Pregnancy Must-Haves

Hey hey! I'm still here and still happily pregnant at 39 weeks, 3 days. Our little boy is still cooking and I am on my second day off of work.  I'm feeling great for the most part and trying to adjust to my new non-schedule.  I've either been in school or working full time ever since I was 15 and not having a structure is nuts, but I'm sure I'll adjust as I get much busier in the next few weeks.

As I'm coming to the end of my pregnancy, I wanted to share my must-have list and the family photos we had taken at 37 weeks.

1. Exercise. I have definitely slowed down towards the end, but yoga, walking, doing the elliptical, riding the bike, and light weight training have been absolutely amazing for my energy levels and health throughout my pregnancy.  I knew weight gain would be a big part of the pregnancy, but I wanted to keep moving so that I felt better and even when I felt bad, I never felt any worse after a walk.

2. My personal trainer.  Now that I'm not feeling the gym so much, my main source of stress relief is walking with my Chino.  People know my obsession with him has no bounds, but this cute little face has lifted my spirits most days and he makes sure that I get out for at least 35-40 minutes every day.  These days he's keeping me company while I'm out on funemployment.

3. Good food.  I ate well during pregnancy.  I hated chocolate until the first 15ish weeks and then I started having some chocolate treats and other treats.  The rest of my food remained pretty much the same as before pregnancy.  Of note, I was hungry between 20 and 30 weeks- "eating like a teenage boy" hungry.  I am still not sure of the validity of pregnancy cravings.  I definitely had a love affair with Trader Joe's popsicles and watermelon and loved water, but I'm not sure the difference between a craving and a preference. I also ate some red meat  in an attempt to get my iron levels back up as I am borderline anemic and have to say I enjoyed it.

4. A few extra pillows.  I did not have one of those pregnancy sleeping contraptions.  I just used a few extra pillows to prop myself up and get comfortable. I don't know how you fit 2 people and a big worm in your bed. I may be one of the lucky people, but I'm still sleeping like a rock.

5. Other mommy/pregnant friends.  I belong to a facebook moms group and it's been so nice to speak to people who are also pregnant.  I also have a friend who just recently had a baby and I appreciate all the real advice.  There is a lot of crap that people don't tell you about and it's great to have a perspective from someone with real experience.

6. A supportive husband.  From dealing with my occasionally neurotic personality, to being there with me for the important medical appointments, I can't think of anyone else I would rather have with me on this journey.  I'm pretty low maintenance, but the husband has stepped up his game to make sure I'm well taken care of.  He is so protective and already a great father.  And he tells my round self that I'm beautiful on a daily basis- something anyone, let alone a very pregnant woman is lucky to hear.

7. A supportive family.  Our parents and my brother and sister-in-law (and favorite nephew) have been great throughout this experience.  They have offered any help we needed, spent countless hours helping during our remodel, and have been our biggest support system.  Most importantly, they have given us our space without trying to choke us- very important!

8. A sense of humor and a positive attitude.  Did you know that pregnancy is a "beautiful experience"?  It's also ridiculously awkward, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright nasty.  You get to see your body change in months, sometimes weeks, and people say a lot of stupid sh*t to you.  They ask inappropriate questions, tell you you'll never sleep again, and ask about your weight gain- breaking a cardinal rule of talking to any woman ever.  Keeping a sense of humor and maintaining a positive attitude have probably helped me maintain some relationships and kept me going.  If anything, I have tried to fake it or kill people with kindness so that I don't say anything offensive.

We've reached all the milestones and are as ready as we can be.  Now I'm patiently waiting for the baby to show up.  If he's anything like his mama, he's going to be late, but hopefully he's a little more efficient like his father!

Full Term and More

Between being absent for three weeks growing a human and not doing much of food blogging, I have a lot to catch up on.  Things are finally winding down around the house and at work, and this whole having a baby deal is starting to get real.  I think for now I'll abandon the weekly updates since things are pretty stable these days.

First, let's catch up on the last 3 weeks of bumpage:

35 weeks:

36 weeks:

37 weeks:

My 37 week picture is from a set of family/maternity pictures we had taken this past weekend and while I was on the fence about maternity pictures, I'm so glad we have been able to capture these moments.  I have loved growing my little boy and I'm so happy to have these memories.

I'll be back with more pictures from our shoot as well as my pregnancy essentials in the next couple of posts, but I wanted to stop by and say hello!  Baby is still cooking and I'm still doing great.  What's new with you?

