I am 75% done with this pregnancy! Whoa!
One one hand, I cannot believe that in two short months we will have a baby in our apartment. On the other, it feels like centuries since that day in December when I first saw the faint second line on a pregnancy test. This pregnancy has been quite the journey. From my intense need for McChicken sandwiches in the first trimester, to my glorious surge of energy in the second, to my birth plans having to change in the third. It has been a wild ride!
There are three major things I have learned along the way:
- Be grateful for every day that Baby is healthy, and cooking away in my tummy.
- During pregnancy, expect the unexpected.
- Hold your plans loosely.
I tend to like to feel in control, so learning to relax my grip on all my plans has been good for me.
My belly is really out there, these days, and people are definitely noticing: “You finally look pregnant!” they tell me. I want to say: “See? I wasn’t making it all up!” ha ha!
How far along: 30 weeks
Due date: August 29. Although my scheduled C-section date is to be determined.
Gender: It’s a surprise!
How big is baby? Baby is as big as a cantaloupe! Baby is probably weighing in around 3 lbs, and is 16 inches long. From now on, baby will be gaining 1/2 a lb a week for the rest of my pregnancy. Wowza! Bring on the bacon-covered cheese fries with ranch dressing. Ha ha!
This week, baby: is packing on the fat, and as a result his/her skin is becoming less wrinkly. The opposite is happening for baby’s brain–it is becoming more complex, and more wrinkled as it develops.
Exercise: No exercise for me. I am on restrictions. It is funny how not being allowed to exercise has me craving it. Ha! I am dreaming of the day when I can go on a little run, or even a really long walk or pump some weights! Once baby is here, and I’m healed from birth, I am going to be hitting that pavement!
What I’m googling: nothing. Ever since scaring myself silly from reading some posts about a woman with placenta previa, who had to have a hysterectomy during her c-section, because they couldn’t stop the bleeding (and scaring my husband in the process) I have stopped googling anything about my pregnancy. That really terrified me! Thankfully, I called my doula (AKA bestie, AKA my future sis-in-law) who happens to be a labor and delivery nurse, and she calmed me down. I have, also, stopped listening to birth podcasts since they seem to focus on natural births (which make me sad, since I probably won’t have one this time around), the terrors of c-sections, etc… I just need to limit my information right now in order to feel good about things.
Purchases I’ve made: I picked up a bag of baby clothes (including a few swaddles!) at a garage sale this weekend for 25 cents a piece. I, also, bought a Diaper genie for $3 at a garage sale, to store all those stinky diapers in once baby gets here. Other than that, I really have slowed down on my acquiring of things since I have gotten a lot of the big items out of the way, and my shower is coming up in a few weeks.
How are you feeling? Some tiredness, weird rib pain and low back pain–but overall pretty good.
Maternity clothes: I’m still wearing my little collection of maternity clothes. I love the new shirts I got at a garage sale last week!
Sleep: Still sleeping really well!
Best moment this week: Making it to thirty weeks. I have been so anxious about this pregnancy ever since finding out about the placenta previa, and every week feels like an accomplishment, and helps me breathe better! I, also, was blessed with a little work-at-home job this week, that I can continue after baby is here! I am so thankful to God for this new opportunity.
Worst moment this week: All the worry that I’ve been trying to keep contained.
Miss anything? I miss everything that I am restricted from!
Movement: Baby is moving all the time! He/she is head down, and I can feel the kicks up near my rib cage, and his/her hand movement down in my hip area. I find it incredibly distracting to be talking to someone, and feel my belly morphing into various shapes. This baby definitely likes being the center of attention. Sometimes it feels like he/she is just pushing against my stomach. Like one little leg is pushing as hard as it can on one side of the stomach, then the other leg does the same thing. It feels like baby is using my stomach like an elliptical. Our little athlete, starting so young. Ha!
Cravings/Eating: My husband made me some ‘otai (which is a Tongan watermelon/coconut drink), and now I am asking him to make it for me every single evening. It tastes soooo gooood, and it helps me stay hydrated. Win-win!
It should be noted, that I ate almost an entire medium thin-crusted pepperoni pizza for lunch this week. Saia ate two pieces, and I ate the rest…it just tasted sooooo good. I have been really moderate about my eating lately (baby doesn’t leave much room for a full stomach), but something about that pizza…needless to say, we won’t be ordering pizza again any time soon. I have no control when it comes to pizza, I guess.
Symptoms: low back pain, achy hips, fatigue, feeling pretty weak since I’ve been restricted from exercise. Sigh.
How’s Daddy doing? He’s such a rock. He has taken all my restrictions in stride, and has been such an encouragement to me every day!
Looking forward to: finally meeting this baby in two months!
Congratulations on reaching 30 weeks B. Am following your journey with much love xxx
Thank you, Lis! Much love to you and yours!
Yay for 30 weeks!!!
Also, in my opinion it’s often better to not google stuff… sad you found that out the hard way 🙁
Remember, women have been giving birth since the beginning of time! No matter how or when baby comes, you CAN do this!
I’m praying for continued health for bubba.
xo
Yes, Google hasn’t been my best friend. I should’ve learned better! Thank you for the encouragement, Rachel! I SO appreciate it. 🙂
Ooo, can you tell us how Saia makes the ‘otai? That sounds so yummy!
For hospital bag, I brought the majority of what other people had said on pinterest to bring. The hospital actually gave me this handy bag with a toothbrush and stuff like that, so maybe even check what the hospital will give you. They also gave me a ton of gear in terms of postpartum pads and underwear and all that jazz.
I am glad I listened to Dillon’s advice and didn’t buy a cute hospital gown. I thought I wanted one for the first picture and the thought of hospital gowns being worn by a thousand people before me was icky. But while in labor at the hospital, before Declan was even born, I had to switch gowns 3 times because well, birth can be messy. I’m not sure how a c-section goes though, but I was really glad I didn’t have a messy “cute” hospital gown to lug home with us or just toss, because birth and babies can be messy.
Another thing that made our stay at the hospital really great was takeout food, Jamba Juices, etc. The hospital food was well, hospital food. And after having a baby don’t be afraid to ask people to bring you and husband some takeout or smoothies or fresh fruit when they come to meet baby and check up on you. It helped so much having good food to eat. (We gave money in advance to family to use for the food so that helped us know we weren’t asking too much of anyone, since we understand sometimes money is just tight.)
Ooo, also the hospital I gave birth at gave me this HUGE water bottle with a straw and handle and that helped so much, too. So definitely have a huge water container with a straw so hubby can just lift it to you when you’re holding Baby L but dying of breastfeeding thirst.
So excited for you and this big adventure you are about to start! You look simply beautiful. Pregnancy suits you. 🙂
Katie, ‘otai is super easy to make! I’ll see if I can write a post about it some time soon. 🙂 That is so good to know about the hospital gown. I have been looking at those on Amazon, and I really appreciate hearing your perspective. First, you saved me from buying a pregnancy pillow, and now this! It is so nice to hear someone’s perspective who has just walked this joruney. Jamba Juice sounds so good! I will definitely try to ask people to bring us food. Because of the c-section, we’ll be in the hospital longer (3-4 days) so having outside food will probably be really nice. Thank you for all the advice! I really appreciate it!