Weekly Pregnancy Post

How Far Along: Thirty-four weeks

Pregnancy Symptoms: Thinking I can do everything just as I did pre-pregnancy and learning the hard way that sometimes that just isn’t possible. Okay, so maybe that’s a long, made-up, random pregnancy side effect or maybe it’s just my stubborn personality, but last week I learned the hard way that my body definitely cannot do the things it did before I was pregnant. Long story short, I learned that it really is best to bend at your knees when you’re pregnant because if you don’t you might just pull a back muscle. While I’m continually told that I have a tiny belly, to me, it’s significantly larger than it was a few months ago and bending over to pick up your husband’s shoes (that he so graciously leaves lying in front of the door) can be a daunting task. Lesson learned: make hubby pick up his own shoes and always bend at the knees, not the waist! Other than a few pulled muscles and learning how to maneuver my body with this baby belly, I am feeling really good. I think I’m well-adjusted to the minimal sleep because I feel less tired and annoyed when I wake up in the middle of the night now. In a way, I look forward to my mid-night feedings with her in a few weeks. It’ll be nice to have some company when I can’t sleep!

Cravings: I can honestly say I haven’t had any weird cravings this entire pregnancy. Recently, my cravings consist of foods I see on television commercials. The past week it was Pizza Hut breadsticks. We never order Pizza Hut but this very persuasive commercial came on and convinced me, at 9 o’clock at night, that I needed to have breadsticks (with marinara sauce of course). While the hubby offered to drive and get some I insisted it was completely unnecessary and the craving for them passed….until Saturday night when the sister-in-law decided to order us some Pizza Hut and I finally was able to indulge in a breadstick and a half and it was everything I had hoped it would be the night I saw the commercial. I’m still enjoying dairy products, especially cheese and milk. I’ve eaten far too much leftover baby shower cake since the weekend and I’m already declaring that our house will be junk food-free after she’s born. What I find most interesting is that Dave has been having some cravings of his own these past few weeks. I doubt that he’s gained any “sympathy weight” because he probably couldn’t even gain weight if he tried. BUT whenever I announce that I must have a certain food item at a very specific time, he always responds with “I could really go for some…(fill in the blank)”. It’s usually some random and it never relates to my craving. Sometimes you’d think HE’S the one carrying the baby!

Weight-gain: Why do people feel the need to ask how much weight I’ve gained during pregnancy? Is that ever an appropriate question to ask a woman? While I can admit that I’m on the lower end of the pregnancy weight gain spectrum, I still feel like a big old cow on most days. I don’t need a number to make me feel that way. I tell Dave everyday I just want my body back. I can’t wait for her to vacate the premises so that I can feel like myself again. It’s impossible to say no to any form of chocolate while pregnant, my legs are swollen and I refuse to wear anything but long pants, and my face has exploded to the size of a basketball (much like my belly). Everyone keeps telling me that my belly is so tiny for being 34 weeks along – I’ve heard this throughout my entire pregnancy. I think I’m supposed to feel lucky!? Perhaps compared to some others at this point it is on the smaller side but trust me, it’s pretty big when compared to where I started at. My maternity clothes are slowly getting too small. Pregnant or not, no woman wants to feel fat and no woman wants to share how much weight she’s gained. Now, in a few months, feel free to ask me how much I’ve lost because I’m sure that number I will be more than thrilled to share :)

Nesting: On Saturday morning I had a very hormonal breakdown, over clothes of course. I locked myself in our closet while Dave lay in bed, declaring that nothing fit and that I was going to look terrible for my own baby shower no matter what I put on. When I finally emerged dressed I still wasn’t satisfied and declared that I looked like a teacher-mom in my outfit. Dave, still lying in bed, so wonderfully said, “You ARE a mom.” To which I quickly responded that no, I was not yet a mom (just a mom-to-be), therefore I didn’t have to dress like one yet. I proceeded to then lock myself in the bathroom because let’s face it, when your wardrobe fails you there is always hope for a good hair day. The point of the story is, I was wrong – I am a mom. I’ve been a mom since the moment we first found out we were pregnant. I’ve been taking care of our daughter -protecting, feeding, and nurturing her - for nearly nine months now and even though I’ve never held her in my arms or seen her face, I am still her mother. All the nesting I’ve been doing, all the time I spend in her room, touching her clothes, planning her future – that’s the stuff that makes me a mom. So we’ll let the hubby be right this ONE time...although I still wasn’t satisfied with my outfit that day.

One Year Ago: A year ago yesterday, on January 10th, we had found out that we were pregnant with our first baby. Dates tend to stick in my head and always hold some sort of significance for me. I remember we both already knew that I was pregnant – we had a strong feeling that turned out to be right. It was an incredibly joyous day for us and the weeks that followed brought so much excitement and joy to our families, too. While that pregnancy didn’t end in the way we would have hoped, I don’t ever want to forget that excitement because you only have that first time once. And we know that someday we’ll get to meet our sweet baby in heaven and we’ll be reminded of those feelings of excitement all over again.

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Our baby showers. You can read my last post for all the details and pictures from our two baby showers this past weekend. It’s a little bittersweet that they’re over because I hear you only get them with your first child. Either way, it was a significant highlight from our pregnancy and we appreciate everyone who helped us celebrate.