Week 35... Hello, Bump!
Wow.
Knowing that our baby can come any week now is beyond surreal. I had major cramps the other day that felt like menstrual cramps. The next day I noticed my bump looked like it was hanging lower than usual. This a sign called lightening, where the baby's head moves closer to the pelvic bone opening- making more room for your lungs, rib cage and stomach to function more normally. They say this is a sign that you may go into labor within 2-4 weeks. We shall see... you read all kinds of stuff.
My third trimester has tested me way more than the first. Many people and articles proclaim the first is the worst, second is best and then the third you are just tired and over the expanded belly. Personally, I have to disagree with this particular pregnancy. So far the third trimester has been extremely trying. Month seven I was struggling with a low grade virus, flare ups and exhaustion. The first two weeks of month eight, I experienced my old self again, peppered with fatigue. And then that was the end of that. I was hit with a fever right after Christmas along with frequent hot flashes and a case of water logged eyes. I cried at everything- in church singing "O Come All Ye Faithful," when my family gave me pictures to hang in the baby's nursery, and when I sneezed too hard a trickle of you know what came out. Oye!
Besides being tired, I noticed acid reflux likes to visit me when I eat chocolate and then go lay down. Which by the way- they have been my two fav things to do this pregnancy! Inner thigh, pelvic bone and tailbone sensitivity have become very familiar to me recently as well. It's best when I get in and out of bed and car with my legs stuck together like a mermaid. Because of the uncomfortableness in my bones, I have really stepped back with working out. I exercise about two and a half days per week. What I mean by that is I get in two decent workouts in (primarily strength with a little cardio) and a ten to twenty minute yoga shesh the other day. My body really has been asking for a ton of rest so I am listening to it.
I recently told my Dad that I am living more intuitively than ever before since becoming pregnant. He says he feels I am just more relaxed. Whatever you want to call it, I am enjoying that aspect of it. Any little pressure I was holding on to before, I completely released my grip. Simultaneously I feel as though I am taking way more care of myself. So what do I mean by all of this? Well, when I am tired, I lay down. When I want to sleep, I sleep. When I want ice cream, I have it... when I want salad I have it. (Speaking of food, I have been asked what I am craving on the regular. Honestly my cravings aren't specific to one food all the time, but if I were to see a pattern, it would be that we now eat pizza about once a week, I eat Eddy's Slow Churned ice cream quite often and we do stop by Wendy's for a salad and fries almost every time we come home from doctor's check ups!) If my body says it doesn't want to move today, I listen. If I have energy and I'm ready to sweat, I will get my heart rate up. I also have been listening to the types of workouts my body needs at the time. As far as taking care of myself, I absolutely make sure to get in the ample amount of vitamins our bodies need daily, I am drinking a heck of a lot more water than I ever have, I am lotion-ing and oiling my whole body from head to toe twice a day, doing a neti pot twice a day, drinking my superfoods shake on the reg, and making sure to stretch/meditate/engage in personal development as much as possible. I have to say... it feels really good.
On a different note, Mike and I were wondering if I was going to miss being pregnant once I give birth. Who really knows, but I suspect I will to a certain degree. The bonding that occurs when you feel him move (even at 4am when you just want some sleep) is like nothing else. You feel like you are his protection, his safe home and like you and him are one in a way. It is just an unbelievable concept. I also think I will miss dressing myself with a bump. I actually like finding little outfits to wear and showing him off. Now, I am no fashionista by any means, but I feel more comfortable in my skin when out and about pregnant. I also don't mind the thicker hair and blemish free skin.
Mike and I have been settling down a lot and writing lists for my hospital bag, getting his nursery together and reading up on all the parenting essentials. There is a lot to learn and a lot that babies need. However, at Christmas Eve mass we were just reminded that baby Jesus was born in a manger with no clothes to wear and only his mother to feed him. I know I am taking it to the extreme, but I have to go with my intuition again on this one and know that we really do not need all the gizmos and gadgets the twenty first century swears by. A lot of love is what really matters.
Ah!
