We had such a busy week I forgot to post! We have been working on a complete redo of our back yard to create a family friendly kid safe green space. After not having a usable back yard for 5 years this has been a huge project. I also had a garage sale on Saturday but it was a bust.

I am finding that i’m getting tired a bit more easily this week. My belly physically hurts. It does not itch but it hurts. i find myself rubbing it even when I dont know I am doing it. i am guessing it is the skin stretching. I have seen some light stretch marks showing. Baby girl has been move active through out the day and I can actually see my belly moving from the outside.  This week I have been struggling with acid reflex , I can literately taste it in my mouth and feel it in my throat. it is worse at night when i go lie down to go to sleep.  It makes me nauseated through out the day randomly.  I am also still having tachycardia ( rapid erratic heart beat)

My phe level from April 29th came back on May 3rd and was 1.5 mg /dl so my dietitian said to increase to 525 mg phe and I just got the news right now that my Phe level from May 2nd has just come in at 1.3 mg so I am being increased again to 575 mg.dl as of today.  My weight has had its first increase in many many weeks . it has been sitting at 186 lbs since the beginning of the first trimester. Today it was 188.2 lbs so that will make my pku clinic happy. I couldn’t care less either way as long as baby girl continues to grow. I started off this pregnancy obese . I was 195 and went to 184.8 lbs and have been sitting at 186 for many weeks. I didn’t really gain with madelyn until about 30 weeks . I really dont need to gain that much. That being said I still have 3 months left so anything can change. It is always upsetting to see the scale tip over 200 but at least its all for baby!

I have had to start adding tyrosine to my formula now as I’m not getting enough anymore for baby and I. Tyrosine is an amino acid of phenylalanine. It is only found in phe . So normally people get it when they consume high amounts of protein rich food. When people with out pku eat protein there body breaks down phenylalanine into tyrosine which is used as a neuro transmitter in the brain to produce dopamine. Because I can’t break down phe I can’t get enough tyrosine on my own and I can’t get it in my diet. My tyrosine is monitored when they test my blood phe and it has now dropped below normal levels and my baby really needs it to grow. So just like with Madelyn I have to supplement it with a powder. I weigh and add 5 grams to my formula and will be continued to be closely monitored if we need to change the dose again.

Right now my favorite foods are low protein grilled cheese , low protein enchiladas and low protein tacos and lots of avocados or roasted beats over low pro rice ! I am also really enjoying my low protein “omelets and sausages  ” for breakfast every day this week!

Baby center.ca app had this to say about week 25!

The baby now weighs nearly 1.5 pounds / 660 grams and is approximately 13.5 inches/ 35 centimetres long from crown to heel. She makes breathing movements but has no air in her lungs yet. At 26 weeks, fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn her head, which according to researchers, means her optic nerve is working.

Tomorrow we have a busy day ahead. Madelyn starts tot soccer, I had a massage therapy appt and a dentist appt . Having to really keep on top of my oral health as it can effect babies growth and have been going for a cleaning and check up every 3 months since i have always suffered from sensitive teeth and gum disease. Only ever had 1 teeny tiny cavity after Madelyn that they where able to fix with a lazer. Apparently a cavity per child is normal in mamas who knew?

Sent off a blood dot yesterday so should have the results back tomorrow some time! Fingers crossed for another phe increase.

Check back next week for my weekly update.