And baby makes 4... soon!
How far along? I will be 35 weeks tomorrow, which actually means 36 weeks on Monday. Confused? So is my otherwise great doctor. I keep telling him, I know when this baby was conceived, he or she is 6 days further along than you think. But he prefers to calculate my due the old fashioned way. In any case, I will be having this baby soon. I can hardly believe it!
Total weight gain: I am having a hard time calculating this because I keep being told my weight in kilos. I know, I know, I could find the conversion from kilos to pounds online and whip out a calculator. But it's not that important to me. What I do know is that I have gained way less weight at this stage in this pregnancy than the last, my blood pressure is still at a 'perfect' level (so says the nurse who last checked me) and I am feeling healthy and looking relatively well (minus the bags under my eyes and my skin having that mommy-needs-a-day-at-the-spa, or at least a-morning-to-herself, look.).
Maternity clothes? They're there, being worn, being laundered, and I like them. I am vacillating between looking forward to having a waist again and being able to wear 'real' clothes, and grieving the fact that when the baby comes, I'll have less stylish clothes to wear. Maybe a trip to Reitman's with my new baby in tow will cure my woes?
Sleep? It's not too shabby as a matter of fact. There are occasional nights of insomnia, or having Noah need some extra attention in the wee hours, but I sleeping so much better this time around with this baby.
Best moment this week: Having my aunt come visit me yesterday. While Noah "napped" (I put that in quotation marks because he actually never slept, but lay in his crib talking to himself cheerfully for almost two hours. Sleep or no sleep, that's fine by me.) she helped me get supper ready and then we went outside and played with Noah. She brought him a ball to play with and he ran and kicked it around like a pro. The fresh air, the company, the happy kid -- all ingredients for an amazing day.
Movement? Lots, naturally. And what better time than when Mommy finally hits the pillow after a full day?
Gender? Boy or girl. Those would be the options! Feel free to guess. (Noah originally told me the baby was a boy, now he says "Dur!" for girl, and thinks she should be named Lala. If a boy, he wants us to call him Noah. See? He's already proving he'll be great at sharing!)
Cravings? Oh my land, do I ever want a beer? I was reflecting the other day that the sooner I get home from the hospital, the sooner I can be sipping a Boddington'
s.
And that, my friends, is motivation to get through labour in itself!
What I miss: I would be repeating myself to say beer. Besides that, I am missing the ability to bend over with ease, or chase my kid outside without feeling like I need a glass of water and a nap afterwards.
What I’m looking forward to: Wow, this is hard to answer. What am I not looking forward to?! In the rather immediate sphere, we have some baby room redecorations underway, a small renovation to our house which will give the work-from-home daddy an office instead of a desk smushed into our bedroom closet, and laundering our baby clothes dutifully stored from when Noah was an infant (I have a feeling I will be pretty emotional seeing all of Noah's old clothes from what seems like was only a week ago).
Weekly wisdom: This comes from my grandmother, as a matter of fact. She was reminding me to take it easy when I can, and said, "sometimes, you need to be selfish." This is coming from a woman who had eight children and basically raised them on her own, with hardly a nickel to her name. My mom and her siblings remember fondly how she made Christmas seem so magical when money was so extremely tight, how they always had enough to eat even if it was very simple fare, and how their childhood was happy because of constant work. So to have her suggest I be 'selfish' interested me, because I don't think she ever had the opportunity, or at least allowed herself, to be selfish.
And really, some old-fashioned self-care for the mother isn't 'selfish' at all. When I take time for myself, and (coughcough) use it wisely (exercising, being outside with just me and God, having a nice bath while I watch reruns of Monk on our portable DVD player), I am more energized and capable of being the wife and mother I need to be!
Milestones: Finally connecting with my doctor! For so long our appointments have been so matter-of-fact. He checks my chart the nurses fill out for me that tells him my blood pressure, weight and that funny gestational diabetes test they make you do each time, measures my belly and listens to the baby's heartbeat. And then off I go. 10 minutes, tops! But this time, I had a list of questions for him (only about three or four) and I was so pleased with his answers! Now I know why our doula recommended him to us. He really does support natural delivery, and is so reasonable. This was welcome news, and made me all the more excited to deliver our baby.
Soon... very soon.
