I’m going to be saying this from here on out, but I can’t believe how close baby’s due date is! I can now say that my baby is due next month (March) which is insane. The biggest thing I’ve been thinking about/planning for over the past couple of weeks is my postpartum plan. With Enzo I had no idea what postpartum life would look like for me, for my body, for my relationship with Joe, etc. And now that I have an idea of how difficult it can be, I’ve been thinking through how I want this postpartum experience to look. Of course, there are going to be things that I can’t plan on and will be out of my control, but it’s nice to have somewhat of a plan in place for how we are going to take care of our family.
My midwife provided a postpartum planning notebook that has been really beneficial. It talks about my expectations for how long I want to rest, how my marriage will be affected, how to nourish myself while breastfeeding and taking care of another child, how to set up boundaries with visitors and how to really ask for help when we need it (food, cleaning, laundry, babysitting, etc.). I feel that we have a good support system in Austin, along with some family who will be able to visit, which will be a huge help. I don’t think we started asking for help with Enzo until later on and we probably could have used it much sooner. We also have a postpartum doula lined up to help overnight and will probably use one during the day at times too.
The biggest part of my postpartum experience that I want to be prepared for is the recurrence of postpartum depression and/or anxiety. Since I have a history of it, I have a higher chance of getting it again. Though I am more prepared and both Joe and I know what to look for, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen again. I do have a therapist already lined up to use if I need and my midwife is fully aware and ready to help me as well. And this time I have people in my life that I know I can reach out to and not be ashamed to talk with if I am experiencing any of those negative thoughts/feelings again. Though I’m prepared and know it’s possible, it still makes me nervous as it was such a dark time for all of us. I hated not feeling like myself and all the negative emotions that I had. It’s been a huge prayer of mine for God to protect me during that time and also to protect our marriage as it definitely put a strain. I know no matter what that God will pull us through whatever lays ahead. I will need to constantly remind myself of that and stay in prayer. On to baby updates.
How far along: 34 weeks
Size of baby: Cantaloupe
Gender: Can’t wait to find out!
Movement: The other day I was saying to a friend that I haven’t felt any baby hiccups like I did with Enzo. And of course that night as I’m sitting down to read, the hiccups started! Enzo’s hiccups continued after he was born and it was always right when you were trying to put him to sleep. Hiccups would start and all efforts to get some sleep were gone…
Sleep: Pretty good though the early morning hours I feel that I wake up a lot with weird dreams and I always get congested at night so it’s harder to breath. But probably still better than I will be sleeping once baby is here. 🙂
Workouts: I got to go to another prenatal yoga class while I was in Omaha which was awesome. If I have even a little bit of energy when Enzo is napping I try to get in at least a 20 minutes prenatal workout from YouTube. They are getting a lot harder to do but I think it’s important to maintain my strength and endurance as much as I can if I want to have a positive labor experience.
Maternity clothes: I can probably remove this from future posts as I can’t really fit into regular clothes at this point.
Symptoms: Last week I was feeling really awful with nausea and tiredness and just feeling down. I went to see my midwife on probably the worst day I was having and told her about what was going on. I was having a hard time eating well and would get super hungry but nothing sounded good, then I would eat and feel worse. She recommended going back to the basics of the first trimester and trying to eat small amounts, especially protein, every couple hours, including once before bed and the middle of the night. And also recommended a liquid iron supplement to help with the tiredness. Forcing myself to eat when I didn’t want to was really hard but it did help. A few days later I started feeling so much better and had more energy again. There are still moments when I feel queasy and smells are bugging me, but overall I feel semi-normal now. Also been experiencing more pelvic pain which is making longer walks pretty difficult.
Cravings/aversions: Pears have been sounding really good to me and I’ve been snacking on a lot of salted cashews and almonds. I’m still addicted to chocolate and am hoping for some chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day (hint Joe!!). I also had Culver’s Frozen Custard the other night topped with raspberries and cashews…it was delicious!
Missing anything: Nothing really at this point, especially being so close to the end. Things I “can’t do” anymore seem pretty normal now.
Best part of the week: Had one last visit to Omaha to see my family/friends before baby comes. It was nice though I am ready to be done traveling as we have done so much this last year. I’m glad we were able to come and let Enzo have a lot of good quality time with the fam. Also had a fun night out with some mom friends I haven’t seen in a while and an awesome date night to celebrate Joe’s birthday.
Can’t wait for: Fun weekends coming up. Celebrating Joe’s birthday, having a game night, birthing class, getting to see Dashboard Confessional in concert and having my baby shower in Austin. Lots of good stuff to look forward to.