Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Third Trimester

I can't believe I've entered the home stretch! In some ways, I feel like this pregnancy has flown by, mostly due to the fact that I've felt great.  In other ways, I feel like we've been planning and talking about Baby Maximus FOR-EV-ER.  I just want to meet the little guy.    We're so thankful to have made it until now with no major issues.  Since there is no telling when our newest addition is going to make his debut, I figured I'd do a blogpost about my third trimester through 36 weeks and then do weekly posts from there.  So, here it goes!

Week Twenty Seven: Feeling good! It's been an easy week at home, but we did get to see our little guy when we went to the doctor.  Everything is going as they should and he looks happy and healthy.  The doctor said he's weighing in at 1 kg 150 ounces, so about 2.5 pounds. The doctor also said he was "head down" which is good because that means he's getting ready to make his appearance. Ever since then, I can feel him when I'm walking, which is kind of uncomfortable.  It's nothing major, but definitely noticeable. It almost feels like I have to go to the bathroom, but not really.  It's just like an extra presence (obviously) down there.



Week Twenty Eight: We spent the week traveling in Spain and it became apparent that my stamina is not what it used to be.  Thank goodness for the Spanish siesta!  I also struggled with sleep since I have a Snoogle body pillow at home that literally is a lifesaver and is the only way I can get comfortable sleeping anymore.  I managed, but the exhaustion was real.  I can still feel Baby Maximus moving all around, which he always seemed to do right around the same time as the siesta.  I also tried to treat myself to a glass of Sangria while in Spain and it did not sit well.  Oh well. Let's just hope this isn't a permanent thing.



Week Twenty Nine: I'm feeling very pregnant.  I know I've gotten past the point where people wonder if I'm pregnant or overweight because people keep telling me congratulations or pointing and saying "baby?" It's kind of nice, but I think my days of a cute baby bump are coming to an end and the days of the bump that can knock over something in a store are near.  I also had a day of heartburn, which is no fun. Hopefully that's short lived! Our little guy has been moving and shaking and I can see my stomach move in all sorts of crazy ways.  He just likes to make himself known, I guess!



Week Thirty: It's pretty funny to ride the metro now. It's so cold that I'm so bundled up so you can't really tell I'm pregnant until I unzip my jacket. The other day, I got on the crowded metro and unzipped my jacket and three different people stood up all at once. It's like parting the Red Sea.  Considering my balance isn't great, I gladly accepted a seat.  Baby Maximus has been moving and shaking.  We went bowling this past weekend and the hardest part about the whole experience was putting my shoes on and off.  Doing things like putting my shoes on, shaving my legs, and bending over have definitely gotten more difficult!  I went to the doctor and he said the baby is weighing 1.9kg (~4 lbs!) which sounds like a lot and has my mom and I wondering if we should be buying bigger clothes!



Week Thirty One:  I hung out at home in Berlin all week while Mike was skiing in Kyrgyzstan.  I had another doctor's appointment and my doctor said "If everyone had a pregnancy like you, I wouldn't have a job!"  I'm just so thankful that I've made it this long and still feel great.  I was having some lower back pain early in the week, but after moving around and spending A LOT of time in Child's Pose on the floor, I'm feeling back to normal.  I do notice that simple things like walking to the metro are a lot more effort, so while it feels good to keep moving, it's at a very slow pace and usually involves sitting afterwards.  Speaking of the metro, I had my coat zipped up and someone offered me a seat, so I must be showing, even throughout all of the layers! Hopefully there are only a few more weeks of really cold weather because I'm not sure how much longer my coat will zip up!



Week Thirty Two: Moving around is definitely more of a struggle, so I spent 20 minutes walking around with my shoe untied because bending over to tie it was just too much work and there wasn't a bench around. I was still able to work out, which was great, but after a work out and walking around the town of Innsbruck for an hour or so, it was time for a nap. Other than that, I've been feeling good and everyone tells me I'm looking great, which I appreciate and am thankful for.



