I might only be sharing a monthly bumpdate, but I’m still taking weekly photos to share on Instagram — and to preserve for the baby book — so I figured I would catch up at the beginning of each update post. Here are our weekly photos since we last checked on baby.
It is honestly so hard to believe we are in the third trimester. I feel like this pregnancy has been the quickest of them all and, knowing it’s definitely my last, I want to cherish every moment. There have been plenty of hard days, but mostly I’m just so grateful for this unexpected surprise and we are embracing parenting at an older age, with bigger kids, and a completely different outlook on life. I’m way behind on all of the things I should be doing — we have no nursery, we’re still living out of boxes, I haven’t bought a car seat or a crib mattress or a coming home outfit — but I’m kind of chill about the whole thing. We’ll figure it out along the way and if the nursery doesn’t get finished until my maternity leave, I’m sure we’ll all survive.
BODY + HEALTH
During the first and second trimester, I was pretty adamant about this pregnancy being exactly the same as my previous two. The further along we get, though, the more the differences are starting to make themselves known. My weight and body composition is completely different this time around. I know that a good part of that is because I’ve been eating better and working out regularly, but I think a fair amount of it can be attributed to the fact that every baby really is different. My belly is a little lower than it was with the girls, I’m closer to my pre-pregnancy size, and I’ve only gained eight pounds since my first doctor’s visit. It turns out, I lost six pounds during the first trimester, so I’ve been busy gaining that weight back. My doctors all seem fine with where I am, weight wise, so I’m continuing to eat exactly as I have been this entire pregnancy. I’m aiming to keep my total weight gain under 20 pounds, knowing that it will be so much easier to get back to my normal size if I don’t gain a significant amount of weight this trimester.
I’ve had the worst cold of my life over the past few weeks. I got sick about half way through our vacation, but since I’ve never run a fever, the doctor didn’t want to prescribe an antibiotic. The photos make our vacation look like all fun and games and while I did have a really good time, I didn’t feel nearly as well or as happy as I appeared. I did my best to make it a fun vacation for the girls, but I was barely sleeping at all and by the end of the second week, the heat and humidity was really getting to me. I had my 28 week appointment yesterday (even though I’m 29 weeks — our vacation threw my visits off) and the doctor recommended a few new over-the-counter medications to try. Last night was the best I’ve slept in at least ten days and I’m hoping the cough is completely gone by the weekend.
I’ve missed more than two weeks of exercise, so I’m dreading my return to the gym tomorrow. I deliberately left my sneakers at home so I wouldn’t feel any pressure to exercise while we were gone and I had to cancel my first two classes of the week because I was feeling so bad. I plan to take it easy for the next few days and, starting in July, I’ll only be working out at the gym twice a week. I’m going to try incorporating some yoga and other less stressful exercises in at home, but I think it’s time for me to reduce the amount of running and jumping I’m doing at the gym.
I had a CBC and my screening for Gestational Diabetes yesterday and everything turned out great! I actually failed the first test with both girls, so I’m so excited that I don’t have to do the repeat, three hour test. That orange flavored drink is the most disgusting thing in the world?! My CBC revealed anemia, so I’m starting an iron supplement today and hoping that explains my exhaustion and shortness of breath. I had to take iron supplements during the last trimester with one of the girls, so that part seems pretty normal to me. I’ll go back to the doctor in three weeks, to get myself back on track, and then I’ll be going every other week for a while.
EMOTIONS
Not much has changed, emotionally speaking. I’m still crying at the drop of a hat and reading tons of great books on our vacation didn’t help! I can’t help but feel so hard for characters in books and it makes me much weepier than usual. I’m also particularly sensitive to the girls’ behavior, any perceived rejection by the dog (yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds), and when I can’t get enough one on one attention from Josh. I know that it’s all in my head, but it’s awfully hard to remember that in the moment!
I’m more bothered by people, in general. Crowds of people and too little personal space are completely overwhelming and I’m easily frustrated when people are insensitive towards me.
JOSH + THE GIRLS
Josh and the girls continue to be the very best at taking care of me. During the first week of our vacation, Josh was working in the camper while I took the girls to the beach or pool. We were surprisingly self-sufficient, but Ella was the best helper I could ask for. She routinely insisted on rolling our beach cart out on the sand and never once complained about doing it. They were all very accommodating when it came to where we were eating, how hot it was outside, and if I got adequate rest.
ALL THE OTHER THINGS
Our offices at work are under construction and we went several weeks without a restroom on our floor. I’m already pretty far away from the restroom as it is, but having to take an elevator ride any time I needed to potty has been difficult, to say the least. We finally have a working toilet and, of course, I’m not having nearly as much pressure on my bladder from the little one. My doctor did tell me yesterday that she thinks baby is head down, based on the shape of my belly and the location and sensation of my kicks. This is so weird to me, considering that both girls were transverse my entire pregnancy. I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for several weeks (I’m actually having a pretty uncomfortable one at the moment) and I forgot how weird that sensation was. I can’t stand waistbands and elastic at the moment, so despite what these photographs all show, I’m wearing dresses and loose fitting clothing more often than not!
This entire pregnancy, I’ve had very little feeling when it comes to the sex of the baby. I’m still pretty hesitant to say anything out loud, but Josh and I both have started talking about what we think it might be this week. I’m well aware that every pregnancy can be the same or very different and produce extremely different results for different people, so I’m trying not to place too much stock in how I feel. I do think it’s interesting that we’ve both come to this conclusion at the same time and I’m frustrated that it’s causing a little shift in our confidence when it comes to names. We always knew we would wait to make final decisions in the hospital, so we have plenty of time to work it out, but I need more options that we currently agree on and that’s causing me a little stress.
Speaking of boy or girl, I’m trying to put together a gender-related post, along with all sorts of fun old wives tales related to gender prediction, so look for that post in the next few weeks!
I’ve had two different strangers stop me in the last few days to comment on how low I’m carrying. Honestly, it doesn’t feel super low at all, so I was really taken aback. I’m not experiencing as much cervical pressure as I was a few weeks ago and — to me — my belly seems to be exactly in the middle of my torso. Looking at these photographs side by side, though, makes me see how much lower I am carrying than I was with Sophie!
This is a pretty terrible photo, but it’s one of the few that I have pregnant with Ella, around this same time of pregnancy. I was due with Ella on 9/5 and delivered on 9/11 and with this baby, I’m due on 9/12 and will likely deliver on 9/5. This would have been around 28 weeks with her, too, and you can see how much wider my belly was – she was transverse almost my entire pregnancy!
