Week 36 | an update

How far along: 36 weeks

Best moment this week: 

Knowing that I can now officially stay in town to welcome our newest addition is a pretty big highlight of this week. At today's appointment, baby's heartbeat was 135bpm, head was still down, and my doctor estimated that if baby would be born today, we'd be looking at about a 6.5 lb bundle of love. We can expect baby to gain about 1/2 lb per week from here until delivery, so unless baby comes early, we could be looking at a pretty big baby! If you do the math...and we make it to my due date, that would put baby right around 8.5 lbs. I'm hoping we don't make it quite that far since I just removed tags and washed several newborn sized outfits yesterday! As we enter the last four weeks before baby's arrival (eeek!), I will start weekly OB checkups to keep a close watch on everything happening with our newest little.

Maternity clothes: 

For the most part (above dress). I'm still able to rock my non-maternity elastic waist shorts, but tops are another story!

Sleep: 

Not too bad this week, and I've actually been able to make it through the night without a restroom wakeup call. Is this a product of staying up too late most nights, or baby's position changing...I don't know.

Miss Anything: 

Getting around easily. I'm seriously missing regular exercise. With the weather being crazy hot lately, and my overall uncomfortableness, I haven't been able to get in any reasonable amount of exercise lately. I'm also paranoid about my water breaking when I'm a half hour or more walk from my vehicle plus another half hour minimum from the hospital...assuming I had my 'go bag' packed and ready...which I do not...womp womp.

Baby Movement: 

Still lots of movement this week. I've been fortunate to escape heartburn as baby continues to use my internal organs to practice karate!

Cravings/Aversions: 

Nothing in particular. I made this Baked Honey Berry Oatmeal over the weekend, and I'm planning to mix up these No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bars sometime this week, so I guess you might say oatmeal?

Symptoms: 

Pretty standard this week. No contractions and only some minimal round ligament pain, so that is something to be thankful for. My rings have been tighter this week, so maybe a bit of swelling. I'm also feeling quite a bit of abdominal pressure as baby continues to grow and run out of space.

Looking forward to: 

July 4th is this weekend, and it is my favorite holiday. I am excited to bbq, watch fireworks, and celebrate with family and friends. I'm also looking forward to having our last photo shoot as a family of three next week at my maternity photos. I didn't do any official maternity photos with C, but I'm using a different photographer this time around as my current photographer is taking a step back to focus on family. Anyways...part of the new baby bundle is a quick maternity shoot, so look forward to seeing these pics soon! In the meantime...maybe I'll dig up our unofficial maternity pictures (a.k.a. snapped by Mama J) from when we were expecting C!

On my mind:

I really need to get my hospital bag put together, and decide for sure what to pack. I have a short list in mind, but need to get it finalized and decide on a bag. Speaking of bags, I'd LOVE to have this charcoal weekender bag from Birdling Bags for packing myself and two kiddos on all of our upcoming weekend travels after baby arrives. Condensing our gear into a larger bag and cutting down on the 40 bags it seems like we currently travel with would be great, especially since we have not upgraded to a larger vehicle yet, and this bag has awesome reviews. 

Two Year Photos

Around C's birthday, we had his official two-year-old photos taken. It was a beautiful day, and our photographer had a great outdoor location scouted out for pictures. Luckily, C was all about being the center of attention, and after exploring his new surroundings a bit, was more than happy to have his picture snapped. I am so happy with how they turned out, and think they are a great representation of C and his joy of life at this age.

Such a little love boat! I think the ladies are in trouble. They don't stand a chance against C!

Pregnancy Favorites

As I near the end of pregnancy with baby #2, I got to thinking about what some of my pregnancy must-haves are. Since I enjoy reflecting, I put together a little list of my favorites to share with you. Get excited! But seriously...I love reading other mama blogs that share similar information, and I'm hoping this may be of interest to some of you who have been following along with me this time around, or who may be expecting yourself.

