pregnancy update
i really haven’t been doing pregnancy updates along the way, but now that i’m in my third trimester i thought i’d share a little bit about how i’m doing!
the second trimester was a breeze just like everyone says, it went by fast and i’ve been reeaally lucky with how easy a time i’ve had throughout this whole thing.
now that i’m in the third trimester, it’s feeling way more real… and a little daunting that before i know it, he’ll be here and my life will be all about him. i’ve been getting sunday blues bad the past few weeks, which i always get, but its been more intense because i’m realizing we only have so many more chill quiet weekends the two of us. forever. i’ve tried to explain how sad that is to gid countless times now but he disagrees and is ready af. he doesn’t see it as sad.
and i know i know once he’s here i won’t even be able to imagine our life before him, but for right now i’m nervous and i’m sure that’s normal.
my baby shower is tomorrow and i am really excited — but picking a dress was so challenging. i think its the pressure of for the first time in your pregnancy, really trying to look nice and dealing with shopping and feeling confident while your body grows and grows and grows, but i’ll be fine and i’m getting a blow out so who cares about my dress i guess.
physically i am feeling HUGE now, i definitely waddle, sweat (and smell) like a pig, and it’s hard for me to get up from the floor, or the bed, or most things at all. i can’t clip my own toenails and my very deep inny belly button is really looking like its on the verge of becoming an outie. can’t image getting even bigger than this, but i’ve been saying that the whole time!
my stretching belly was looking really blotchy, but i’ve started using cream on it every night and i feel like it looks a lot better. also i said that i sweat, but seriously i feel like i’m always sitting in an oven. the weather is starting to get warm and i am dreading it hard. oh and my heartburn is SO intense. everyday. i really thought i dodged a bullet when i didn’t have it for the first 7 months, but it’s here daily and it sucks.
mentally i totally have the pregnancy brain fog, apparently i ask the same questions a lot and don’t remember most things, but i’m pretty good about to-do lists so i’m remembering things i have to do, BUT i am also getting more and more tired and lethargic so i’m accomplishing less and less at this point. a lot of my mama friends have said sleep and chill and be lazy now because you never will again, so i’ve been taking their advice and it’s so nice to sit in bed. someone also told me they think it’s so good your third trimester slows you down so that you actually take the time to slow down while you have the chance.
emotionally i’m pretty much cool most of the time, but i have had a few days where i’m just not ok. especially when i haven’t slept enough, my mood can be a little pissy and v irritable — i would say that has only happened a few days over the past many months, but i see how you could easily be mad everyday. oh and i can cry REALLY easily like the other day i bawling so hard during GMA when nancy kerrigan talked about all her miscarriages it was SOOOO SAD.
the nursery is like all finished! i still have to organize his closet and his drawers and start assembling all the things we’ve gotten and opening gifts, but the room itself is setup and it feels really good! it’s my favorite room in the house probably.
my cravings are really nothing to write home about, just generally eating crap and now that i’m nearing the end i’m basically saying fuck it all the time and having second pieces of cake… so yes i have gained a few pounds. i’ve always liked pickles so that doesn’t count.
we did maternity photos and i’m really glad! they’re very fun to look at and it’s so cute to think about arlo looking at them years from now thinking “look how young my parents looked once” (photo above is from the shoot by megan welker, and will share the rest soon)
i’m pretty scared af about the whole labor thing. i woke up one morning from a nightmare and asked gid if they just shove the umbilical cord back inside you after because i am really smart and know about biology. turns out they don’t. PHEW. but i’m really bad at even having my blood drawn, i’m a total wimpy baby so it’s pretty daunting to know what’s going to happen… trying to remind myself that if teen moms can do it i can probably do it. it’s all so much to be scared of besides just labor, but being able to take care of a small human and what if he won’t latch… we’ve been taking classes at the hospital to learn things since we basically knew nothing, and it’s helped. but it seems like you kind of just learn as you go and your maternal instincts kick in more or less, right?
baby arlo is one active little mofo. i was so hopeful he’d start kicking and now i’m really wishing he could be a little lazier because sometimes its really annoying when he just won’t quit it. but it’s nice to know he’s there. every time we’ve done ultrasounds he’s always rubbing his face and moving around and last week we did one of those crazy 4D scans to see his face, and of course he was touching it then too… and SMILING A LITTLE! i thought that was going to be so creepy btw, but i’m really glad we did it, even if it was super creepy. he’s pretty cute looking for a fetus.
