How are we already at 30 weeks?! It's crazy because I announced the pregnancy on this blog at 10 weeks in and here we are with just 10 weeks left! I've really enjoyed being pregnant. I know some women will roll their eyes at this, but I've honestly had a really easy pregnancy. Sure, I'm up every 2 hours at night to use the bathroom but as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm back in deep REM sleep! The baby lets me sleep through the night, also! He will move or kick a little when I roll from one side to the other or when I get up to use the bathroom but other than that he joins me in dreamland. It's wonderful.
Wellness: I get the occasional leg cramps at night when I sleep. Every now and then my ankles will swell a little so I'll put Lavender + Helichrysum on them, along with elevating them, and the swelling is gone in a few hours! His movements have become less like quick kicks and more like stretches and waves of movement. It's so trippy to watch my belly move like a wave and watch his little limbs push against it. He moves a lot! Although on Mondays, literally every Monday, he is pretty chill during the day; like he knows it's Monday or something! Ha! He responds to Nick's voice now by moving or kicking. It's so amazing.
My stepdad got me a little booklet from DoTerra on which oils are safe to use for everything pregnancy related. It's been very helpful! I'll use Deep Blue for the leg cramps and lower back pain sometimes. Diffusing Roman Chamomile or Balance helps me sleep good. For the occasional face breakouts due to hormones shifting, I'll apply some coconut oil with Lavender or Melaleuca and that usually clears them up within a day or two. Bio Oil has been my go-to in preventing stretch marks on my belly. I use it twice a day. It smells kind of like an old person's bathroom cabinet but it works beautifully.
Staying hydrated is very important. I'm drinking about 3 liters of water a day. The body needs a lot of water to form amniotic fluid for the baby, produce extra blood volume, build new tissue, carry nutrients, help indigestion and flush out your wastes and toxins.
Food-wise: my breakfast is usually the same thing everyday; 1 avocado spread on a piece of toast topped with 2 fried eggs and a small glass of orange juice. I start wanting a snack around 9/10am and again at 3/4pm, which is typically either 1/4 cup of greek yogurt with blueberries and granola bits, a banana with almonds, or carrots and celery with some ranch. A lot of times at my job, the drug reps will bring lunch to us so that can vary from day to day but what I eat is always a meat with a vegetable and a salad. My portions have stayed the same since pre-pregnancy. I don't believe in that whole "eat more because you're eating for two" thing. If you're getting the right amount of healthy nutrients every few hours during the day, you don't feel the need to "stuff your face". Pregnancy has helped Nick and I cook a lot more at home. Usually, we aren't allowed to be in the kitchen together and cook at the same time because it just doesn't work out, but this has been something that has helped strengthened our relationship lately as he always wants to know what he can do to help me. :) For dinner, sometimes we'll make spaghetti (using our own ingredients and vegetables to make the sauce), the occasional pizza, baked chicken with artichoke hearts, spinach, mushrooms and cheese is a favorite, salmon, tacos or, my favorite, a "rainbow salad". This consists of tomatoes, mandarin oranges, 2 boiled eggs, spinach or kale, avocado, blueberries, purple onion and walnuts or almonds. Gosh that makes me hungry just typing it out!
Avocados have been my biggest craving throughout the pregnancy. Coming in second is my current favorite smoothie to make. I blend a hefty tablespoon of peanut butter, greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of almonds, 1 banana, vanilla almond milk, 2 tablespoons of oats and some ice cubes. YUM. I don't crave sweets, but I do love some blueberry pie every now and then! Healthy eating isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle. I made the choice a few years ago to be more conscious of what I'm putting into my body. I read labels and ingredients. If it has more than 4 ingredients (especially ones you can't pronounce) it's probably not a good idea to eat it.
