Happy Friday everyone!
Well - I am officially 39 weeks pregnant. We are in the final countdown (cue music) to finally meet and greet this little girl face to face.
<One of our maternity photos courtesy of the great Caroline Jurgensen>
In a way it feels like I've been pregnant for eternity, and in the same respect I still don't think it has fully hit me. Since it's one of those things we have constantly talked about and prepared for over the past nine months, it feels like it's been such a long time coming. But from an emotional perspective? It still is so surreal to me. Probably because I have no idea what to expect, nor the magnitude at which this whole motherhood thing will rock my world :)
Jeff is beyond ready for baby snuggles. And while I'm ready for copious amounts of snuggles myself, I still have this big scary painful thing called labor in between now and then so I'm kind of just bee-bopping around and hangin' tight. Plus, like my sister reminded us, once she's out - you can't put her back in!
Since I'm a bit of a ticking time bomb at the moment, I figured now is as good of a time as any to recap my thoughts on the third trimester.
I'll be honest: when we kicked off the third trimester, I thought it was going to be plum awful. I had HORRIBLE sciatica/SI joint pain in my back and it was getting worse by the day. Some days it was so bad I couldn't put weight down on my right leg, and I was basically bed-ridden until the inflammation went down.
PS I think this is when Jeff's prayer that I wouldn't have to go on bed rest began. If you know me at all, you know I don't sit well. So I'm basically the worst patient ever on bed rest. To all you mamas out there who had to go on actual bed rest with your nuggets - bless your sweet and precious soul. To any future mamas out there who have to get put on bed rest - call me, I'll come play monopoly with you.
Anywho - so I thought the third trimester was going to be horrible, but then I went to three physical therapy sessions (shout out to Airrosti!) and have had zero troubles since. In fact, the third trimester overall has been pretty pleasant.
The good news: I've had minimal eye bleeding situations in the third trimester. So either it's from all your prayers or the fact that 'they' say most of your blood volume increase happens in the second trimester, so I've kind of chilled out in the third trimester. Or we can say both :)
At 31 weeks, my friends threw me the most amazing shower in honor of sweet Sadie girl. It was just one of the greatest days ever. I gushed on and on about it here in case you missed it. After the shower it was looooots of nursery organizing. I think I've organized and re-organized that nursery 4 times. And I probably will again once she's here and I figure out how the heck to care for a child!
I went on maternity leave at the beginning of November, but towards those last few weeks of work I was getting pretty uncomfortable. Once I stopped working I felt a lot better, so I think it was just the act of sitting all day that made me feel like I was 87 years old each time I stood up. Plus that whole getting ready each day thing got harder and harder. I would wake up with SO much energy, and by the time I got ready and made the commute to work I would be in dire need of a nap.
Speaking of sleep - I slept like a champion up until about 37-38 weeks. As in if preggo sleep was an Olympic sport, I would have for sure contributed to the US medal count. And I know that's a lot longer than most mamas get, so I'll take it! Now I'll have one 8-10 hour stretch every few days, but on the off days I'm up for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. Just chillin. And usually watching Hallmark.
I was pretty uncomfortable when week 37 rolled around. I remember I texted my friends and said 'okay, week 37 - this isn't fun anymore.' But honestly, that lasted for about a week and now I feel really good. Like oddly good. My lightning crotch finally eased up (to all you men out there - it's an actual thing. And it is basically what makes preggo women waddle) after two months, so I'm really just hanging out at this point.
My wedding rings are a little tighter than usual, but other than that I've had minimal swelling. I'm telling y'all - I thought the third trimester was going to be brutal, but I've actually enjoyed it for the most part. Or maybe I just have an extremely positive outlook on things and have blocked out all the negative things now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel :)
In the delivery department, my body has already started to make progress on its own, which I am super thankful and happy about! We still have a ways to go, and a plan in place in case I don't get there on my own, but for now we're just praying that I keep making progress.
It was funny, the other day I was praying about all things delivery and since there are SO many different ways this delivery thing could go, I realized I had reached 'prayer scenario F ' before deciding to just let go and let God.
The hardest part is not knowing. Not knowing when, not knowing how, not knowing what, if any, complications will arise, and not having been through this before to have ANY expectations in the slightest. But God knows. And fortunately for me, the One that knows is also the One that's in control. That's a win win in my book.
So until then I'm just keeping my days busy, nesting this house like it's my day job, resting up, and feeding Sadie as much Blue Bell as I can before she's out and can't have it anymore. (How sad for her is that!? Breaks my heart.)
If you're wondering how to pray for us over the next week or so, just pray that my body continues to make progress on its own and that it's a textbook delivery with no complications. It's so fun to hear how 'low risk' I am in all these appointments. That's all attributable to my little army. And while I know there are a LOT of mom fails ahead of me, bringing Sadie into a world where she has an automatic prayer battalion like y'all is one of the biggest mom wins I could ever have.
We love y'all to pieces and can't wait to report back when she's here!
Until next time,
Katy
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