Here I am, finally getting around to writing another bumpdate for baby #3. I just happen to be 37 weeks pregnant.
I have documented this pregnancy way less than my other two, but I guess that is what happens when you are chasing around two toddlers already!
The last few months have been so busy for our family. I’ve had to let a lot of things slide! My husband has been traveling back and forth from Nebraska to Texas for work. As a family, we’ve gone down there four times (staying 1-2 weeks each time), and he has gone on his own 3-4 times as well. Between all the travel, hotel stays, and solo parenting–my attention just has not been on this pregnancy.
I honestly feel like I should be about twenty weeks pregnant, instead of thirty-seven!
But here I am! And I decided I did want to squeeze in a few bumpdates before this baby show’s his/her face.
Do you know baby’s gender? We do! We had a fun, gender reveal after we found out at 20 weeks, but I have kept it a secret from the internet, just for fun.
What do the kids think? Eloise is unaware. Gideon is very much aware. Whenever I go to the midwife, he asks if the baby is going to come out today. He has squeezed me in a hug and said he’s trying to squeeze the baby out. He is determined the baby’s name will be Lightsen (just a random name he made up), and refers to Baby Lightsen all the time.
Anything different about this pregnancy? I can feel this baby so much more clearly than the other two, or maybe I forgot? This baby’s placenta is on the back (posterior), so maybe that’s why? Gideon’s was a previa, and Eloise’s was on the right side. I can feel this baby’s little limbs and butt pressing out of my belly all the time (even as I type this post). Saia has felt them too, and talks about how bizarre it is. I can just feel baby so clearly, and it is so strange to feel all those little body parts pressing out! Other than that, this pregnancy has mirrored my pregnancy with Eloise in a lot of ways–even down to baby’s butt being on the right side of my belly with his/her little feet trying to kick out the left side (not up in my ribs like Gideon always was).
Any complications? I haven’t had any complications, praise God! I have had to be on meds for my thyroid, but I was for my last pregnancy as well. Other than that, it has been very smooth. I was so worried about having placenta previa again, because the sonographer told me at my eleven-week ultrasound that I currently had it, but it was totally out of the way by twenty weeks, and I am so grateful! Then I was worried about baby’s position because he/she was transverse at twenty-weeks, and continued to be for a month or two. But he/she turned head down around 32 weeks (I think, based on what I was feeling), and has been head down ever since. So happy!
What is baby up to? Baby is practicing inhaling and exhaling, and working on becoming chubby (what a life)! I am so excited to find out what this baby will weigh. Gideon was 6 lbs 2 oz (he came three weeks early), and Eloise was 8 lbs 7 oz at full-term. Will this baby be bigger?
How are you feeling? I feel really good! This last month has been incredibly kind to me. I usually am getting terrible headaches and migraines at this point in pregnancy that have me curled into a fetal position for days, and I haven’t had any in probably six weeks. The only changes I have made have been starting a couple of probiotics and getting myself a stainless steel cup with a straw that has me drinking tons more water than I was. Whatever is the reason, I am grateful! I do feel like I am starting to waddle, if I am tired. And I do have some pelvic pressure. But overall, I feel pretty normal (just with a big belly).
Do you have a baby name? Yesnomaybe. This has been the hardest baby to name for us! We’ve just really struggled to nail something down. We have a couple potential names, but don’t really have a decision yet. I’m working on really narrowing down the list this week, and trying to brainstorm middle names for the name we both sort of/kind of/agree on. Ha! Naming is so hard.
How are you sleeping? Sleeping great!
What do you have left to get done? I just went through my “before baby” list with a sharpie, and crossed off all the things that are not essential at this late date. I crossed off potty training Eloise (I can do that after the baby comes), planning an early birthday party for Gideon + me (we’ll just do it in the end of August instead), and reading birth books (I’ve read so many).
I do still have to:
- Install the newborn carseat
- Go through the baby clothes, and figure out if I still need anything
- Work on Eloise’s nighttime sleep (she’s so hard to get to sleep at night)
- Get my nice camera charged and ready
- Decide on a baby name
- Keep working on decluttering the house
What are you craving? Ice. I bought two bags of Sonic’s chewable ice, and I’ve been working my way through them. Also rice cakes (which I’ve never cared for).
What are your birth plans? I just want to have another VBAC. That’s about it, ha. I am hoping I go into spontaneous labor this time (last time, I was induced). I am hoping contractions are more manageable since I will hopefully not be on pitocin. I am hoping this labor will be shorter. I am hoping I can actually labor at home and go into the hospital pretty far along. But we will see how this one goes! Third baby, but possibly first spontaneous labor. First time laboring at home. First time making a contraction-filled drive to the hospital. My midwife told me that second VBACs are so very sweet and tend to go really fast. She had two VBACs herself. I am super interested to see how this one goes. A little nervous, a little excited!
What are your predictions? I predict that baby will come at 40 wks 3 days pregnant. And will weigh 8 lbs 9 oz. I already know the gender. 😉
And, for comparison, here is my: