4.29.14: Thirty weeks, baby! 'In my thirties', just like my age;) Final decade of pregnancy weeks....or, whatever. Woah.
Do you know what happens every single week when I sit down to write these posts? I always think, 'There is nothing new going on, I have nothing to say, so maybe I will just phone it in or skip this week's update.' And then I somehow manage to post a lengthy update I didn't know I had in me. Whoops;)
Baby is: up to three pounds and 16 inches, at his max for amniotic fluid this week, and kicking his mama like crazy. As always, he seems to like jabbing my belly button at all times. I seriously love feeling this kid move.
Highlights of the week, since there were too many 'best of' moments to narrow down:
Tues: Truman informed me he wants to marry Cecelia when they grow up. OMG. Heart melted. Also had a wonderful morning at the playground with some friends/kids, then a long walk to Starbucks with just my kids in the afternoon before hitting another playground. Fresh air, exercise, and SBux treats for the win!
Wed: I got off work early, so I went to a coffee shop for 'me time' on the computer. My happy place, for sure, and I would love to make this happen more regularly somehow. Also: lots of decaff coffee treats this week;)
Thurs: Went to a meeting at my office for the first time in many months. Co-workers were shocked that A) I'm pregnant and, B) due in July. They say I 'wear it well' and seemed generally excited for me. Realized I have about two-ish more months of work and then 12 weeks off. Yesssss.
Fri: Took a long walk with Henry dog and soaked in the sunshine after work. Another happy place for me.
Sat: Family time!! Playground, errands, amazing mommy-nap, and then an adults-only game night here after major deep cleaning of the house. We had ten people here this time, instead of the usual eight and it was maybe one of the most fun game nights yet! Love hosting parties here.
Sun: My birthday! General amazingness, including brunch with my guy, family time lounging around and also walking to Starbucks for a treat, and a solo maternity shopping trip-- resulting in a new spring wardrobe that makes me feel cuter and ready to tackle the final weeks of pregnancy in style. Also: my kids are the sweetest and husband is the best. All of my friends and family members (and social media, thank you!) made me feel super-special and loved on my big day. Feeling very overwhelmed with the love and gratitude all day on my birthday. I almost wrote a mushy/emotional blog post that day just to remember how happy and content I was feeling, but did not in the name of enjoying the moment instead of blogging about it. Each year really does get better and better. And 33 doesn't feel 'old' most days.
Mon: Started my 'to do before baby list.' This feels so real all of a sudden!
Truman took these family pictures for us before my birthday brunch. Hilarious that he asks to take pictures now, and we are working on finding the right composition/not cutting off our heads.
Yeah, let me see how many you just took, buddy;)
And Nate took this one. Love that CC is picking her nose. Put on my shoes so that my gargantuan feet weren't blinding you, like above.
My birthday lunch was freaking phenomenal. Monkey bread with whiskey caramel sauce? Yes.
And the best omlette/pancake ever. That's cheesy-beer sauce on top (bacon and sausage inside) and Wisconsin 100% pure maple syrup for the 'cake. Drool.
Such a lucky lady with a 'made by the kids and husband' cake. Perfection. And yes, kids stayed in their jammies all day on Sunday 'just because'.
Exercise stuff: Walked three days this week, probably about 2 miles each time. Still with the slight cramping/tightening of the old uterus but if I slow way down it gets better. Somewhat annoyed that I can't be as active as I'd like because my body tells me to chill out, but I get it. I'm very pregnant and realize it won't be forever, which makes me both very sad and very happy depending on the minute.
How I feel: Exhausted some days, high on life for others. Harder to get up from laying down, difficult to carry my children around, and still with the pressure 'down there' that makes me feel like baby is sitting directly on my private parts. Not sure my nether-regions will ever recover from this babe:/ Also really struggled to get up on Truman's top bunk to read the kids books the other night--I was just so uncomfortable sitting up there and both kids were kind of rough with my belly, so I vowed to avoid the top bunk from here on out. Also: it was not a pretty sight to see me get down from there.
I think I'm more tired this time around but still feeling really good for being in the final stretch of pregnancy. Mostly it's just the whole 'having two kids to care for' thing that makes me so tired compared to other pregnancies. Duh, right? Feeling very close and very far away from meeting baby boy.
The Superficial: Belly seems round and high to me, and I'm still loving my basketball belly. I think it's the biggest of all my pregnancies so far but strangers still seem to think I'm 'soooooo small' when I tell them my due date. I particularly enjoy telling people that this is my third, not my first, child when they ask. There should be a study on people's reactions and comments to pregnant women out there---such a wide variety of opinions on gestating mamas. I haven't heard anything especially MEAN this time around and honestly don't even care about the 'too small' comments. Definitely taking that as a compliment this time around! I don't feel 'fat' but I still marvel at how much my body is changing. Pulled out my big girl C cup bras and held up one to my usual A cuppers, for Nate to see the difference. Seriously, it's insanity up in here---porn star status compared to my teenage boy status before! Truman and Cecelia found it hilarious to wear my big girl bras around the house a bit....then Nate quickly ended that party, disturbed by seeing his children with big knockers. ;)
Best comment of the week: 'You don't look old enough to have three kids!' Hahahahaha, thanks, sales lady trying to get me to buy more maternity clothes from your store. Your comment worked and I like you, cha-ching;) Especially because she told me this on my thirty-third birthday and I was questioning my youth before this statement.