Maternity Activewear (great options at Target & Old Navy) // Baby Pics App // LaCroix flavored water // Soma Embraceable Cool Nights Sleepwear & // Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion // Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy // Humidifier // Maxi Dress

After basically giving up on pop (not that I drank it much anyways, but I do try to avoid aspartame and empty-calorie sugary drinks), and wine (which I'm still trying to come to grips with), I got pretty tired of being stuck with boring old water all day long. T did make me a few mocktails earlier on, but I'm not a huge fan of sugary drinks with fruit juices or ginger beer, and I prefer something a little more light and easy to drink without all of the extra calories. Enter LaCroix flavored water. An all natural sparkling water that comes in just about any flavor you could imagine. This has seriously been one of my biggest wins during this pregnancy, and I grab for one at least once a day. The coconut flavor is my absolute favorite for summertime, and if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine I'm in some tropical destination sipping an umbrella drink on the beach. Sigh... Surprisingly, I've found that Menards of all places carries the most variety of flavors if you are having trouble finding a specific one. Also...I just discovered this recipe list of mocktails to make using LaCroix. You can bet I'll be trying some of them out this weekend!

Continuing on with a health-related mindset, I've been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion for stretch marks for the second time. Everyone has their favorite anti-stretch mark remedy, but this one is cheap, easy, readily available, and did the trick the first time around. That being said, studies say that the ability to avoid stretch marks really just comes down to genetics, so take this advice with a grain of salt! Another great thing to have around...a humidifier. Pregnancy brings with it many bodily changes, but one that you can actually do something about is that constant stuffy nose. I found this particularly helpful over the winter months, but now that I near the end of pregnancy, I think I'll bust it back out as I've been really stuffy lately with the additional stuffiness brought on by pregnancy hormones.

Speaking of health, having easy snack and dinner options on hand is key. Takeout, grilling, slow cooker, or dinner reservations...easy and simple is what it's all about. During the first trimester, while battling the worst of the morning sickness, and the rest of the time when trying to juggle the responsibility of raising a toddler and choosing healthy options while growing a tiny human, for me, having a quick grab-and-go snack like granola bars, trail mix, bananas, or hummus have been a lifesaver when hunger strikes.

On maternity clothing...Unless you are a tiny little toothpick, chances are, you are going to need to invest in some sort of maternity clothing. Since the second trimester, I have been living in maternity activewear (favorite leggings here ), and maxi dresses. The black dress I linked above is perfect for mixing up accessories and dressing up or down depending on how the mood strikes you. It was in my hospital bag when I had C, and it might be a repeat this time!

Soma's cool nights sleepwear line has been a favorite of mine since I treated myself with a set after C arrived (favorite cami & shorts). They are suuuuper soft, keep me cool, come in a ton of color options, have support up top (key when you are pregnant!), have an empire waist (great for both pre and post baby!), are nursing friendly, and stretch for daaaaays. If you haven't already been whisked away to check them out, do so now. I won't judge.

A word on social media and literature. With C, I spent time drawing out chalkboards for my weekly bump updates. In this current life I live with a toddler who would likely destroy a chalkboard drawing before it even had a chance of being captured in a picture, I switched mindsets and have been using the Baby Pics app. I LOVE IT. There are so many great stickers you can add to photos depending on what you are wanting to share about not only your pregnancy, but also baby milestones, holidays, etc. Highly recommend for anyone who is lazy or doesn't have a creative bone to speak of. On literature, T & I are once again following along with the weekly breakdown of what is happening with baby in our favorite pregnancy book, Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. T used this one while in residency at Mayo, so for obvious reasons, it was, and still is, our go-to for all things pregnancy related. If I find the time before baby arrives, I'd also like to re-read Bringing Up Bébé, another of my favorite pregnancy/baby books from last time around.

Do you have any pregnancy favorites?

Week 35

Week 35 | an update

How far along: 35 weeks

Best moment this week: 

Over the weekend, we celebrated Father's Day with all of the special dads & grandpas in our lives. We also got to hang out with nearly all of C's aunts & uncles, and cousin J. Unfortunately, C was running a temp most of the weekend, and it was super hot outside, so he had to miss out on some of the more exciting outdoor activities. Overall, we still managed to have a pretty great weekend anyways. Baby related, I picked out a couple of tiny outfits for coming home from the hospital for baby, and am feeling more prepared than when we had C and he ended up in a last minute Walmart option! Now I just need to get them all washed up and ready to go!

