Week 34 Bumpdate

34 weeks down, but who's counting?

I think they say these last few weeks go by soooo slowwwww and boy are they right. Sleep is slowly becoming non-existent, constantly rolling from side to side trying to find a comfortable position and then once I finally do....I have to get up and pee. Every morning when I wake up and sit up in bed I feel like I got hit by a truck and those first few steps out of bed are rough. It's getting harder to eat normal sized meals because I constantly feel like I ate an entire Thanksgiving dinner. I can't even look at a salt shaker without my fingers and feet swelling up so I basically avoid all foods that have any sodium in them and I drink about a gallon of water a day. I also spend any downtime I have with my feet up to avoid swelling and walk/workout 5 days a week to keep the swelling down. Everything that I do has become such an effort, even getting dressed makes me feel like a 400 lb drunken sumo wrestler that lacks balance and coordination. 

I have yet to experience any back pain, thankfully, but by the end of a long work day my feet feel like they are on fire. My dreams are becoming more vivid, majority of them are about me going into labor early and the nursery not being ready (crossing my fingers that's just pregnancy paranoia.) Any of my downtime is spent organizing, cleaning, and obsessing over what I need before the baby comes (can you say nesting?). 

So let's talk about pregnancy and skin discoloration. Melasma, pregnancy mustache, dark nipples, dark lines, etc. How about the lovely linea nigra....some people get it and some people don't. I'm one of the lucky ones that started developing this lovely line around 24 weeks. At first I was self conscious about it but actually over time I've grown to love my little dark line as it really just means that I have lots of pregnancy hormones pumping through my body which means a healthy baby. How about the darkening of the nipples? I mean who knew nipples could even be that shade of color?! Or that they could grow that much in diameter? It's like everything just gets darker and bigger during pregnancy! Luckily I never had any issues with the pregnancy mustache or melasma on my face..but I know plenty of people that dealt with facial discoloration.  The best part about having friends that are all pregnant or have been pregnant is discussing nipple size, baby poops, and hemorrhoids. If you can't discuss these things with friends then are you really even friends?

This last weekend my mother in law threw me a small baby shower for Rocco's side of the family. We decided to have 2 separate showers since our families live far a part from each other. It was such a cute shower at the most adorable little Tea Room in Medina. We received so many great gifts and enjoyed spending time with family, we are definitely feeling very blessed to have such great family and friends in our lives. This coming weekend I have my other baby shower with my family and friends and I am really looking forward to it. Then we can finally get the nursery all put together and wait for the arrival of our sweet little boy! Exciting times ahead :) Here are a few photos from my shower last weekend, I had a few people ask about my dress and it's from Pink Blush Maternity and I am OBSESSED with it. It was the most comfy and soft dress that I think I have ever worn, and would be perfect even without a baby bump! 

How adorable are these onesie cookies?!

Miss Molly's Tea Room has the cutest tea pots!

Perfect favor for a coffee lover like me

Until next time my friends!

Cara

Week 32 Bumpdate

So how am I feeling these days? Well right now its 4 am and I am up typing a pregnancy update, if that tells you anything. Why? Because it is impossible to get comfy with a giant round belly and a baby that kicks you as soon as you lay down. Not to mention it also takes me a good 2 minutes just to roll from one side to the other. It's a good thing I don't mind getting little sleep to say the least.

My stomach has officially become a giant veiny road map with little veins running every which way. The doc says this is due to the increasing amount of blood supply and nutrients to the baby in preparation for delivery. Speaking of blood, did I mention I am anemic? Here I am eating spinach salads every day and taking my supplements and eating my protein and yet I am STILL anemic. The doc said to me "girl we need to get your hemoglobin up because you're about to lose a lot of blood during delivery". Thank you for not sugar coating that, doc. Bring on the blood bath.

At this point shaving has basically become a guessing game, one swipe here another swipe there, just leaving some patches for decoration. No swelling yet, although I seriously wonder sometimes how my skin is going to stretch even more over the next 8 weeks. My bladder feels like the size of a pea, and there have been multiple occasions in which I've almost peed my pants. My doc says that baby is sitting real low, and now I understand why I feel SO. MUCH. PRESSURE.