34 Weeks

This past Saturday I hit 34 weeks of pregnant lady status.  This is the big leagues- getting close and definitely through a big part of my third trimester.  Overall, I'm still feeling really well and in great spirits.

How far along? 34 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I'm definitely up a couple of weight classes from my starting weight, but it is what it is.  The belly feels heavy!

Maternity clothes? Mixing and matching everything I have. It's the survival of the stretchiest in my closet for now, but I refuse to get anything else for the last 6ish weeks.

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep: Still sleeping well.

Best moment this week: I had a great week overall with no complaints.  We had a nice night out with friends and it was really good to be social and enjoy great company and a great meal.  Each night that I get to spend at home with my favorite boys is great.  I also finally picked out a couple of things for the baby that are my style.  I am incredibly thankful for all the clothing we have received, but 99% of it was blue and (shocker) I am not too into blue.

This week's comment of the week:

An older couple walking their dogs asked me if I had a baby under my sweater...then proceeded to tell us how euphoric the experience will be and how wonderful childbirth is.  This was a welcome change to some of the crazy shiznit people usually say, even if their comments are not intentional.

My advice for any idea/thought you have or if you ever want to say something to a pregnant lady: "You look beautiful." Simple and does the trick.
Miss Anything? Meh- not really.

Movement: Constant movement.  I can see when he's poking me and he's always rolling around in there.  The movements are now all bigger sweeping movements rather than the little jabs I used to get.

Food cravings: I'm so thirsty now, so lots of water, the occasional peach iced tea, and milk. Other than that I have been eating all the basics. The baby has been having a lot of roasted asparagus, but it's mostly because I like it and because we discovered Chino LOVES asparagus, so it's a snack the whole family can eat!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, feeling good!

Sex: BOY!

Symptoms: I'm feeling great. I have a lot of energy these days and the body aches have not been anything to complain about.  I seem to be a human oven and get a little warmer these days.  I can also feel the weight of the belly towards the end of the day.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm feeling generally happy. Life is good.

Exercise: I went back to prenatal yoga and it was really good for me both physically and mentally.  I also made it to the gym a couple of times in week 34 and have spent lots of time walking with my favorite personal trainer- you would want to take this face on a walk too!

33 Weeks

Well it's been another couple of weeks and I'm still here and definitely more pregnant by the day.  I've kindly been reminded that I'm slacking on updates, so here we go for 33 weeks!

How far along? 33 weeks

And for kicks here I am at 32 weeks:

Total weight gain/loss: Up around 25 big ones as of my last appointment.  I think I'll have no problem hitting my target gain of 30 lbs and since I'm an overachiever, I may even surpass it.  I'm surprisingly calm about the weight even at this point.  I'll figure things out once the bebe is out.
Maternity clothes? Yes, and still wearing some of my regular tops.  Maxi dresses are my best friend and I can't wait for the weather to be nicer so I can wear more dresses. I am pretty much done shopping for maternity clothes- I have 3 pairs of pants and 2 maternity tops- the rest have been longer tops and lots of layering from my current wardrobe.
Stretch marks? None yet.
Sleep: Sleep is still great. I'm up to 3 pillows now but can still fall asleep and stay asleep easily. Knock on wood.
Best moment this week: I had time off of work and we had a staycation.  This time last year we went to Mendocino for our first vacation with Chino and this year we accompanied hubby on a business trip to CA's Central Valley. It was so nice to spend time as a family of 3 (and my squirmy little companion). 

We also celebrated Passover and baby liked all the singing and grape juice and danced the whole time. I'm excited to celebrate more holidays with the little guy when he's in the outside world.


This week's comment of the week:
I think that since I passed the awkward stage of looking like I ate too many cookies to being obviously pregnant, people have been nothing but nice to me.  Doors get opened, I get treated really well, and people tell me I look good with a basketball belly, so I'm taking it!

Miss Anything? I'm getting ready to claim back my old body and have more clothing items to wear, but I would honestly not trade this for anything in the world. The baby needs to keep cooking.
Movement: I have an active little babysaurus in there.  He has his feet up by my ribs and loves rolling and stretching. We hang out on the couch or in the car and hubby gets to feel some of the shenanigans.  Baby is hanging out upside down as of right now and I hope he stays that way.
Food cravings: Most of the time I eat just like normal, but I have been loving peach iced tea, cereal, all fruit, veggies, and cold drinks.  I had a few days where I was more thirsty than hungry and a few hungry days here and there.  I think I have seriously impressed my husband with the sheer volume of food I can take down but it's mostly healthy :)  Of course the warmer weather has brought me a couple of frozen yogurt runs.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, feeling good!

