Well, if you've been following me on social media you know that we welcomed our little one nearly three weeks early on Sunday, February 10th. But, if you know me then you know I am way too OCD to not do a third trimester post to complete the series. I am also in the process of writing out West's birth story in between feedings (the struggle is real!) so hopefully I will finish before his first birthday (I'm mostly joking).
Daily walks with the dog. That about sums up what I've been able to commit to and I'm okay with that. Once our schedule gets a little less hectic with breastfeeding then I will be able to start working out more and working on getting back into shape. I am in a wedding this summer so that should be some good motivation for me to get a head start.
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| 35 weeks | @ San Juan Capistrano |
HOW I FELT PHYSICALLY | |
Let me try to reconstruct how I felt the past three months. I had lots of heartburn the last trimester and had to consistently take tums every single night. Jake got pretty sick about a month ago, so I started sleeping on the couch so I wouldn't get whatever he had, and I found out our couch is actually pretty comfortable. It was funny because I tried to go back and sleep in our bedroom after a few nights on the couch and ended up sleeping on the couch because it felt more comfortable. I did eventually go back to sleeping in the bedroom and a few days after that, my water broke. More on that in my birth story!
Fatigue - I started to get very tired and could barely get comfortable. I had been working some long hours in the days before he was born and my body was getting pretty sore after sitting in a chair for 8-10 hours without a walk break in between. Have you ever gotten up from your chair and felt like a baby taking his first steps? Or felt like, wow, I'm sore, what workout did I do, only to realize that you haven't been to the gym in months? Yep. That was me.
Nausea - This came back with a bit of a vengeance in the third trimester for me. Towards the end, I felt pretty nauseous and had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to eat. I drank a lot of jamba juice smoothies, and we made taco bowls and salads in the last few weeks before baby arrived.
Let me try to reconstruct how I felt the past three months. I had lots of heartburn the last trimester and had to consistently take tums every single night. Jake got pretty sick about a month ago, so I started sleeping on the couch so I wouldn't get whatever he had, and I found out our couch is actually pretty comfortable. It was funny because I tried to go back and sleep in our bedroom after a few nights on the couch and ended up sleeping on the couch because it felt more comfortable. I did eventually go back to sleeping in the bedroom and a few days after that, my water broke. More on that in my birth story!
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| @ 28 weeks | Belmont Shore |
Nausea - This came back with a bit of a vengeance in the third trimester for me. Towards the end, I felt pretty nauseous and had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to eat. I drank a lot of jamba juice smoothies, and we made taco bowls and salads in the last few weeks before baby arrived.
Cravings - Smoothies (PB chocolate love) from jamba juice, yogurt covered pretzels, Trader Joe's spinach and artichoke dip, Trader Joe's wild mushroom and black truffle flatbread, milk and girl scout cookies!
Growing Pains - My belly definitely felt ginormous towards the end (and he was 3 weeks early, I can't imagine going to full term); it got increasingly hard to breathe and bend down to pick up something off the floor or to wipe down the shower glass. Jake gave me foot rubs on request and I think that definitely helped me feel better. I don't know if I ever felt contractions (Braxton Hicks or the real deal) until we got to the hospital and my water was broken. I felt the baby move often but I had anterior placenta which made it difficult to do kick counts so I paid more attention to feeling for movement each day.
HOW I FELT EMOTIONALLY | |
We were trying to be very present at Christmas and enjoy our last holiday before baby arrived but it was so hard because we just wanted him to be here already! We picked out our Christmas tree and decided to make a conscious decision not to get anything for baby for Christmas because he wasn't born yet! So hard, but I'm so glad we waited to start buying gifts for him. Now I need to start thinking about baby's first ornament for Christmas 2019!
We had a little baby shower in mid-January at our home and it was so cozy and intimate. Thank you to all of my neighbors and and special shoutout to our friends Jenna and Jon who drove up from San Diego for the day! Having the baby shower made it all seem a bit more real. We weren't able to do a baby shower in Seattle where many of our friends and family are since I couldn't travel after 20 weeks due to high risk of pre-term labor.