Total weight gain: I am having a hard time calculating this because I keep being told my weight in kilos. I know, I know, I could find the conversion from kilos to pounds online and whip out a calculator. But it's not that important to me. What I do know is that I have gained way less weight at this stage in this pregnancy than the last, my blood pressure is still at a 'perfect' level (so says the nurse who last checked me) and I am feeling healthy and looking relatively well (minus the bags under my eyes and my skin having that mommy-needs-a-day-at-the-spa, or at least a-morning-to-herself, look.).
Maternity clothes? They're there, being worn, being laundered, and I like them. I am vacillating between looking forward to having a waist again and being able to wear 'real' clothes, and grieving the fact that when the baby comes, I'll have less stylish clothes to wear. Maybe a trip to Reitman's with my new baby in tow will cure my woes?
Sleep? It's not too shabby as a matter of fact. There are occasional nights of insomnia, or having Noah need some extra attention in the wee hours, but I sleeping so much better this time around with this baby.
Best moment this week: Having my aunt come visit me yesterday. While Noah "napped" (I put that in quotation marks because he actually never slept, but lay in his crib talking to himself cheerfully for almost two hours. Sleep or no sleep, that's fine by me.) she helped me get supper ready and then we went outside and played with Noah. She brought him a ball to play with and he ran and kicked it around like a pro. The fresh air, the company, the happy kid -- all ingredients for an amazing day.
Movement? Lots, naturally. And what better time than when Mommy finally hits the pillow after a full day?
Gender? Boy or girl. Those would be the options! Feel free to guess. (Noah originally told me the baby was a boy, now he says "Dur!" for girl, and thinks she should be named Lala. If a boy, he wants us to call him Noah. See? He's already proving he'll be great at sharing!)
Cravings? Oh my land, do I ever want a beer? I was reflecting the other day that the sooner I get home from the hospital, the sooner I can be sipping a Boddington'
s.And that, my friends, is motivation to get through labour in itself!
What I miss: I would be repeating myself to say beer. Besides that, I am missing the ability to bend over with ease, or chase my kid outside without feeling like I need a glass of water and a nap afterwards.
Weekly wisdom: This comes from my grandmother, as a matter of fact. She was reminding me to take it easy when I can, and said, "sometimes, you need to be selfish." This is coming from a woman who had eight children and basically raised them on her own, with hardly a nickel to her name. My mom and her siblings remember fondly how she made Christmas seem so magical when money was so extremely tight, how they always had enough to eat even if it was very simple fare, and how their childhood was happy because of constant work. So to have her suggest I be 'selfish' interested me, because I don't think she ever had the opportunity, or at least allowed herself, to be selfish.
And really, some old-fashioned self-care for the mother isn't 'selfish' at all. When I take time for myself, and (coughcough) use it wisely (exercising, being outside with just me and God, having a nice bath while I watch reruns of Monk on our portable DVD player), I am more energized and capable of being the wife and mother I need to be!
Milestones: Finally connecting with my doctor! For so long our appointments have been so matter-of-fact. He checks my chart the nurses fill out for me that tells him my blood pressure, weight and that funny gestational diabetes test they make you do each time, measures my belly and listens to the baby's heartbeat. And then off I go. 10 minutes, tops! But this time, I had a list of questions for him (only about three or four) and I was so pleased with his answers! Now I know why our doula recommended him to us. He really does support natural delivery, and is so reasonable. This was welcome news, and made me all the more excited to deliver our baby.
Soon... very soon.
I'm glad to hear all is well with your pregnancy, esp the blood pressure. Good to know everything is looking good and it won't be long now! Bring on the beer!
ReplyDeleteOh, Dr. Andrea - good guy. :) Any chance there's still a nurse named Nancy working there? Or a German nurse whose name starts with D? (Why can I NOT remember her name?!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice post. I'm being "selfish" by sitting here reading it. :)
I love Boddingtons! You've been on my mind a lot lately, so I'm glad to hear life is going well. Enjoy all the selfish time (ha, ha) you have now and don't you feel one bit guilty at all. Self-care is not selfish at all. I look at it as taking out insurance in your own sanity. It is an investment in yourself and is what makes you able to be a good wife and mama. Without self-care we burn out! Put your feet up and cuddle up with a good book.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing quite so wonderful as that first glass of wine or beer once baby arrives! It feels like such an indulgence but also a celebration of this new little person joining the family. I am so excited for you and will be praying hard for you in these last few weeks before Appleseed arrives. Enjoy some mama time before bub comes along!
ReplyDelete