all my stuff which was so helpful and will do that for the remaining weddings. 1 each month thru December.

so its been a not so fun couple of weeks because i was so happy that pregnancy had been so easy and amazing for me so far. then i took such a different turn. the scariest part was that one night and not knowing if it was me or her and not knowing if she was ok. it was amazing to see that instant extreme love and protection for her….i mean, thats not surprising. but that was the worst part…not knowing if she was ok. so of course i will take the pain and things…because it seems that all is good and ok with her and its just me. it was a good reminder that there is a difference in pregnancy….as much as i was feeling perfectly fine and normal.

we’ve been doing some progression pics thru out. its been fun to see the difference! i feel like 20 to 24 was such a difference! i dont have any digital photos i like…so maybe i should start thinking about doing a session when im a bit bigger. something classic…not me running thru the wheat fields.

THE GOOD 

feeling her move so so much // she’s gone from only me feeling her inside, to people being able to feel her on the outside. which is so fun to share that joy. my mom, meagan, CJ of course, Quinn….all have felt her so far which has been so fun. i’ve started to notice when she’s awake and active. not like im charting it or anything…just noticing it. which basically is mostly to do with after i eat. 🙂

our 24 week appt // we had our 24 week appt today and got the results from our ultrasound and everything reported perfect and good to go for her. no bad markers. everything on point and good. my cervix is a great length (good to know ha) and my placenta is in the front and at the top, so a great position. i measured right on where i should be for my belly measure and so i cant be more grateful for a good review. not to be taken for granted at all.

our midwife care // i couldnt be more happy with the service and care we’re receiving from our midwives. Seattle Home Maternity Service. we mostly have appointments at the lake union Center for Birth, but their office is in Columbia City. i havent gone thru a pregnancy with an OB, but i just love the friendly and comfortable office, that is welcoming and not hospital’y. they spend about an hour with with us each appointment and talk about life, and how im doing and just are so so warm. i feel so taken care of and they are so educated and understanding. i just couldnt be happier with our choice in using them. i want to bring them a present every time we see them 🙂

due date // they officially moved my due date to JAN 12th instead of the 7th. which i have had a feeling the whole time it was gonna be later than the 7th. my cycles are longer than most girls’ so that means i also ovulate later…so i was thinking that she’d be due later than the way you’d typically predict a due date off your last menstrual cycle. anyhow. all good…gives us more wiggle room to not be considered “over-due” and birth the way we want.

THE NOT SO GOOD

well, my back of course.

my first braxton hicks // i think thats what they were. two times now, ive had these cramps. one in the middle of night and one after yoga. randomly (or not) both happened after i went to the bathroom. but a sharp set of cramps that lasted about 5 minutes. i talked to a few moms and they said they had experienced those as well. i wasnt super freaked out by them…but after the scary night a week prior to it, i was a little more on edge. i think a main thing here was i wasnt drinking enough water. in the beginning of my pregnancy, i was SO thirsty all the time, so i was drinking an amazing amount but now i feel more normal…so i know i had gotten lazy about how much i was drinking. both the moms i talked to mentioned that first off DRINK WATER. so ive been much better with that since.

sleeping // i got to a more uncomfortable spot in sleeping. probably mostly because of my back and getting comfortable without pain but also because now my belly is bigger, so its more uncomfortable sleeping on my side. its so annoying that were not supposed to sleep on our back while pregnant…you’d think that would be the best position. so my sleeping is like a little pillow puzzle. sorry CJ.

READING // BUYING // DOING

R: I just started reading BABY WISE and i so excited about it. my sister has done it with all her 4 kids and they were wonderful sleepers thru the night from infancy so you better bet your balls we’ll be doing it too. i feel like it really matches up with our personalities and style of “parenting” anyhow…so im looking forward to it.

B: clothes! omg ok so CJ and i are pretty bad at “waiting for the shower” or anything like that. i’ve been buying a lot. zulily is now my friend. its so hard! that shit is so cute and now that we know its a girl…its like open range. trying to slow down a bit…but i am who i am.

D: we are just starting to look into our options for a doula and who we will use. excited to find someone great! and just getting to book our childbirth classes. we’ll be doing Penny Simpkins class this fall into winter.