Week Thirty Three: We are back at home; me indefinitely and Mike for a few days before one last pre-baby trip.  Lots of kicking and moving going on inside and lots of eating going on outside.  I was saying it's nice to be able to eat so much, but it's exhausting.  I feel like I can't go more than an hour or two without being ready for another hearty snack.  I haven't stepped on the scale this week, but I'm sure I've gained more than the normal pound a week.


Week Thirty Four: I spent the week showing Rachel around Berlin and am pretty impressed with how well I fared.  I was beyond exhausted at the end of the day, but Rachel (and myself) was impressed at how much I was able to do, especially when it came to walking.  That being said, I could definitely tell a difference in how much of a toll it all took on my body.  I woke up in the mornings feeling tired and by the end of the week, I needed to take a day just doing a lot of nothing.  Rachel kept asking if I was okay and telling me I didn't have to go all of these places with her and, even though it was exhausting, it felt great to move around.  I get so stiff and uncomfortable when I sit or just lounge around all day, so moving is good.



Week Thirty Five: I can't believe we only have five (or maybe six) weeks left.  Regardless, I feel like we went from having months left to now only a few weeks.  We took our prenatal class this week, which was so helpful and we both walked away glad we did it.  I'm starting to feel a little less like myself physically.  I was typing this up mid-week and I wrote that I wasn't feeling uncomfortable, but I wasn't quite comfortable.  Well, that's a lie.  By the end of the week, my back is pretty sore and the past few nights of sleep have been ROUGH.  I seem to have random week s of bad sleep, so I'm hoping this is one of them, but the sore back has me a little concerned this might be longer term situation.  I really can't complain though because there are a lot of women who have a lot bigger issues during pregnancy, so if I have a few weeks of a sore back towards the end, I'll take it!



Week Thirty Six: I reached my limit yesterday afternoon with a sore back, but luckily, a warm bath helped immensely, at least temporarily.  I've been having some indigestion all weekend, but when I think about what I ate, I'm not really surprised, so I'm not blaming our little guy...entirely. I went to the doctor for my now weekly checkups and he said everything looked good and that it didn't look like Baby Maximus would be making his appearance anytime soon. Mike and I were both kind of disappointed to hear that, although we know that the more time cooking in the oven, the better. Our little guy was sleeping when they were doing the heart rate monitoring, so the nurse had to push around on my stomach to try and wake him up, but other than that, everything looked good.  I'm sleeping better this week, which is a true blessing.  I'm somewhat uncomfortable all of the time, but I definitely feel better when I don't stay in the same position for a long time.  I think my ankles are a little swollen because my socks and pants feel tighter, but my rings still fit on my fingers so no swelling there! All the praise hands!



Weight Gain: 24 lbs! Right on target! As much as I hate working out these days, I'm pretty proud of this number. All of those squats have been paying off....

Food Cravings/Aversions: I started drinking smoothies in the morning after I randomly started craving them around the new year.  I feel like it's a great way to get lots of fruits (and some spinach!) and it usually fills me up for at least a couple of hours. I've continued with my spoonfuls of peanut butter craving, but they're not nearly as bad.  Overall, I'm just hungry all of the time. The amount I eat is actually impressive.  No food aversions really.  I let myself have a glass of champagne on New Years and a glass of Sangria when we were in Spain (judge away! I know you aren't supposed to drink alcohol when you're pregnant, but a glass here and there is not going to do anything.) and both times felt pretty dizzy and had some major hot flashes afterwards, so even a small glass of alcohol seems to really take a toll, so alcohol is out (not that it was ever really in).  I am ready for a nice glass of wine and some non-vegetarian sushi though!

Baby related purchases:  We had our baby shower and so many people were so generous that we didn't even have to make a ton of purchases.  We did buy the pack n play when we saw it go on sale on Amazon and made a few purchases of small things (changing pads, some more bottles, etc) we still needed after the shower, but you guys really took care of our little guy. Thank you so much!!

I can't believe we're in the home stretch!! Here's to hoping we make it another week!




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