On another note, it's crazy how much nicer people are to you when you're expecting. My patients are constantly bringing me goodies and saying how cute my bump is and strangers hold doors open for me and pick things up from the floor for me when I drop stuff. I get a lot of various comments like "wow you are tiny" to "that baby is so low it looks like you are going to have him tomorrow". Oh and don't forget the people with judgy eyes that give me the side eye at the gym because I'm still working out. Chill out people, my doctor said it's perfectly normal and healthy and actually advised that I keep working out for the baby's health and to keep my swelling and fluid retention down. It also helps with back pain and gives me much more energy. When I don't work out I feel like poo, so go on and judge away. Oh and don't forget those judge monsters that cringe when they see me drinking a cup of coffee, it's coffee people, not cocaine. I am allowed 1 cup of joe per day and I like to savor that 1 cup. To all my mommas out there that enjoy that 1 cup per day, cheers! Another judgment I notice is what type of music I listen to, sorry I'm not over here swaying to Mozart and instead bumping to Dr Dre and Biggie Smalls. To each his own my friends.

Baby Rocco is moving and dancing all over the place multiple times per day now. It looks like an alien is moving inside me when he does his little rolls and I watch his foot slide across my belly. It makes my little heart smile and I just cannot wait to meet him. Sometimes he will give me a nice swift kick during the day and it makes me jump or make strange faces and I'm sure everyone is wondering what I'm doing. I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions as well and it's always weird when I'm sitting at work and suddenly my belly forms the shape of a point and becomes extremely hard. It's a weird feeling but it doesn't hurt. I find myself just rubbing my belly throughout the day and I think that I'm really going to miss my bump once baby comes, but I'm getting more and more eager to meet this little guy every single day. Crazy to think I only have 8 weeks left! I think that's enough updates for today, until next time!

Cara

Week 30 Update

Holy cow I cannot believe I am already 30 weeks! It's been hard to find time to create my second post as I spent majority of the last week moving and spending time with Rocco before he left for North Carolina. 

So far I have had a fairly easy pregnancy. I never had morning sickness, no complications, no heart burn, etc. I battled with the first trimester fatigue but once I was 14-16 weeks I had my energy back. If anything my biggest struggle was that I had no appetite until right before the third trimester, nothing ever sounded good and therefore I didn't eat much which resulted in me not gaining much weight the first two trimesters (not complaining though). I have been able to continue my kick boxing workouts and cardio/weight lifting throughout my entire pregnancy which has also kept my energy levels up and has made me feel much more mobile and healthy. 

Now don't get me wrong, as much as I love being pregnant and love my growing belly there are some interesting things that begin happening in the third trimester as you get bigger. For one, I officially feel like a T-rex when I try to shave my legs, wash my body, or put my shoes on. I no longer care what my toes look like because I cannot even imagine trying to bend over to paint them (sorry Rocco). Personal hygiene goes down the tube in the 3rd trimester  (my hair is about 90% dry shampoo, heck no I'm not shaving, yes I'm wearing my maternity leggings for the 3rd day in a row). Getting up off the couch and out of bed is almost comical (kind of like a turtle stuck on its back). The bathroom has become my second home (take one sip of water, run to the bathroom to pee). My belly has officially become a crumb catcher (saving that for later, oh there's where that peanut butter went). When sitting down in any chair I automatically "assume the position", sliding down into the chair until I'm in a reclining position, and if you expect me to get up to do something you are wrong because once I finally sit I am not moving. The first thing I pay attention to when I go to a public place is where the nearest restroom is. I now understand why cross walks take forever to count down when crossing the street because I now walk like a sumo wrestler. I refuse to wear shoes that tie, you try tying a shoe with your leg in distorted positions. And I officially am tired of answering the SAME questions over and over again at work and seriously considering wearing a shirt that says "yes I'm pregnant, due in March, it's a boy, I feel great". 

Next week is my next check up and from here on out I will have 2 and 1 week check ups which makes me really excited. I will try to post an update later next week after my appointment. Until next time :)

30 Weeks :)

-Cara