As I was editing today’s post, it dawned on me that the last month has just flown by. I can’t believe that I’m already halfway through this pregnancy and that in a few months I’ll be a mother. For real. And I don’t even feel like an adult half the time.
Week 17
The holidays really picked up and thankfully my energy levels did too. I learned a few tricks for surviving the holidays while pregnant:
- Go to bed at a reasonable time – As tempting as it was to stay up late for every night with family and friends, I really suffered the next day. I’d feel almost hungover and sick. I made a point to hit the pillow around 10-11pm, especially on nights when I knew I had something important the next day.
- Eat small meals – It’s hard when there are so much good food around this time of year, but I was much more likely to get heartburn on the days that I had big meals (such as our big family dinners), versus the days that I tried to break it up into six small meals.
- Drink tons of water – Often times I think when I’ve been hungry or feel rundown, I’m dehydrated. I seem to need much more water than I normally do. I started carrying a refillable water bottle with me at all times.
- Let people help you – I’m totally guilty of trying to do everything myself. Carrying in all the groceries, loading up on the car with baskets of Christmas presents while balancing a try of cookies on top, etc. I tried to break up heavier tasks into multiple trips, and I learned five little words that were gold – “can you help me please?”. And guess what…if you ask, people will help. Family, friends, even strangers.
- Make mocktails – Take your ginger ale, sparkling water, lemonade, whatever and put it in a pretty glass with ice. It feels festive and fun for a social occasion.
My biggest weird pregnancy thing right now, is the mad hungry pangs every once in a while in the middle of the night. On one occasion, Garrett got up for work at 4:30am and I couldn’t get back to sleep. My stomach started growling so loud that I knew there was no way I’d get back to sleep without a snack. I called him from upstairs (no joke) and he kindly brought me up a piece of my favourite Bavarian bread with butter. 20 minutes later I was out like a light. I guess the baby was just hungry!
Week 18
This was a very busy week, between Christmas with my family up north, then Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at my parents, and another Christmas dinner on the 25th at Garrett’s parents. It was so great to see all our families and catch up with everyone about the baby news.
We also got to have our 18 weeks ultrasound on December 23rd and were able to see our little one again. Originally they were not going to tell us the gender and wanted me to wait until the end of January to find out, but thankfully they did in the end.
We hadn’t planned on them telling us, so I’d already booked a 3D ultrasound the same day to find out the gender. We were both looking forward to being able to tell our families while everyone was together, that I wasn’t going to take a risk that we wouldn’t find out. At 18 weeks there is very little body fat, so it looked a little more like an alien than a baby, but I loved getting to see the little button nose and all the details. Both ultrasounds confirmed the same great news…
…we’re having a girl!
I made a Christmas ornament for a simple gender reveal with each set of future grandparents. Everyone was so excited to find out, with both families placing bets for pink or blue.
We were given some really lovely Christmas gifts for our little one, including her first set of “Christmas stockings!”
The t-shirt cracks me up and I’m excited for a couple more books to add to our nursery!
Week 19
This week started with a 28 hour road trip to Florida with my family. It involved lots of car naps, washroom breaks and sharing the backseat with a very big doberman. It was worth it to see the familiar palm trees of Southwest Florida by the second night.
The weather was so good this week, so we took advantage of it with lots of outdoor activities. Biking along the piece while the tide was out was one of my favourite things. It’s so beautiful going along the water. Back in September when I found out I was expecting, my mom convinced me to buy maternity shorts on clearance. I was so glad I did, because we arrived in the middle of a heat wave.
Another morning we got up early to go kayaking around a calm bay, and even spotted a dolphin! Between biking, kayaking, swimming and walking, I was glad to fit in lots of physical activity while I was away. It felt good to get out and move around in all the fresh air and warm sun!
Week 20
I’ve officially made it to the halfway mark. Woo hoo! I really started feeling her move around this week, especially after I’ve had a meal…or as soon as I lay down to go to sleep.
While I was in Florida, we ate really well. Lots of produce, big home cooked meals from my mom and some nice treats too – like these cinnamon rolls one morning. I’d been feeling a little unmotivated and uninspired in the kitchen the last couple of months, but being around all this good food got me excited about coming home and developing some new recipes.
We had a few colder dreary days at the end of the trip, so I took advantage of that to do a little shopping for the baby. Aside from the crib that my parents gave us and a few gifts we’d received…I really had nothing prepared for this baby to come. It was nice to get some little outfits to take back with me, and feel a wee bit more prepared. The one thing I noticed is that I’m definitely drawn to more soft colours and delicate patterns, as oppose to brighter colours and sayings on shirts, which makes sense because I don’t dress that way myself. I absolutely love the darling dress and sweater that Princess Charlotte wore.
And can we just talk about how baby stuff is just so cute (and tiny!!)? I got a couple of sleepers on clearance and the little strawberry and ducky feet just about killed me. It seems crazy to think that we’re going to have a baby girl (!) oh so soon that is going to fit into this stuff. Mind blowing.
I’m definitely starting to feel that my belly is out there. Maybe it was because I finally got a chance to relax for a couple of weeks on vacation with no stress from work or the holidays, but man did it ever pop out this week. Garrett was pretty shocked when he came to get me at the airport. She is growing so fast and before I know it, she’ll be here…so I better start brainstorming about the nursery!
