Category: Bump Updates

Bump Update

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How Far Along: 37 weeks!

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How I’m Feeling: great, actually! No aches, no pains, no twinges. Gonna high five this baby when she comes out (hopefully the trade-off for a great pregnancy isn’t a terrible labour). 

Sleep: sleeping the same as I’ve slept all pregnancy – mostly well, with 3-5 bathroom breaks per night. I fall asleep pretty easily again afterwards though, so it hasn’t made me feel too tired during the day. 

Exercise: I’m not doing any exercise other than my daily walks, and that feels like the right choice for me at this point. 

Position: an ultrasound on Wednesday confirmed what we had already suspected – that the baby is head down and sinking lower all the time. 

Symptoms: lots of movement from the baby, no weight gain for the past month or more, and just feeling big and slightly uncomfortable (as expected!). My back only hurts when I’m sitting in one position for a long time, so I keep moving as much as possible. 

Appreciating: that we’re finally getting super busy at work so I have a lot of projects that will hopefully keep me distracted over the last few weeks and help the time fly by!

Baby Prep: packed the hospital bags for my two babes (BabyProc and Tom), but still have to pack my own. Despite reading blog posts about it and receiving numerous gems of wisdom from family and friends I remain plagued with indecision about what to bring and what to leave behind, so I think my official decision is just to leave it ’til the last minute and pack my bag during early labour. 

Looking Forward To: well obviously we’re always looking forward to meeting this baby, seeing what she  looks like, and putting her in all of her adorable sleepers. But I can’t write that every week, so today I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to doing non-pregnancy stuff, like rolling over in bed with ease, wearing (and shopping for!) non-maternity clothes, and enjoying a nice cider or some rye with my Pops at Christmastime. 

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How Far Along: 36 weeks!

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How I’m Feeling: My two biggest problems right now are patience, which won’t surprise anyone who knows me, and comfort, which won’t surprise anyone who has ever been 36 weeks pregnant.

Sleep: uuugggghhhh

Exercise: daily walks – mostly long (1hr+), sometimes short (30min).

Movement: still a lot of movement but it’s different movement now – she doesn’t have the room to really wind up for those punches so it’s more of a rolling around kind of action. She responds when we poke her, but probably because she doesn’t know what the heck is going on (…or does she? See previous post…). 

Position: at our last few appointments the midwife thought she was head down with her feet tucked cozily into my rib cage. It still feels that way, but we don’t know which way she’s facing and I would really like her to not be sunny-side up, since both the women I know who have endured back labour had a 36 hour labour (one was my mama!).

Symptoms: my feet and ankles were quite swollen last weekend but my blood pressure is okay so I’ve just been making an effort to put them up for an hour or so mid-day, since I am basically on my feet all the time.

Appreciating: that I’m so close to the end, though another month sometimes seems like an overwhelmingly long time.

Contractions: I thought maybe I had one or two Braxton Hicks the other day, but I don’t really know. I guess nothing noteworthy yet!

Baby Prep: I should probably pack that hospital bag sometime. 

Looking Forward To: taking her home!

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How Far Along: 35 weeks!

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How I’m Feeling: exciiiiiiiteddddd and energized!

Sleep: Pretty uncomfortable. Rolling over is close to impossible and I wake up to pee every 2-3 hours or so like clockwork. At least I’m consistent! 

Exercise: was able to do a LOT of walking this week – all around Vancouver: downtown, the seawall, even a night at the track with some light jogging! I stopped doing my prenatal living room workouts this week though, my joints are getting way too loose and creaky. 

Movement: she’s running out of room in there and pressing harder and harder against my ribs, bladder, and belly, but she still hasn’t slowed down! Very, very active baby in there. 

Symptoms: I know that a lot of pregnant women are already feeling the beginnings of some labour-related pangs at this stage, so I’m incredibly grateful to just feel heavy and sluggish. I’m carrying a 30lb basketball in front so I definitely have an achey back at times, but otherwise I’m doing great!

Baby Prep: made a list of what to include in our hospital bag this week (though we won’t be packing it yet).

Looking Forward To: seeing who she looks like! And having a normal bladder again…

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How Far Along: 34 weeks!


How I’m Feeling: generally pretty great, but I’m definitely slowing down and am having to learn to accept that. I’ve always had pretty limitless energy and have enjoyed pushing myself to do things at ‘full speed ahead’ …walking, working, writing, exercising. I’ve caught myself feeling bad that I get out of breath climbing a hill when I’ve already been for a three-hour walk that morning, or that I no longer have the energy to cook a nice meal for dinner every day. So silly! So I am allowing myself these last six or so weeks to breathe deeply, slow down, and really appreciate my body for being able to carry this baby, which is a much stronger feat than any race I’ve run, after all.