I posted these outfits on Instagram--some of my favorite new purchases. Bought them all and then some, so pretty sure I'm set for warmer weather should it ever decide to come! Had big success at Motherhood Maternity/Pea in the Pod. A little nervous about the coral leggings but I went for it after Dizzy and Nate both confirmed they were cute via text. Also: my belly button seems to have it's own agenda these days, huh? And I was having a great hair day on my birthday, so another point for 'Life is Good at 33!'
The coral leggings. Can I pull them off? Didn't get this tank, already have two almost identical at home. Also, do I love stripes or something??
And this dress was a huge hit on Instagram, and I do love it. But from the side I feel like I look a little bit like a house. In my efforts to embrace more flowy tops/outfits, I realize that they make me look very pregs. And I am.
And these were the 'maybe' outfits that I did not purchase, but I secretly want a few of them right now looking at this line up. I just had to draw the line somewhere and it was difficult to edit my giant pile of clothes...so, whatever.
I did actually get that black cardigan in the bottom center pic. Wanted those jean shorts, too, but they were $75 so I opted for the darker ones in the first grouping instead (only $40). I feel inspired by those lighter denim shorts though and might attempt cutting off some of my old maternity jeans that are super flared. Wish me luck!
Enough dressing room pictures....
Happenings: No big nursery progress this week, but instead I'm focusing my energy on cleaning and organizing our house.Wiping baseboards and door frames of the dirty/sticky hand prints is not my favorite thing to do but all of a sudden it's very necessary! Scrubbing our kitchen floor by hand, washing the couch cushions in the washer (scary!! but it worked), and sorting through our closets were all highlights of my week-o-nesting.
Also, we have been talking a lot about maternity leave/return to work set ups this week. Nate is going to take some substantial time off for paternity leave this time! At first we thought he got paid at 60% for 6 weeks and we were planning for him to take off the entire month of July, but it turns out the policy is nothing special and sort of sucks. (ie no paid time off at all for dads, but they can't fire him for using PTO---awesome!). Cue the sad trombone. So now he is thinking about using PTO to be home for the first week and then maybe take of every Tuesday and Thursday for three more weeks after that. I'll still take it, even though it's not nearly as amazing as having him home for a full month! I knew that rumor was too good to be true.
I will probably stop working right before the Fourth of July, assuming I make it that long---really not feeling like working lately, not good since I have another ten weeks to go! Then we will likely send Truman and Cecelia to Lori's just two days per week during my maternity leave this time, although last time we sent Truman there for three days each week. I don't want to pull them all the way out of Lori's because it's so good for them to have their friend/other-authority-figure time....and Nate and I want some time alone with the new baby, too. Win-win for all. By the end of my maternity leave, Truman will be in Junior Kindergarten anyway (!!), and will be totally done with Lori's at the end of August. Can hardly imagine that transition!
Also, my mom wants to fly out and stay for a solid few weeks, too. Do you know what this means? SO MUCH HELP for baby #3!!! And trust me, I know better than to turn any of it down. Maternity leave is always such a special, magical, exhausting and chaotic time of life....it should be infinitely better with my husband and my mom around for a majority of it. Cannot.Wait. I'm lucky, I know!
My guys with matching hats. Love them, and I know one more little guy that can't wait to be a part of their manly activities!
Food stuff: I've actually been craving spinach salads and any/every fruit out there lately. Sure, I still love my sweets (birthday cake, Easter candy, etc) but it's interesting that healthier foods are what I want more than anything. This was around the time when my appetite calmed down with Cecelia, too. It's nice not to have that ravenous, 'must eat all the food' feeling anymore. Hope it doesn't come back anytime soon because I'm running out of room for big meals, anyway.
Other random belly pictures:
Friday night before bed, felt like my belly was super round and low all of a sudden:
Saturday, feeling like this belly was crazy high:
And later that night, a little blurry but again....hello, belly! You keep changing on me.
Birthday belly!
Comparing pregnancies: Truman's pregnancy at thirty weeks: others telling me my bump was 'too small' and I was 'barely showing'. Ooohh, and I forgot about the one of the rudest comments ever: "I'm sorry but you don't even look pregnant, it just looks like you got a fat gut.' NOW I remember that one, and that particular person is pretty much miserable in general (and I never see her anymore anyway). What a mean thing to say to someone! I mean, my belly wasn't huge but I had just experienced a huge growth spurt and most definitely looked pregnant at 30 weeks. I was still running and trying to get the 'very active baby kicks' on video.
Cecelia's pregnancy at thirty weeks: feeling like my bump was pretty small, others telling me 'you don't even look pregnant', getting harder to move around, new maternity clothes lent to me by friends, and moving into bi-weekly appointments. Oh, and I thought CC was very active. I guess I've thought all of my babies were active, but I still think this little guy takes the cake and have successfully gotten MANY videos of his antics already, unlike my other two pregnancies when I struggled to capture it on film.
Summary: I freaking love being pregnant, even though I'm tired and getting bigger and cranky at times. Can't believe I'm so close to being done with pregnancy. I will absolutely miss the sweet anticipation of meeting our newest family member, will miss feeling his gigantic kicks and like I'm protecting him from the outside world. Even if I'm not actively thinking about this baby as much as I did for my others, I definitely feel very connected to him and can't wait to meet the little man.
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