I’m 39 weeks pregnant today! I’m so thankful that my girl and I made it this far. I’m just waiting on her now to tell me when she’s ready. My midwives will let me go until 42 weeks, so she could come really any day this month.
It’s hard to believe how long this pregnancy has been and how much life has changed since I got pregnant. The past 9 months have been filled with the excitement of adventures, travel, trips to see friends, and visits from friends, and with the heartache of moving away from Hawaii. I’m thankful that we moved here when I was about 18 weeks pregnant because it gave me time to get our home together and adjust to life here. I’m no longer depressed about moving and I am in such a better mental state to become a mom.
Despite being nauseous for a lot of my pregnancy and throwing up into my third trimester, I’ve loved this journey of growing a human. I’ve loved being pregnant and I could never think of anything to complain about. I mean yeah, I felt like crap a lot, but I felt like crap because there was this little girl growing inside me. I slowed down when I could and I feel like I’ve enjoyed this time as much as I could.
I’ve loved watching my belly grow, feeling her kicks, learning as much as I could, and getting everything ready for her. I’ve loved the way Nick has gotten into preparing for her with me and I just know he’s going to be an amazing father.
Nick and I have gone out on a lot of dates over the past few weeks. He took a few days off of work to help get everything ready for the baby so we’ve had a lot of time to prepare and to just be together. Just in the last couple of weeks, we went on a hike, went to Annapolis, and went all over DC to farmers markets, museums, the arboretum, outdoor concerts, and outdoor movies. Each time we go out, I wonder if it’s going to be our last date as a family of two.
A few days ago, we went on a book store road trip, hitting up 4 different library book sales and used bookstores in search for books for our girl. We were able to get her so many more books than we could have gotten new. We got burgers and ice cream in between and it was honestly the most fun date ever. I know our relationship is about to change in the biggest way and I’m really glad we’ve had a lot of quality time together over the past 9 months.
I read somewhere that if you read the same book out loud every day in the third trimester your baby will recognize it and it will comfort them when they are born. So, since the baby hears my voice all day long, I decided Nick should be the one to do that. Every night, he reads Oh the Thinks You Can Think to her which I think is adorable. As I type this, he’s making cupcakes that we’re going to freeze and eat right after she’s born to celebrate her birthday.
Feeling: Really good! There was a period of time earlier in my third trimester where back pain was taking over my life – to the point where I missed my brother’s graduation – but that weirdly has gone away. I couldn’t sit or walk or move without pain and it was starting to wear on me, so I am really glad it’s gone. I thought I was only going to get worse as the weeks went on, but I’ve been feeling probably the best I have felt throughout my entire pregnancy. No nausea, no back pain. My hands are swollen and they hurt like crazy. I can’t even pick things up with my left hand (my dominant hand) but I’ve kind of gotten used to it by now.
Sleeping: I have always been very good at sleeping. Sometimes it’s hard for me to fall asleep because I can’t stop thinking about the baby, but once I’m asleep, I’m good. I use a huge body pillow and I wake up a few times a night to pee, but I go right back to sleep. So lucky for that. S
Cravings: I never had any strong cravings throughout my entire pregnancy. I was kind of looking forward to those! I ate a lot of mangoes, peanut butter, burgers, and A TON of ice cream.
Movement: Feeling her move is my favorite thing ever. She’s been really active ever since I started feeling her. I know where her head, butt, and legs are and I feel them a lot. I am constantly putting Nick’s hand on my stomach to feel and we both can’t believe there is a tiny person in there.
Worries: I am very anxious and nervous
I don’t feel “ready.” Yeah, we have a bassinet and a car seat. But there is so much I don’t know, so many unknowns, about having a baby, that I don’t think I could ever really be ready for. I’m so scared I will mess up, that I won’t be good enough, that I won’t know what to do when she’s crying, that I won’t be the mom she deserves. But I will do my best every day and thankfully I have a huge tribe to call on when I need help.
Girl. I don’t feel ready either. Lol. I’m much further behind you (19 weeks yesterday) but when I think about the actual labor and delivery and bringing her home, I get a little lightheaded. Lol. But we will be fine 🙂 Yay for cute dates as a family of two. That little girl is SO lucky to be joining you guys on the outside soon! I love that Nick is already reading to her!
She’s almost here! I’m not sure one ever feels ready for this type of thing? my cousin just had her second baby and she said she felt just as unprepared as her first, lol, it’s a huge change so I think that comes with the territory! All I can say is good luck!! Can’t wait to hear about your first adventures as a family of three <3
So happy for you guys 🙂 Can’t wait to see pictures of her when she arrives!