Sleep: the third trimester insomnia they talk about is a real thing, let’s just say that. 

Movement: spastic, as usual; I think that Baby Procter is pretty excited to join in the fun on the outside! 

Craving: Coffee Crisps, pumpkin smoothies (I make them myself and they’re SO good!), fast food…and Tums.

Symptoms: heartburn, insomnia, and a general feeling of being large and uncomfortable pretty much all the time, but especially when I’m trying to put on my shoes, get out of bed, roll over, pick something up off the floor .. the list goes on. Sometimes when I drop something I just have to leave it. 

Nesting: after being spoiled at our baby shower, nesting this week has consisted of trying to find space in the apartment for all of our wonderful new stuff! We are also both very much in love with our new stroller. The annual sale at Babies R Us gets a big thumbs up from the Procters!

Enjoying: long walks, crunchy leaves, and lots of daydreaming. Plus occasionally pushing the aforementioned stroller around the apartment for fun.

Looking Forward To: shopping for non-maternity clothes again one day…I hope!

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How Far Along: 33 weeks!

How I’m Feeling: dreamy and agitated, and sometimes a bit lonely and bored during the week. I am constantly daydreaming about what this baby is going to look like, what her personality will be like, and how it’ll feel to bring her home from the hospital. These thoughts inevitably lead to “will we have everything we need?” and “are we emotionally prepared for this?” Probably not, but parents have been wingin’ it since time immemorial, right?

Sleep: it hasn’t been a great week for sleep – takes ages to quiet my mind, I wake up multiple times throughout the night, and I have a lot of joint pain in my hips and shoulders when I wake up. But I’ve had such a great pregnancy so far that I don’t think I’m in a place to complain about some shitty nights. Surely I signed on for those..! 

Movement: two words: spastic baby. She never stops! It’s still my favourite part of being pregnant, but who knew that a four-and-a-half (ish) pound baby could kick a mama’s ribs so hard?! Sometimes I’m quite shocked by her strength. 

Appreciating: that I can still enjoy my long walks, and that the weather was perfect for them all week long! Sunny but not too hot. I’m really hoping I can keep on walking right up to my due date and beyond (if needed). Walk that baby right outta there. 

Craving: marshmallows! Of all things.

Symptoms: ever-growing belly, tiny bladder, creaky knees, intermittent heartburn, and constant excitement with occasional moments of panic. 

Nesting: looking forward to packing our hospital bags over the next couple weeks; feels like a rite of passage as well as a sign of how close to the end of this pregnancy we’re getting!

Looking Forward To: celebrating Baby Procter at her baby shower this weekend.

Labour Day

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Yes, I know that Labour Day is supposed to be a day that celebrates workers and trade unions (by giving salaried employees a day off while most low-wage and shift-work employees actually still have to work..). But for an expectant mama in her third trimester, Labour Day is feeling a little different this year.

Throughout my pregnancy I’ve made a point to try and equip myself with the knowledge I need to approach labour feeling confident, informed, and flexible. I’ve shied from making a set-in-stone Birth Plan because in my experience, life rarely goes according to my detailed strategies, leaving me feeling disappointed and anxious that life has deviated from what I was expecting. Instead, I’ve compiled a birth “wishlist” that we’ll use as a guideline within the constraints of whatever circumstances we’re given. I’ve read a lot of positive, realistic birth stories, asked a million questions of everyone I know, hired a doula, read a few recommended books, and then tried to push it (no pun intended) to the back of my mind.

But with a Halloween due date and our muggy summer heat transitioning into cozy Autumn weather lately in Vancouver, it’s creeping into the forefront of my thoughts more and more often. Every time I see leaves falling, Halloween candy on sale, or costumes in store windows, I’m reminded how close I really am to the end of this pregnancy. While this heightens my constant excitement to meet the baby, it also makes labour feel less like an abstract concept looming in the distant future and more like a real event that I may actually have to experience, like, soon.

So here’s to learning to let go of those thoughts, to trusting my body and trusting the baby and to not having a panic attack in the next nine weeks.

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How Far Along: 31 weeks!

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How I’m Feeling: heavy and slow, but I know there’s still many weeks of growth to go.

Sleep: some nights good, some nights bad (it’ll probably be that way for a couple of years).

Movement: it’s so fun when she gets interactive with us and kicks against our hands when we rub my belly at night.

Appreciating: all good news from the midwife at this week’s appt. Strong heartbeat, good blood pressure, and measurements on track.

Symptoms: achey hips and joints, some back pain, and really creaky knees and ankles when I work out! Otherwise I feel fantastic most days and I’m so grateful for that.

Nesting: lots of cooking and baking happening again now that it’s cool enough to use our oven, but we’re still waiting a while to buy all the baby stuff.

Enjoying: September! Fall vibes, and the weather’s still warm. Love it.