i guess that’s about it, for the most part i’ve enjoyed my pregnancy so far, i like the attention and compliments — but i see how in the third trimester you get waaaay sick of it and maybe even feel ready for him to get here. as much as i’m dreading the labor part, i’m ready to not be pregnant. it’s weird how long it really takes.
tomorrow i will officially be 31 weeks, and 8 months pregnant. that shit is crazy!
he looks like aunt jill! everything you are experiencing is normal. i agree with everyone else, sleep when you can!
love u
Awe, this is so sweet! My daughter Veronica is about to be 30 weeks pregnant and her baby shower is next Saturday. We did a pregnancy photo shoot in the woods with her and it turned out really nice. What an exciting time for you! Congrats on the baby 🙂
~Laurali Star Xo
https://lauralistarxo.com/blog/nostalgia-veronicas-pregnancy-photo-shoot-the-woods
My sons nursery is my favorite room too – I think because we got to decorate it all at once.
When he was born we couldn’t get a good latch and I basically couldn’t feed him for the first 24 hours. The first night with him in the hospital was HELL on earth, lemme tell ya. They got me pumping right away (which purists will say you shouldn’t do for like the first month) and we supplemented his feedings with expressed milk through a syringe. I saw lactation consultants a bunch and got mastitis a couple times but after about 2.5 months we *finally* got the hang of breastfeeding. It’s totally ok if it doesn’t go right right away. If you have to formula feed, it’s ok. Just remember that if you’re doing your best then it’s good enough.
One piece of advice I wish I’d started following earlier is to put the baby down when something isn’t working out. If he’s crying and you’ve been trying to get him to sleep for 2 hours and you feel you’re about to snap, put him down and walk away. Lots of people give this advise, and it’s much harder to follow than you think. But it’ll save your sanity.
Anyway. Love your blog. Excited to see your cool nursery. YOU GO GIRL.
New reader! And I just wanted to add some sage mom advice, you’re doing great! And to maybe suggest that if you do want to do breastfeeding (no judgement if you don’t!) that I would recommend watching videos. It actually isn’t instinctual, it’s a learned behaviour. We learn how to do it by watching other people. Which is what we used to do back when we were hunter/gatherers. So, don’t be discouraged if it is quite hard and it isn’t coming naturally, because when have you really had a chance to watch breastfeeding? It’s one of the downfalls of our modern society. That being said, it can come naturally to some people! But it’s always best to be prepared! I was lucky and I got to creepily watch my sisters breastfeed their respective newborns who arrived before mine.
I hope I don’t come across as mom-shaming, I’m really trying not to! I just want to help dispel the notion that how to breastfeed is a natural instinct.
I really hope you get all the support you need and more! (Because it really takes a village!) You’ll try your best too, and that’s all that matters. If at the end of the day, you tried your best, and your baby is fed by some means, that’s a big win.
Love your blog too, and welcome to the mom club soon!
what cream have you been using on your belly??
looking good mama!
Zantac saved my life (literally, I think!). By 7am every day it would feel as though I was being stabbed in the chest with a knife. Obvs, ask your doc but it’s pretty standard fare and will make you feel SO MUCH BETTER. The minute the baby is out, poof! Heartburn completely disappears.
If there’s any advice I give to first time moms,
It’s to read a little about what’s going to happen to your own body post-birth. I was so focused on the baby (or in my case, babies, the first time around) that there were some surprises I could’ve managed a little better if I’d known to expect them (even crazier hormones -if that’s possible-, night sweats, what it’s like when your milk comes in, the fact that sometimes your milk doesn’t come in as fast as you’d like, etc). The first few weeks are a magical but delicate time and you’ll be healing while your body will be transitioning back to a new normal.
Have fun these last few weeks!
Labor is still scary the third time around. Just remember your body is totally capable of birthing a baby! It’s the hormonal rollercoaster that comes a few days after the birth that no one ever warned me about and threw me off guard!
You’re a week ahead of me and I totally get what you’re saying. I’m at such an uncomfortable state right now that I just want him to arrive. And we just bought a house and we have yet to start on his room!! And our baby shower is this weekend, so we’ve got our work cut out. Love your blog btw. During my maternity leave, I’m going into Design Services and selling vintage and handcrafted pieces because I know i want to be 100% in my baby’s life.
