I’ve officially hit the eight month mark! The weeks keep getting closer and closer to when we’ll get to meet our baby girl and we can’t wait! I’ve been slowly scratching things off the To Do List and making some progress. Overall I’ve been feeling pretty good the last few weeks. It’s getting more awkward and uncomfortable to move around, but for the most part I’ve been able to sleep (up until the last two nights, ha!) and I’ve tried to remain active when I can. The only real symptoms I’ve had were some Braxton Hicks contractions this week (more on that below) and feeling a little woozy sometimes from my low blood pressure. It’s something I’ve had since I was a teenager, but in pregnancy it can get even lower. It means I get a little dizzy sometimes, particularly in the afternoons, and occasionally when I lay down to do yoga or to read, I get heart palpitations. Both my midwife and my family doctor are not too concerned, but it is something I need to be aware of and keep an eye on when it’s feeling particularly low so that I don’t faint. Drinking plenty of water and making sure to take breaks seem to help!
Week 29
Although Garrett and I chose to do most of our prenatal classes online from the comfort of our couch in pjs, there were a few free sessions that we did at our hospital. One of them included going for a tour of the birthing unit, which was really helpful to understand where this is all going to go down and how to navigate ourselves through the maze. We’ve also taken one they offered on what options we have for pain management in labour and another session for couples on breastfeeding. I was really glad that they include the husbands on this, because even though I’ll be the one breastfeeding, I love that Garrett will be able to support me on this and understand what some of the challenges can be. Team work!
Friends of ours came by and their super sweet daughter brought us a list of baby names that she liked, and I gotta say she picked some real good ones. I think the question I get asked the most (right after “when are you due”), is “have you picked a name yet”. We’ve got a list that we’ve been going back and forth on for awhile, with a couple at the top that we really like. The plan is to go in with the list and see what we like once we meet her face to face. Naming another human being is harder than I thought! So much pressure to get it right because you know they’re stuck with it!
Week 30
Daylight savings really did a number on my sleep for a couple of days. The baby kicks at the same time every morning – 4 am and then again at 7am. With the time change, it meant she was waking me up even earlier and it took me awhile to get caught up on sleep. When Garrett was working one weekend, I think the dogs and I spent half the day going between the couch and the bed for naps. This third trimester fatigue may not be as bad as the first trimester, but it still knocks you out!
Although the dogs don’t seem to mind all the snuggles. I swear they know something is up because they are being extra sweet throughout the pregnancy.
It hasn’t all been rest, as we take advantage of our last couple of months of being in a baby-free household. There have been plenty of dates, shopping trips and a few projects as well. On one unseasonably warm Saturday, we were able to sand and paint this dresser for the nursery. It turned out even better than I had hoped!
Week 31
The other big piece we had for the nursery is the custom rug we had delivered by a local flooring store. The flooring in this room is linoleum and we know that down the road we’ll be changing all the flooring on the second floor, so it didn’t make much sense to do it now. A huge 8′ x 10′ rug can cost a fortune, but we were able to get a custom rug woven by a Canadian carpet company, have it bound and delivered for under $250. It has little flecks of pink and blue in it, so depending on what you put near it, it pulls out those colours – making it perfect for any future kiddos.
With the rug in place and the dresser done, we were ready to build the crib! Cola was our supervisor throughout the whole procedure. He sniffed and inspected every single piece before it was attached.
He really wanted to make sure that Garrett got all those screws tight, ha!
Once it was all put together, we let our noisy pups give it a test run (with the plastic still on the crib mattress). One step closer to being ready for a real baby in there! How beautiful is that handmade quilt we were given by our family friend. I can already see it’ll be something she treasures for years to come.
I’m starting to pull together other things in the nursery as well, including tucking away all the little clothes that I washed last month. Even with a huge dresser, it’s already filling up pretty quickly from gifts and hand-me-downs!
Week 32
Now that I’m settling into the last couple months, I’ve been starting to read some more books. These are the three on my nightstand right now. Your Fit Pregnancy has been really helpful with giving me tips on how to keep active and ready for labour (and some yummy recipes too). Of course we’re still working on fine tuning the baby names list and I love The Best Baby Names for Canadians. It has some really good lists and fun facts. Bringing Up Bébé was recommended to me by a few friends and I’m finding it really interesting so far. (I also love the Motherhood Around the World articles series from A Cup of Jo. I find in fascinating to see all the similarities and differences in how children are raised around the world.)
With my birthday coming up in May (only 4 days after my due date!) it seems that just about everything is up for renewal around that time. I’m trying to be as proactive as I can be with getting things done way ahead of time, such as getting my new license plate sticker, updating all my insurance policies, filing my taxes and setting up reminders for payments in those first few months of newborn brain fog. I even bought and wrapped the Mother’s Day Gifts for both our moms, just in case I end up going into labour early (wishful thinking, I’m sure, ha!). There is quite a bit of baby paperwork that I’m trying to compile ahead of time too, including our cord blood donation. As we’re both in good health and have no family history of major health issues, we found out that we’d make ideal candidates to donate the blood from the umbilical cord. It doesn’t cause any harm to the baby or me, and it means that donation could help a child in need of precious stem cells. If we’re not a match, our donation will go to help with more research related to child illnesses. For the little bit of paperwork that’s involved, we’re happy to know that something that is otherwise getting through away could help another family.
This week I had my first truly painful pregnancy experience – Braxton Hicks. They made the mild cramps and round ligament pain of the first trimester seem like nothing. Garrett came upstairs to find me curled up in bed with my two nurses. I talked to my midwife about it the next day and she advised me to keep up all the water intake (stay hydrated!!) and take an epsom salt bath on evenings after I’ve had a particularly active day, as I’m more likely to get them on the nights when I’ve been busy during the day. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a bath (maybe 8 years ago?) as we’d always had stand up showers, but I gave into one last night. It was so nice and relaxing…and now I get why people do it. I think I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
At my midwife appointment yesterday, we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat again (still one of my favourite sounds in the world right now) and learn that she is still measuring a couple of weeks ahead, as she has been for the past few appointments. It means she could come early or might be a big baby – we’ll have to wait and see! This weekend we’ve got a few things planned, including heading off to the city to catch The Baby Show in Toronto. Baby stuff galore!
