Two weeks to go (hopefully!). It’s hard to believe we’re almost to the end, and yet, I’m definitely ready physically to be at the finish line.
For most of my pregnancy, I felt pretty great. The last few weeks have definitely been the most difficult. While I love my bump, navigating the world when your body has changed dramatically and you are carrying a huge bump around is different.
Yet another no makeup bump pic!
I get so so many comments from strangers and coworkers alike commenting on how huge I am and saying “you’re about to burst.” It’s real cute. I get it, I am huge, but why is suddenly okay to comment on someone’s body? Anywho!
Feeling
Overall, I’m still feeling pretty good. I am so busy at work that I generally get through the work week just fine. I do tend to spend a fair amount of my weekend time napping. Sleeping at night isn’t the easiest, so the second I am on the couch in the afternoon watching tv, I am pretty much down for the count for at least an hour or two. If I am out and about, I’m okay. If I go horizontal, it’s all over.
Baby Updates:
My 36 week appointment went well. I tested negative for strep B and the baby’s heart rate is still strong as ever. I discussed a few of my birth preferences with my doctor, who was mostly on board with my desire for as few interventions as possible. The only exception is if my water breaks before contractions, it seems like they are hesitant to let you go too long (like at all) before induction due to the risk of infection. I was hoping for 10 hours, but ultimately I care the most about a healthy baby and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
The baby is measuring large, which surprised me. I could have a 9 pound baby on my hands. But the doctor said that I’ve controlled my weight gain (25 pounds to date) and as long as I continue to do what I’ve been doing everything will be fine.
I’m still carrying so high. I keep wondering when she’ll drop!
Classes and Random Things
We took a birth class through our practice and one of the things the nurse suggested was bringing to the hospital was a diffuser for labor. This sounded so over the top at first, but I have become sort of obsessed with fresh, clean smells, so I started thinking more and more about it. I asked my doctor if it would be an obnoxious thing to do, and he said, if I walk into your room and it smells nice, I won’t be mad about it. So I bought a diffuser and some essential oils and I’m thinking eucalyptus may be nice.
Speaking of packing for the hospital, my bag is 90% packed, so I’ll try to do a post on what I’m bringing based on what our practice suggested and reading many fellow bloggers’ posts.
To date we have taken:
-a hospital orientation
-dog prep class
-4 hour birth class
-3 hour breast feeding class
They were all worthwhile and very affordable or free through our hospital. I think the birth class was really good to attend as a couple, since there are so many unknowns and possibilities, it’s good to have a shared common knowledge of what could happen. It was also nice to have someone else explain some of the grosser aspects of pregnancy to my husband.
Favorite Maternity Brands
It’s impossible to find super flattering clothing at this point, but Rosie Pope and Ingrid and Isabel are pretty great maternity lines. I think I’ve rented everything RTR has by Rosie Pope!
Staying Active
During the week, I’ve generally been having trouble sleeping and then trying to get into work early, so my structured workouts have been slim to none the last few weeks.
I do my best to fit in a few long walks, a short prenatal strength workout and a spin class each week. It’s weird to go from being fairly active to fairly sedentary, but you can only do what you can do.
Things I’m excited about:
-Meeting and holding the baby – of course
-Having the nursery almost done. I’m just waiting for the dresser mirror which is now on extended back order. I love the softness of the nursery so much and find spending a few minutes in there each day to be calming. Apparently, Pettitte does too.
-Sleeping on my stomach again
-Finishing up all essential work, so I’m not so stressed at the office. My goals is to do this by Thursday, so my last week at work is a bit more low key.
-Baths. I take a bath every few days and really enjoy those 15 minutes. I had never used our bathtub previously.