Looking Forward To: we have three baby showers to attend this month (one is our own), so I’m looking forward to celebrating some mamas and babies this month!

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Having a baby is full of little and large milestones that are so much fun to revel in, especially when you’re experiencing them as a first time mama. Even though they can’t all be ‘movie moments’ – our first ultrasound was not a special experience and finding out the sex of the baby was anti-climatic as well – they’re still memories that we’ll laugh about and cherish. Personally, I like the rites of passage that occur in our own homes rather than in a lab, like telling our families that we were expecting (even though no one was surprised), watching Tom assemble the crib we picked out for our daughter, and feeling her kick for the first time (she hasn’t stopped since).

 

For some reason though, I’ve always held the 30 week mark in my head as a major milestone – and it’s today! While I recognize that I still have a ways to go, these last 8-12 weeks feel like the home stretch. The baby has a lot more growing to do before she’s ready to be earth-side and we have some more preparations to make before we’re ready to have her here, but when we feel her little feet pressing against my belly it isn’t very hard to imagine how soon she’ll arrive. So hey, baby! Keep growin’ in there, we’ll see you soon!



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How Far Along: 30 weeks

How I’m Feeling: warm and muggy in this late-summer heat, but otherwise okay! I think I’m entering the “big” stage of pregnancy when moving around becomes more of a struggle, but I’m still getting my daily long walks in.

Sleep: hard to stay comfortable in any position, and poor Tom wakes most mornings to the sound of my grunting and groaning as I heave myself from our low bed. 

Movement: my belly sometimes gets contorted into some truly weird positions as she swims around in there, but it’s a pretty delightful feeling that I just don’t think I’ll grow tired of.

Reading: Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding – who knew there was so much to learn about boobs? This book covers a lot of interesting stuff, including a lot of anthropological background information about nursing in North America – the history, the stigmas, the movement towards formula, and the mainstream shift back to breastfeeding that we’ve experienced more recently.

Nesting: feeling nostalgic in general and enjoying hearing stories from family members about their own experiences being pregnant and birthing their babes! My dad also pulled the 34-year-old bassinet out of the attic and cleaned it and put it together again with Tom. My aunt hand-sewed the linens for it and we can’t wait to have it in our living room.

Enjoying: being pregnant. While I’ve always wanted kids and consider myself to be deeply maternal, I have never looked forward to being pregnant, and actually thought I would hate it! It’s been a nice surprise to find that I’m enjoying the process (especially considering it’s a long one!).

Looking Forward To: going for a run again next spring. This is the longest hiatus I’ve ever had from running!

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How Far Along: 29 weeks!

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Movement: this baby is as squirmy as Tom when he’s trying to sleep after a few beers! If she ends up being half as mobile on the outside as she is on the inside, we’re going to be running after her for many, many years to come. 

Appreciating: having a car (thanks, Mom!), and also restaurants that whip up booze-free mocktails for prego’s so we don’t have to drink yet another water or iced tea while out with friends on a hot summer patio. 

Craving: the arrival of September. Even though I love the summertime, I’ve always been an Autumn enthusiast. Ideally I would be going back to school every year at this time, with fresh notebooks and a new backpack and endless possibilities for learning new things (dork alert), but knowing I’ll be having a new baby before Christmas is a pretty good “consolation” prize.

Nesting: trying to keep the apartment as clean as possible with little jobs. My most recent projects have included alphabetizing the record collection, cleaning my makeup brushes, and wiping all of the individual slats of our wooden venetian blinds.

Enjoying: feeling nonstop kicks (even when they hurt my ribs a little) and movements. I feel like I have a constant companion wherever I go! The novelty of this may wear off as she starts to weigh more and more over the course of this last trimester.

Looking Forward to:  finishing Tom’s application for Permanent Residency, which will be a relief to finally submit and get off our hands. 

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How far along: 26 weeks!

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Sleep: adequate, but my belly went through a growth spurt these last couple of weeks, and as a result I’m definitely feeling more aches and pains. Pillows have been crucial to my comfort!

Movement: the midwife told us that weeks 24-28 are the time of the most movement because the baby is still small compared to the amount of space she has. It certainly feels true – she is all over the place in there like a little whale, and I never know where she’ll surface next.

Appreciating: the fans in our hot, south-facing apartment. I wouldn’t get any work done during the day or sleeping done during the night without them.

Craving: tart lemon water and all of the quinoa bowls! I’ve been making quinoa and adding all of the good stuff – spinach, tuna, edamame, homemade hummus, almonds.. whatever we have in the cupboard.

Nesting: we rearranged our bedroom recently to better accommodate the crib and to give the baby (and us) more space and storage, and we are loving how fresh and open the new set-up feels! It’s amazing what a difference a little effort and $100 or so can make!

Looking Forward To: November 🙂