Maternity clothes: 

Yes, (similar top here, similar shorts here). At this stage in the game, I feel like I mostly rotate between about the same five dresses and shorts/tops combos all week long. I'm looking forward to getting back into some non-maternity clothing! Of course, then I will have to deal with the joys of dressing a postpartum bod, and my self-confidence in my new body will probably fly right out the window. Ugh. Really a no-win scenario! At least this time, I know somewhat what to expect, and have stocked up on some loose drapey nursing-friendly tops and postpartum-friendly wardrobe options that hopefully won't draw unwanted attention to the fact that I'll likely still have a post-baby bump for several months after delivery. Pat yourselves on your back all of you mama's who just go right back to your pre-baby bods. When I had C, it took about six months to get back into my regular jeans, and I imagine that it will be even more difficult this time around with two kiddos to look after (I gained about 25-28lbs before C was born at 37.5 weeks, this pregnancy I have average weight gain, and so far have gained about 18lbs as of my 34 week checkup last week). Reminding myself that it took 40 weeks to create our little miracle, and accepting that it will take some time to get back to normal...or that there may be a new normal...will be important for me to remember as I adjust to my new body image after baby.

Sleep: 

Not that great this week. Rolling over in the middle of the night has become seriously uncomfortable as baby continues to pack on some extra padding (1/2 lb a week from here on out!), and I continue to get up during the middle of the night for the restroom. It is what it is, and before long, I'll be lucky to get any quality sleep at night, so I'll make the most of the next few weeks of minor interruptions before my sleep schedule becomes even more sporadic! If anyone wants to sign up to entertain C and watch the new baby for a couple of hours so I can catch a nap after baby arrives, I'm all about it!

Miss Anything: 

Being able to do anything quickly or easily. In particular, I miss biking. Mostly, I miss biking when we are out in the garage and C walks over to the bike trailer and climbs in wanting to go for a ride. Little guy doesn't understand why we can't go. Poor C! Until about four weeks ago, we were still going on regular weekly bike rides on the trail or to the park, but T officially told me I should probably not do any more biking until after baby arrives, so we've been sadly avoiding our biking routine since then. Hopefully, we will have grandparents on hand who would love nothing more than a little snuggle time with new baby, and C & I can sneak out for some fall bike rides in September after the weather cools down a bit and I've had some time to recover.

Baby Movement: 

Still lots of movement this week. T is amazed by how active baby is when I lay down at night to try and sleep. Of course...T usually falls asleep about 30 seconds later, and I lay there awake for who knows how long until baby decides to finally settle down enough for me to sleep. Baby is also usually pretty active late morning or early afternoon, and seems to like listening/dancing to music as well. That's a good thing since C & I snagged a couple of these instrumental lullaby arrangements from Baby Blanket Music yesterday (we got the Elton John & Michael Jackson CDs), and have been listening and dancing to them pretty much non-stop ever since.

Cravings/Aversions: 

Nothing too particular this week. I've been drinking lots of water to try and stay hydrated in this hot weather, and yesterday had a donut craving that C benefitted from by a morning adventure to Spudnuts for fresh donuts. I would love nothing more than to have The Donut Experiment and their amazing cake donuts available since I'm not a big glazed donut fan, but I'll take what I can get!

Symptoms: 

Pretty standard symptoms this week. I don't have any round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks to report, so that's good. Overall, I'm mostly just feeling uncomfortable with this heat wave we've been having, and am looking forward to hopefully some sort of cool down so that C & I can get outside some more. Until then...ice cream!

Looking forward to: 

Next week marks 36 weeks...a.k.a...when I would no longer need to be transferred to a larger hospital far from home if baby decided to come early. After that, we are all looking forward to meeting this newest little bundle of love! I have my fingers crossed for a delivery sometime in the July 10-July 20th range, but of course, we don't get to decide when baby will come. In the meantime, we will just pray for a healthy and safe delivery at least 48 hours before my brother's wedding on July 30th!

On my mind: 

T & I really need to work on finalizing a name for our newest addition, and have been thinking a little more seriously this week about our options. We've got one name that has been at the top of the list pretty much since the beginning, but I know a couple of people who have used it recently, and I am not crazy about choosing a super popular name that the new babe would have to share with multiple classmates. At the same time, we're not all about choosing something too unique or untraditional either. Ahhhh...naming littles...if only they could come into this world and name themselves!