I can’t believe we’re 34 weeks into this crazy journey called pregnancy. The time has absolutely FLOWN by! It’s crazy.
Note: I am scattering maternity photos throughout this post. There are SO many beautiful ones, oh my gosh. My aunt Venise is so amazing… she made me look like a mystical princess. And when Greggie showed up, she just let us hang and got some really awesome candid shots with us and the puppies. SO GRATEFUL and so pleased with how these turned out. I was only able to upload some, because I’ve been experiencing some blog glitches I don’t know how to fix yet, so ALL of the photos weren’t uploaded.
So I will start this post the same way I started couple others. With kind of a torn mentality on the whole deal. I am the MOST excited to share all the details of this pregnancy, our journey, all the feels and things that have happened along the way etc etc. It’s amazing, magical, really incredible.
But then there’s the other side that we know all too well, also. There are the feelings of envy, anger, and sheer sadness when we see pictures, stories, and blog posts like the one I am about to share with you all. There are far too many people I know that fall into this latter category (or have at one point) so I I share these pics and my pregnancy journey while hoping not to upset or offend anyone, while trying to be 100% authentic and sharing our excitement of what we’ve experienced thus far. It’s a tricky thing… but all I can do is be open and honest while saying my heart is with those that are struggling.
OKAY. So, here we are, 8.5 months along and getting closer and closer to meeting this little babe.
WHAT HAS BABE BEEN UP TO:
Baby is super active and has a good strong heartbeat and measures normal at all of our midwife appointments! I’m measuring slightly on the small side (have been the whole pregnancy) but nothing to worry about as it’s still in the ‘normal’ range.. just on the smaller side of normal. I’ve been working really hard at eating healthy and staying active, and I’m not a very big person myself, so likely these things contribute to the size of babe! Greggie is a little worried they might be ‘vertically challenged’ as an adult, just like mama! 😉
The activity in there is absolutely crazy. Since babe is getting bigger and there’s less and less space in there, the movements feel so much more pronounced – summersaults and ninja warrior goin down alllll the time! haha Greggie often lays with his head on belly for a few minutes at night before bed and reads to baby. Usually sports highlights! The one night, he got a good swift kick in the cheek – it was good stuff. Very strong! Poor Pedro (our mexican pup) has also experienced a couple kicks to the face when he lays with his head on my belly… he had no clue what it was and was quite terrified! haha
CRAVINGS:
They are a real thing. OMG. haha
I’ve been trying to manage them by always choosing the healthier / healthiest option of said craving. For example: I always love pumpkin everything in the fall. Pregnant or not. So when I started craving pumpkin pie, like… every day… I made a couple single serving ones as healthfully as I could. Used oat flour instead of white flour, used very little maple syrup and some stevia instead etc etc. My biggest challenge right now is portion control. Since I’m feeling like I always want to be eating, I need to have small portions of things- If there’s a whole pint of vegan ice-cream available to me… changes are, I’ll eat it.. all! Where if I have to get up off my comfy spot on the couch to get more – less likely! Also as mentioned above… Gluten free Pretzels are rocking my world these days. Especially when I’m in the car driving… they’re so addictive and they keep me from feeling like I’m going to fall asleep while driving !
HOW IVE BEEN FEELING:
AMAZING. Like seriously… super fab.
So in the first trimester I definitely experienced some nausea, which lasted a good chunk of the day. But I said to Greg early on, it’s definitely not as awful as some people experience, and I was very careful to not complain. Overall, I just feel so blessed to be experiencing a healthy pregnancy that complaining isn’t really in my wheelhouse. I was going to make the best of whatever came my way. Super luckily for me, beyond the first few months of morning sickness, I’ve been feeling so great.
I think being really active has definitely helped. No real aches, pains, or trouble sleeping as of yet. I have been going every couple weeks for regular chiro adjustments and acupuncture which I am sure has helped. In the last week or so, I’ve noticed a slight amount of swelling in my feet/ankles, but I’m attributing it to longer days on my feet OR driving, as well as my recent obsession with Glutino gluten free pretzels (All that extra sodium isn’t good for swelling — I know, laugh it up Greg and Mich … sodium sodium sodium – jerks!)
In the last couple weeks I am definitely feeling BIG. Like I said, I still feel great, still being super active, not really having trouble sleeping – aside from getting up every couple hours to pee, and struggling a bit to get up each time (kind of like a turtle stuck on its back haha). But for the first time the other day, I needed help getting my boots on and off, Greggie helped me put compression socks on because I am having a hard time reaching my feet… and I’m hitting my belly on things (i.e.: cupboards and car doors!) and I am walking into things not realizing my size. haha It’s a very strange feeling.
HYPNOBIRTHING:
SO COOL… honestly, really great experience thus far. We signed up with Lara at Hypnobirthing Hamilton and she’s FAB! So passionate about what she does. We did 1 out of 2 of the sessions so far (our last is tomorrow!) and Greg and I found we learned a TON! While I’ve been listening to podcasts/audiobooks about pregnancy and infancy, I didnt really learn much about the actual labour process itself. And I am ALL about having a less painful, more relaxing and enjoyable labour. I will post more about it once we complete the session tomorrow. I’ve started listening to the hypnobirthing track before bed though and it’s soooo soothing! LOVE IT!
I honestly can’t believe we’ve only got 5ish weeks left to go! Maybe more, maybe less… who knows! I always think about a bunch of stuff I want to include in my next pregnancy update post, and then when I actually write it, I can’t remember those things. Usually ideas come to me while I’m driving and can’t note them down. I also have been trying to post this post for a few weeks but had some super frustrating blogging issues I am still trying to sort out.
ANYWAY — Couldn’t end this post without a HUGE shout out to my amazing Aunt Venise who captured all of the shots you see here. She’s so talented and so passionate, I can not WAIT until babe comes and she gets to capture those moments for us too 🙂 We can’t thank you enough for doing this for us and giving us these amazing memories to look back on as a little fam of 4. The pups are quite photogenic after all!!
And thanks uncle Steve for getting this shot of Aunt Venise, hard at work!! It’s perfect.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing in this journey with us. Hard to believe it’s almost at the end and a wholeeeee new wild and exciting journey will begin! We’ll of course share that, too!
xoxo
Andrea
