I'm almost 39 weeks now, very pregnant and very ready to not be pregnant anymore. My doctor has continued to tell me she thinks I'll have her early because I'm so petite but I'm staring to think she's going to make a late arrival because there are just no signs of her coming as of lately. I've had lots of back cramping off and on that will last for a few hours but it's not consistent and seems to only happen every few days or so. I have some days where I feel so good all day that I hardly feel pregnant and I also have days where even walking for longer than a couple of minutes is nearly impossible before everything on my body starts aching. Each day is different. When I hit 36 weeks I gained a good 5/6 lbs in a matter of two weeks. She must have went through a big growth spurt because that's the most I've gained in a two week period. Since then I haven't gained any weight, in fact I've actually lost 1 1/2 lbs which puts me at a 22lb weight gain.
I started maternity leave on October 7th and I'm so glad I decided to start leave sooner rather than later because it's truly helped me relax. The first week I was off I got all the baby's clothes washed and put away and my husband completed her nursery. I also spent time deep cleaning parts of the house that were driving me nuts. The following week I did some meal prepping so that I wouldn't have to worry about cooking right away once the baby arrives. I made a huge batch of my turkey chili and my spaghetti sauce with ground turkey and froze both of them. I also stocked up on oatmeal and protein powder for breakfast and froze a bunch of fruit and spinach in individual bags so I could make smoothies easily. Since being home I've had a smoothie for lunch almost every single day. My smoothie usually has 1/2 banana, 5 strawberries, handful of raspberries, handful of spinach, ground flaxseed, two tablespoons of Greek yogurt, almond milk and crushed ice. I'll also have an open faced chicken sandwich with that or a chicken salad. This week I plan on relaxing as much as I can, working out lightly when I feel good and maintaining a clean house. It feels so good to not have to worry about waking up for work, getting ready for the day when I don't feel like it, driving and being uncomfortable and stressing about what else I need to get done before our baby arrives. I actually feel very relaxed about everything right now, except how labor is going to go lol that freaks me out!
I have more energy at night than I do in the mornings and afternoon and really have to push myself to keep my body moving because I can easily plop myself on the couch all day and not move. It's much easier to get my workouts in now that I'm on maternity leave because I can get them done whenever I feel my best which usually happens to be around 11:30ish. I'm so grateful that I learned so much about lifting before becoming pregnant because cardio is very minimal right now. For the past few weeks my only source of cardio has been uphill walking on the treadmill (inclined at 10 and walking at 3.5) for about 20/25 minutes 3/4 days a week. I've continued to lift 4 days a week and feel best after lifting. Sometimes the uphill walking kills my back for about an hour or so after doing it. I'm extremely proud of myself for staying active up until the end of my pregnancy. I feel it's made a huge difference in how good I've felt throughout this pregnancy. I've continued to eat as healthy as possible but I always allow a treat at night which is usually a little bit of Ben & Jerry's half baked frozen yogurt. I buy the small little container of it and that will last me about 4 nights so I really don't eat a whole lot of it each night but I do look forward to it : ) I've had a few nights where I've craved REAL pancakes (not protein pancakes) for dinner along with bacon and eggs but other than that my meals stay pretty clean.
My next doctor's appointment is Thursday and I thought my doctor would have started checking me by now to see if I'm progressing at all but she hasn't which kind of sucks. I'd like to know if I'm getting anywhere at this point but I also understand that even if I am dilated or my cervix is thinning out it could still mean labor is very far away. She won't start checking me until I reach my due date, which is next week. I really don't want to be induced but I have a feeling that's what will happen to me because I have no real signs that she's anywhere near coming yet. I've tried pineapple, sex, walking, bouncing on a yoga ball, squats, spicy food and today I started taking primrose oil. So far nothing has helped : ( Any suggestions on how to get this little girl moving? I really don't want to be pregnant for another 2/3 weeks, ugh!
The most uncomfortable part about pregnancy in these final weeks is the pressure of the baby pushing down on your pelvic area and butt along with the non stop Braxton hick contractions that constantly squeeze the crap out of your stomach making you feel like you can't move or bend and have to pee really bad suddenly. Both the pressure of the baby and the non stop braxton hicks make it really hard to walk around for long periods so I've spent a lot of time on the couch these past few weeks. I've been really lucky and haven't had to deal with heartburn other than maybe twice during my whole pregnancy, nor have I had to deal with constipation, bloating, leaking, etc., however, I have had really weird pain in my hands these past few weeks. My hands hurt really bad in the morning, throughout the night and right before bed. Sometimes they hurt so bad I can't even open a bottle of water. It hurts whenever I try to bend my fingers. Hopefully this goes away post baby.
Well, just in case this is my last blog update before Atiana arrives, I'd love to hear any advice or suggestions you all have on labor, delivery and these final days of being pregnant....
How far along: 38 weeks and 6 days, almost 39 weeks ahhhh.
Weight Gain: 22 lbs (I lost 1 1/2 lbs at my last appointment)
Stretch Marks: None
Belly Button: What belly button lol, it's completely flat.
Wedding Rings On/Off: - Took them off about a month ago when they started feeling a bit tight.
Movement: Definitely a lot less active these days. She gets the hiccups multiple times throughout the day and I'll feel her roll from one side to another but the kicking and punching has stopped.
Cravings: No big cravings, I crave boba a lot and now that I'm on maternity leave and have time in the mornings my go to breakfast is a piece of Ezekiel bread with a little bit of cream cheese, sliced avocado and chicken. If I'm a bit more hungry I'll have it on a wheat bagel instead. This has to be my favorite thing to eat right now. I've also craved breakfast for dinner a few times, mostly craving REAL pancakes which is something I haven't had in years until now.
Symptoms: Feeling nauseous some days, back cramping other days, lots of Braxton hick contractions randomly, everything on my body hurts when I'm on my feet for longer than 10 minutes and sitting straight up is nearly impossible because I get so many Braxton hick contractions that I can't bend or move very much.
Missing: Going out to dinner and being comfortable, walking around for longer than ten minutes without feeling awful, being able to get up and down without it being such a chore and exhausting me, sleeping without a big pregnancy pillow between my husband and I, being able to shave my legs comfortably, etc...and SUSHI! My husband and I have agreed that sushi will be our first post pregnancy date night.
Looking forward to: As scared as I am of labor, I'm also looking forward to getting it over with already so we can meet this little girl and start this new chapter with her!
Sleep: I wake up multiple times now but when I knock out I knock out hard so I really can't complain. Some nights I only wake up to use the bathroom once and other nights it's 2/3 times. I wake up all the other times just to switch sides because my hips get sore.