My baby is only 8 weeks, but reading all this makes me realize how far away all that pregnancy stuff seems, already! I experienced similar preggers stuff as you (especially the heartburn, crying, and fear of labor). For me, in the last week or so, a weird calm came over me and I just felt really sick of being pregnant and really ready for labor. It was weird, cause usually I am an anxious freak. The hormones and body kinda just take over. And dont worry about latching – in the hospital all the nurses and lactation consultant will be there to help you get off to a good start with breastfeeding. You are doing great, thanks for sharing your journey!
Hi Molly, I love reading your blogs because you’re so honest and you’re honestly funny 😀 I’m a first-time mum of a beautiful almost 5-mth old baby girl living in Sydney Australia and I’ll admit that labour was something that I had feared all my life. People tend to like to share their horror stories about their labours, but seriously, don’t listen to them. Having been through it just a few mths back, I’ll have to say that it really isn’t all that scary (and no, it’s not that I’d forgotten about the pain like they all say you do). Your body naturally kicks into action and does what it’s made to do, really. I did it without any anaesthesia, and I kid you not, it really isn’t as painful as they make it look in the movies where the woman is screaming her head off, hurling things at the hospital staff, grabbing her partner by the collar and cursing him for putting her in this position in the first place! 😉
Everyone tries to tell you what to do and what not to. Just do what works for you. Breastfeed if you want to, feed the baby formula if you prefer that. People put undue pressure on new mothers espcially about breastfeeding. Now that I’ve “been there and done that” (I speak like I’m a pro, but really, I’m so not one!), the main advantages of breastfeeding really are that you save money on formula and it’s a bit more convenient when you go out with the baby because you don’t have to pack milk powder, bottle, hot water, etc. because you can just “whip it out” whenever 🙂
This “mother’s instinct” thing is also over-rated. Between hubby and myself, I’ve turned out to be the one who is entirely clueless (yes, even up to now…) and he’s the one who somehow recognises the different cries and other cues and he’s the one who can soothe the baby. I call him the “baby whisperer”! 😛 So don’t worry if things aren’t instinctive…like you said, we just learn things as we go along, reach out to others to ask if we’re unsure and everything will be fine 🙂
Good luck with everything Molly and keep the updates coming 🙂
I just had to comment. I am expecting my 9th baby and the nervous worry about labor does not disappear with experience. However, when I had my first I learned something that made all the difference to me, as I really wanted a med-free birth. Each time I felt like a contraction was too much to handle, I told myself-I can do this for 1 more minute. Or I can do this for 10 more seconds. And it’s true, I could. I have had all my babies with no meds (which matters a lot to me) and the last 6 have been born at home.
My other labor advice is: try to get in a tub, or at least a shower. That always cut my labor time drastically. And I try to let the wave of contraction pain wash over me, instead of fighting it. You know you instinctively tense against pain, so letting it flow across you minimizes the pain and also lets your body work harder for you and baby. Good luck! It’s amazing to consider the billions of mothers who came before us, suffering the same pains and joys.
Girl, I was in the same boat. Labor TERRIFIED me… but I can honestly tell you that the anticipation is worse than the actual thing (plus, epidurals are glorious…) I had my baby at the end of January, and here are my unsolicited tips: 1) the newborn phase gets easier in two-week increments, 2) my husband and I go to a brewery for a beer once each week while my mom watches the baby… do this if you can!, 3) don’t read message boards… they’ll only scare you!
Best of luck!
Gawwwwd labor freaks me out to the point that idk if I even want kids! Plus I feel like everyone these days is so chill about it that it makes me feel like a total wuss. I once scrolled past a video of a cesarean on fb and the caption was like “the miracle of life!” and I nearly fainted. Glad to know I’m not the only one afraid of it! Good luck!
Ohhhh man girlfriend I feel you on so much of this. I”ll be 20 weeks (halfway holy shit) on Saturday which is crazy to me. It feels like last week when we announced to everyone. I’m also terrified about the whole laboring experience but I bet seeing his little face at the end will be all worth it!
Ps; I just started blogging again and logged into Blovlovin’ for the first time in literally years so its super cool to see a ton of my fave bloggers from *back in the day* having kids and stuff now. We’re all grown up ha.