Week… 30

Baby is the size of… a Butternut Squash

Highlight of the Week… Our beautiful, fun Baby on Board Baby Shower! I’m not a huge fan of showers, but our friends found the perfect balance of celebrating our coming baby and keeping it low-stress. Everything from the decorations, to the food, to the company was perfectly on-point.

An unexpected feeling fell over our house after the shower. We had the bones of baby needs, specifically the furniture, and suddenly we had all the stuff. The day after we were starting to unpack the gifts and find their new homes when we realized… this stuff isn’t going away. Haha. I know this seems obvious but when you’re on the backend of most of your friends having kids it’s strange that all the baby stuff in your home isn’t going to leave when your friends do. Also, shifting our mindset from placing the baby stuff in a box or drawer until “someday” to finding its permanent functional home was strange too. All good… just strange.

Frustration of the Week… My poor swollen feet! I seemed to cross a threshold late last week that invited swelling feet and ankles into my life. I had a bad bout of it a few weeks ago when I was in Dublin, reasonably because I was on my feet all the time. But now, the swelling comes and goes as it damn well pleases. I even woke up with swollen feet the other day! I’m doing my best to stay off my feet, elevate them when I can, drinking plenty of water, and paying careful attention to my diet. At this point, it still kind of funny and not painful, so that’s a bonus!

Eating a lot of… Cantaloupe and watermelon, which makes for fun jokes! We had a ton of fruit leftover from the baby shower and I volunteered myself to not be wasteful and consume as much as I can!

Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… There’s just something about watching your husband set up baby furniture and fold baby clothes for the first time that pulls at your heartstrings.

A Tidbit… I started my chiropractic treatment this week, and it has completely changed the way my pregnancy feels. The doctor explained to me that since I went into my pregnancy with a posterior pelvic tilt my pregnancy is exponentially more painful as my spine adopts the normal curvature necessary to carry the baby. This explains why I was in such significant pain. Thankfully, light hip traction work, stretching, and gentle adjustments have alleviated much of the pain. I’m on a care plan to prevent additional pain until birth and have stretches I can do at home. So happy to have a solution that works for me!

Week… 29

Baby is the size of… small cabbage

Highlight of the Week… Putting together pieces of the nursery! We received a number of incredibly generous gifts this week that completed our nursery needs. Did you catch the update here? After we put the furniture together and in place, I took a step back and got a little emotional. In less than three months, a little person will take up residence here and start their amazing life. How cool is that?!

Frustration of the Week… Apparently, I’m still bad at estimating how much my body can handle and overdid it once again. Shocking to everyone, I’m sure! I decided it would be a good idea to help the husband with yard work on Sunday morning… for 6 hours. Primarily, I pulled weeds, helped clean the pool, and sprayed down the pool deck. And yes, you guessed it – I was sore for daaaaaaaaaaaaaaays. I have to get better at this. Haha.

Eating a lot of… Italian Ice. My best friend brought over a case last weekend and I simply can’t get enough! Such a refreshing summer treat!

Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… Hubs has started interacting with my belly more and it’s ah-dorable!

A Tidbit… My ankles have been swellings so much – and it’s so comical! It only takes about 5 minutes of being on my feet in the morning before I get a case of elephantiasis of the feet. Where did my scrawny, boney feet go?! The Fred Flintstone nature of my feet makes me laugh every single day.

Week… 28

Baby is the size of… Cauliflower

Highlight of the Week… Passing my glucose test on the first go around! I had heard nightmare stories about women who had to do the 3-hour test and I really wanted to get through the 1-hour test just fine. Thankfully, baby and I did great!

Frustration of the Week… Constant uncomfortability continues. I’m starting to feel pulls in my lower back, which is concerning. I partially slipped a disc last summer and there’s worry about the added weight and spine changes that it could happen again. Thankfully, I’m heading to a chiropractor soon to discuss what pain management and preventative measures I can take (besides a belly band and floating in the pool).

Eating a lot of… Chocolate chip muffins. I… I mean, baby stole them from my husband.

Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… Rumor was we had reached the point when husband could hear baby’s heartbeat if he was really patient and quiet. We gave this a test one night when baby was pushing to the outside of my stomach (so, close to the surface, haha). Husband positioned his ear right against where baby was pushing and laid still. After a few moments, he lifted his head up and give me the biggest grin. The look on his face surpassed when he first felt the baby move in Week 21. He was so happy to hear the heartbeat and be able to connect with baby. I love these moments when we can share baby’s growth and he can have experiences directly with him/her.

A Tidbit… Pregnancy hormones have finally made their lovely appearance this week. I feel fortunate that I’ve made it this far without any major emotional changes. However, I believe the combination of exhaustion from last week’s travel and stress at work created the perfect environment for my body to throw a few extra tears into the ring as well. I find myself tearing up over things that never would have created an emotional blip under different circumstances. I find it to both be frustrating and pretty comical. Fingers crossed it all stays pretty moderate!

Week…  27

Baby is the size of… a Cucumber

Highlight of the Week… Bumpin’ through Ireland with Baby Lawrence! I was incredibly nervous to take this trip to Dublin for work simply because I wasn’t sure how my body would respond. Besides baby being tired of all my constant movement and not being able to sleep as much as I would have liked, the week went perfectly!

Frustration of the Week… Not being able to lay on my back or stomach. The exhaustion and the constant movement wore out my back muscles and it would have been lovely to stretch out.

Eating a lot of… Fruit and carbs…and basically anything I could get my hands on.

Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… This week, the shout-out goes to my substitute husbands, aka my amazing coworkers/friends. They did such a good job of taking care of me while I traveled. I’m not one who easily accepts help, and their insistence on not letting me carrying things or getting off my feet was a sweet brand of annoyance.

A Tidbit… Traveling, especially internationally, while pregnant is a strange experience. The exhaustion sets in crazy fast. It’s important to make yourself as comfortable as possible as soon as possible. And people stare at your belly aaaaall the time.

Also…here’s me, dancing with my baby belly during our work team build.

Week… 26

Baby is the size of… an eggplant

Highlight of the Week… Aside from receiving excellent news about my maternity leave benefit this week, baby’s movements have changed in such a cool way! This week, baby has started stretching and taking up more space, which means out of nowhere I can feel baby puuuushing outward from my body. Up to this point, it’s been all kicks, punches, and tumbles, but suddenly, there are hard spots on the surface because baby is hanging out on the edges. We can’t yet identify if it’s the head, butt, or back, but it’s cool all the same.

Frustration of the Week… I had the most epic meltdown this week over finding a sweatshirt or jacket! In complete and utter honesty, my hormones have stayed shockingly well under control through my pregnancy. I have small bouts of PMS-like emotion every four weeks like clockwork that last about a day – if that. Unfortunately, that day landed while I was selecting clothing for my upcoming trip to Dublin. I need a jacket or a sweatshirt because, well, it’s a bit chilly there. Let me tell you why this is so frustrating. First, I have a closet FULL of long-sleeved options already – running jackets, rain jackets, zip-up hoodies, everything you can imagine. But my belly is too big for all of them. That’s right – not a single one will zip or fit. Second, IT’S SUMMER HERE! As in it’s hot-hot-hot! Not only is it hard to find maternity clothes in general but try finding a black light jacket or zip-up sweatshirt that is appropriate to wear in the workplace (maternity or a size up) in Arizona in May. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Thankfully, I found one through ASOS online and it’s not perfect but it’ll work for what I need.

Eating a lot of… Veggies and shrimp! And… brownies. Hubs made brownies and I couldn’t control myself.

Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… Referencing back to my frustration this week, hubs went on a massive hunt for a black jacket for me the day after my meltdown. He spent hours going to stores, combing through racks and racks of clothing trying to find me a viable solution. He truly is the best!

A Tidbit… I finally got a belly band to help with ligament and back pain. Game. Changer. After extensive research, I invested in a Belly Bandit and it has made all the difference in my comfortability and pain management. Yes, it’s a little pricey, but since we are planning for a second pregnancy, the return on investment is pretty great. If you use my link, you can get 5% off your purchase.