My emotions were definitely going crazy towards the end and I felt myself cry many times for no apparent reason (that I knew of that is). I read a few childbirth books and subscribed to two or three pregnancy apps but at some point each day as my due date neared, I would worry about labor and kind of freak myself out. I told myself that everyone does it and it's just a part of life. That calmed me down a bit. I had worked on a birth plan and was supposed to go over it with the doctor on Monday (at my 37 week appointment), but baby West had other plans! I still brought the birth plan to the hospital when I went into labor and we mostly followed it, but I'm not sure if it was ever officially entered into their system or not.
We were trying to be very present at Christmas and enjoy our last holiday before baby arrived but it was so hard because we just wanted him to be here already! We picked out our Christmas tree and decided to make a conscious decision not to get anything for baby for Christmas because he wasn't born yet! So hard, but I'm so glad we waited to start buying gifts for him. Now I need to start thinking about baby's first ornament for Christmas 2019!
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| Picking out our Christmas Tree! (I have the same pose in every picture!) |
My emotions were definitely going crazy towards the end and I felt myself cry many times for no apparent reason (that I knew of that is). I read a few childbirth books and subscribed to two or three pregnancy apps but at some point each day as my due date neared, I would worry about labor and kind of freak myself out. I told myself that everyone does it and it's just a part of life. That calmed me down a bit. I had worked on a birth plan and was supposed to go over it with the doctor on Monday (at my 37 week appointment), but baby West had other plans! I still brought the birth plan to the hospital when I went into labor and we mostly followed it, but I'm not sure if it was ever officially entered into their system or not.
WEIGHT GAINED | |
I believe I ended up gaining 26 lbs which is right on target with what I was supposed to gain. So far I am down 12 lbs, so let's hope this trend continues with breastfeeding. I am trying not to eat everything in sight but it's a struggle. I feel like I am always starving!
I believe I ended up gaining 26 lbs which is right on target with what I was supposed to gain. So far I am down 12 lbs, so let's hope this trend continues with breastfeeding. I am trying not to eat everything in sight but it's a struggle. I feel like I am always starving!
HOW I'VE BEEN SLEEPING | |
Refer back to 'How I Felt Physically' section and also know that I woke up about 4-5x a night to pee. Basically, once I got back into bed, it felt like I had to pee again! That was one of the worst parts of pregnancy for me, feeling like I couldn't empty my bladder. Did anyone else feel that way? TMI? Well, guess what after having a baby nothing seems TMI to talk about. Baby poop? Hemorrhoids? What else should we discuss???
WHAT I'VE BEEN WEARING | |
I have three pairs of maternity leggings which I have been (and continue to) rotating through so we have to do laundry every few days or I don't have any clothes to wear. Could pregnancy be any more glamorous? I resisted buying too much maternity wear and I am thankful that I lean more towards the minimalist side of things since the last thing I need are more clothes. I have been wanting to purge my closet Marie Kondo style (again) but I decided that would be a bad idea when I can't fit in 80-90% of the stuff in there. I will reserve that task for after I lose the baby weight.
I have three pairs of maternity leggings which I have been (and continue to) rotating through so we have to do laundry every few days or I don't have any clothes to wear. Could pregnancy be any more glamorous? I resisted buying too much maternity wear and I am thankful that I lean more towards the minimalist side of things since the last thing I need are more clothes. I have been wanting to purge my closet Marie Kondo style (again) but I decided that would be a bad idea when I can't fit in 80-90% of the stuff in there. I will reserve that task for after I lose the baby weight.
EXERCISE | |
Daily walks with the dog. That about sums up what I've been able to commit to and I'm okay with that. Once our schedule gets a little less hectic with breastfeeding then I will be able to start working out more and working on getting back into shape. I am in a wedding this summer so that should be some good motivation for me to get a head start.
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| My last BUMP photo! | 36w6d | (4 days before he was born) |
WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT | |
Well, since he is technically already here I can't say once baby arrives. But we are taking newborn photos (at home) in March, so I think that may be the one thing I am looking forward to the most. And having all of our guests meet baby -- we have a bunch of friends and family coming to visit next month and I am so excited for them to snuggle with my West-ie!
Well, since he is technically already here I can't say once baby arrives. But we are taking newborn photos (at home) in March, so I think that may be the one thing I am looking forward to the most. And having all of our guests meet baby -- we have a bunch of friends and family coming to visit next month and I am so excited for them to snuggle with my West-ie!
xoxo,
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