It feels crazy to think that as of this week I’m officially FULL TERM! Woo hoo! I thought I’d share what I hope is the final pregnancy update for our baby girl. Time has really flown by this time. It feels like it was just spring and I was halfway through this pregnancy and now we’re down to the final weeks.
How I’m Feeling
As can be expected, I’m mainly just feeling tired and uncomfortable…and very excited to meet this little one. I’ve been hustling lately, trying to get my behind-the-scenes blog work caught up so that I can slow down when the baby gets here and focus on our transition to a family of four.
Physically I’ve found this pregnancy harder than I did with Lucy. I know that part of that is because I’ve been chasing a toddler, I sprained my ankle halfway through and I have a much more physical lifestyle working in the flower field versus having an office job before. My OB also says that each pregnancy is harder and stronger on your body, so that could be contributing to how much more sore and tired I feel with this one.
Mentally though, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m ridiculously excited to meet our little girl soon and have all winter to snuggle up together. Garrett will be taking time off, which will be such a big help for me but more so for Lucy. It’ll be a big change for her the most and having that extra support and attention will help.
Sleeping
This one has been a real doozie the last month or so. Since about halfway through the pregnancy, I’ve only been able to sleep on my left side. You’re not supposed to sleep on your back after the first trimester and when I try to sleep on my right side I have difficulty breathing and the baby moves around like crazy, making it really hard to sleep anyways. Of course sleeping on just one side, for months at a time, can make it difficult to get comfortable.
Lately I’ve been having crazy heartburn at night too, so I’ve tried propping myself up on more pillows as well. At this point I use FOUR pillows every night to get myself situated. One behind my back, one in front between my legs and then two strategically stacked at my head to try and elevated the top of my torso enough. I’m sure Garrett will be quite relieved to have some of our bed back after the baby is born, ha! Even Whiskey, who normally sleeps behind my legs, is unimpressed with the current bed situation.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been waking up in the early hours, having a snack and working on the blog a bit before going back to bed. It’s 4am right now as I type this up and as soon as baby’s kicking settles down I’ll head back to bed for hopefully a couple more hours before Lucy is up and is ready to take the day head on.
Movement
I’ve mentioned this on Instagram Stories before, but this baby is VERY active. Even more so than I remember Lucy being. They’re big, strong, sometimes painful, movements that can make it difficult to get comfortable. Her little bum has been pushed up against my right ribs for the last six weeks and I can only hope that she’ll drop soon and I’ll get a little relief. It makes eating, drinking and breathing all a bit more difficult, but I can’t help but be happy that it means she is growing big and healthy in there. I’ll have my body back soon enough.
Cravings/Aversions
In the first trimester I was so nauseous at the thought of sweet things and I’ve felt that feeling coming back in the last few weeks. Sometimes the idea of a nice bowl of ice cream sounds great (it was my fav second trimester treat), but I find I’m gravitating to more savoury snacks these days, like a good old cheddar, salty seed crackers and crisp cucumbers from the garden.
Because of the aforementioned heartburn, it doesn’t really matter what I eat, I can expect some discomfort. Things that really trigger it are acidic foods (especially tomato sauce) and chocolate, but it can be the most surprising things that do it sometimes. I’m having a small bowl of Greek yogurt and strawberries as a 4am snack while I write this and it’s flared up the heartburn – never would have thought that would do it! Propping up with pillows when I sleep, limiting how much water I drink at mealtimes (it can dilute your stomach acid too much) and taking antacids all seem to help.
Packing the Hospital Bag
Our hospital bags and Lucy’s overnight bag are all ready to go in the front hall. I’m actually very excited about my hospital bag this time around. The lovely ladies at Luxury Labour Co. sent me this beautiful duffle bag full of pretty much everything I need for me and baby. I’ll do a full review after I’m home from the hospital, but so far I’m so impressed.
They’ve really thought of everything and I love that whenever possible they support products designed and made by other women-owned, Canadian small businesses and select items that are natural and cruelty-free.
Working on the To Do List
Back in August I shared my Third Trimester To-Do List and I’d say I’m about 80% done it. Baby’s clothes and linens are washed and the bassinet, car seat, baby gear and hospital bags are all ready to go. I swapped out our summer things for fall clothes, and I’ve been steadily filling the freezer with home cooked meals whenever I can (doubling up on recipes while I cook helps!)
We’ve been checking off lots of little things from our house to-do list too, like hanging pictures and hooks, painting furniture, clearing out cupboards, etc. The big thing I’m still working on is setting up Lucy’s big girl room. Clearing out our guest room/storage space to move her into there has been a bigger task than I realized. There is so much stuff in there that we really never went through since we moved here three years ago.
My in-laws kindly watched Lucy yesterday for the whole day and I was able to get a huge portion of it done. The baby is going to be sleeping in our room for the first 4-6 months, so there isn’t a big rush to get it set up for the baby, but we’d really like to get Lucy settled into her new space beforehand. The nursery and our room share a wall, and you can hear everything, so I would like to have Lucy moved out of there before she can hear her baby sister crying in the night.
We’re coming up to our Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend, so I’m hoping that Garrett and I can find some time, between turkey dinners with the families, to do the final push and get her moved in.
Final Countdown
After this final busy weekend of the flower business, my main focus will be finishing up all this nesting, soaking up some one-on-one time with Lucy and hopefully getting a little more rest in preparation for the big day (whenever it will be!).
Thank you so much for all the love and support through this journey. When the time comes I’ll post our little girl’s arrival on Instagram and I’ll be announcing the name to my newsletter subscribers first, so be sure to sign up if you want a sneak peak when she gets here 🙂
You’ve got this! Hugs and our best for your best!
Your Colorado Connection
Thanks Bev! 🙂