Exercising: We're fortunate to live right across the street from a park, so Nick and I will take the doggies and go walk the 1.3 mile trail a few times a week and very early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It takes us about 45 minutes to complete it and has 3 hills that I really have to use my leg muscles to get up! Walking together has been something we have routinely done for about 4-5 years. It's one of my favorite ways to spend time with him. My midwife has recommended doing pelvic rocks a few times a day to get my body and the baby in a good position for labor and delivery. I do about 30 squats a day and 15 side lunges. Since I've hit 30 weeks, I see my midwife every 2 weeks instead of every 4.
Midwife visits: This is always my favorite day. We listen to the baby's heartbeat through a fetoscope and do all the routine things you'd do at a doctor's office. Urine check, weight check, etc. We spend an hour together talking about how Nick and I have been feeling, and pretty much everything I've written about above. The last Monday in August, she will do a home visit with us at our house and make sure we have all our supplies together from the birth kit she put together for the homebirth. I'm super excited about this!
Reading: Speaking of the homebirth, I've finished reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (all Mamas should read this regardless of where they're giving birth!) and have started on a Hypnobirthing book. I also purchased these birth affirmation cards from Renegade Mama. I plan on incorporating them in my birth space and meditating on them during labor. I have a few affirmations that I'm going to make today so you'll see those when I share how the birth space is set up in the coming weeks.
The baby's room: His bookshelf is quickly filling up! We had our baby shower (to be shared about in a whole other post) on July 7 and about 30 people came! In the invitations, I included a little insert that included a poem about bringing a book instead of a card and signing the book with a note! I've been reading through everyone's notes with tears in my eyes. How incredibly loved our baby boy is already! His little dresser and closet are pretty stocked with clothes. Everyone said, "Be glad it's a boy because if it was a girl you'd go crazy buying clothes." Well, I've gone crazy buying clothes for him anyway. They're all so stinkin' cute. I can't wait to photograph him in his outfits and little hats! I had a sample of that Dreft detergent and used it to wash everything we got at the baby shower. It smelled soo good that I slept with one of his burp cloths for a few nights just imagining what snuggling with him might smell like.
Nesting: I think I've "nested" in almost every room of the house. A few weekends ago, I decided that my closet door was irrelevant so I grabbed a screwdriver and took it off the hinges! The look on Nick's face when I came in the living room holding my closet door was priceless!!! I also made the guest room look more like an actual room instead of a room we just throw random stuff in. This included moving all of Nick's clothes out of that room and into our room without telling him. He doesn't do so well with abrupt changes like that so I had to take him on a "tour" of sorts to explain where I put everything and that it is, in fact, very functional. :)
The gift from a stranger: I shared about this on my facebook and Instagram, but I know some people don't do social media so I'll share it here, also. About a month ago, I went to the pool at our friends Jason + Nicole's apartment complex with Nicole. It was just us two and this older lady there. I watched her as she went around the pool deadheading flowers. She had a tattoo on her wrinkly forearm. She came over to us and handed me the little bouquet of flowers she had picked and told me I was the most beautiful pregnant lady. I put one of the flowers in my hair and she just loved that so much. She asked about the baby and said she had a son once. He died last year in Afghanistan. He was a Marine. She met Nick and Jason a little while after that when they got to the pool and made a few quip comments that made us giggle. She left for about an hour and returned with 3 cigar boxes that were filled with hand-knitted blankets, a pair of mittens and a baby jacket. They were made by her great-great grandmother!! She said, with tears in her eyes, that she was saving them if she ever had a grandchild, but after she lost her only son she had been looking for the perfect couple to give them to and knew when she met Nick and I that she had to give them to us! I cried my eyes out and as I hugged her I told her how much this meant to me because I wished so often that my grandmothers were still alive or could have made something like this for me. She said, "I don't know if you're having a boy or a girl but if it's a boy, you can just give these away if they look too girly." I assured her how much these gifts meant to me and that I would save them for eternity. She didn't want to chat much and seemed embarrassed that she was crying and left in her little red car with the dreamcatcher hanging from the rearview mirror. She said her name is "Catherine with a C". After she left I just cried and cried. What an incredible moment, what an incredible gift. How loved this baby is even by a stranger!