Sex: BOY!

Symptoms: I'm feeling great. I am thankful to not have any of the icky symptoms (yet) and anything I have is really minor. I have tons of energy and feel best when I'm moving around rather than sitting.  I can tell I am heavier, especially in the belly region and randomly get winded.  I'm also pretty clumsy lately- not sure if I can blame that on pregnancy though.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and starting to get a little anxious.  We have most of the items we need and will be taking care of the outstanding things in the next few weeks. I think I have been in slight denial of the HUMAN that will join us soon but I think we can tackle anything.  I have been working on the baby's room (i.e. organizing) and baby has quite the wardrobe already.

I also put up a wall decal so that we can have some more color in the room.

Looking forward to: We are spending the next 6ish weeks working on the house and getting things finished. I am going to try to enjoy this time as a family of 3. We have lots to look forward to, but I'm not wishing the time away.
Exercise: Lots of walks/hikes, a few gym sessions, and yoga. I'm counting anything as exercise these days and going to keep it up as long as I can.

Showered With Love

This weekend we had our baby shower. I've been to many baby showers in my day and it was a surreal feeling to be having my own shower.  I can't think of a nicer tradition- family and friends gathering around the baby mama to support her in taking a huge leap.  I can't believe how many people came out to support us and prepare us for our little man.  The hosts were my mom, hubby's mom, and my sister-in-law and every single thing about it was perfect.

The details were beautiful- my SIL put up baby pictures of us and even baby pictures of what Chino could have looked like (heart melts).

The food was ridiculous- so many dishes to choose from and enough to feed a full army.  The highlight was the dessert table- it was about as big as the dessert table at our wedding.



I'm omitting the pictures of our guests to protect the innocent, but we did capture some family pictures.

And then it was time to open presents.  I'm the slowest present opener ever.  It's a good thing our master of ceremonies was able to assist.

So many cute things!

My aunt in Florida sent a whole package of handmade blankets, booties and hats for the little man- they were so beautiful and I needed a whole crew to help open everything.

As the night wound down and the ladies left, we had an after party and things got a little silly.  We took a picture of our family of three.

And a classic belly shot with our good friends.

And some more family photos.

With 31 weeks down and a house full of baby stuff, we are starting to get ready for our new adventure.  Time has flown by and each day we get closer to meeting our new little man.

I hope he likes hugs, lots of loud conversation, and lots of love because if our shower experience is any indication of what his life will be like, he'll be one loved little guy!

29 Weeks

Here we go with yet another week of this thing.  The funny thing is I used to think how long it would take to get to the third trimester and now I'm here and it's flying again.  I've decided 30 weeks is a good time to freak out- but for now 29 weeks is working for me.

How far along? 29 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I went in again on Friday and I'm up 20 big ones.  I must be carrying a toddler in there or something.  I can definitely feel the weight in my heavy belly now and my cheekbones are on vacation.

Maternity clothes? Yes, and yes.  This weekend hubby and I took a trip to Target so I could get some longer tanks for working out.  I'm starting to look like Homer Simpson in some of my workout tops.  I also need to figure out what I'm wearing to my shower in 2ish weeks...the goal is something that makes the bump look cute without making the rest of me look quite as robust.

Stretch marks? I got a new vitamin E oil from Trader Joe's...still hoping I won't get them.

Sleep: Sleep is still great.  I occasionally wake up on my back but I'm still sleeping through the night and only wake up early in the morning to freak out about work, but usually fall back asleep.

Best moment this week: In health news, I'm still feeling really well since my cold went away and heard that I passed my gestational diabetes test (woo hoo!).  We also made more progress on our house and the baby's room has hardwood floors all done now.  Oh, and we are getting some stuff from our registry delivered to the house...I get all giddy and open the packages :)

This week's comment of the week:

Someone asked me what I was having at the coffee shop.  I think it's now safe to say that I'm obviously pregnant.

Miss Anything? Nope. But I do want sushi and lox when I'm done being pregnant.  Make notes, family.

Movement: Lots of movement and he's getting closer to my ribs.  He also squirms around when I'm laying on my side and I usually have to turn because I think I'm squishing him.

Food cravings: Welp, I was eating a popsicle tonight when hubby took my picture and those have been my go to dessert (and ya know, chocolate).  I also killed this mediterranean plate for lunch last week without even blinking.  I've been eating roasted asparagus like it was going out of style last week as well.  I guess it's a good combination of healthy with a few treats...and eating like a lumberjack.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, feeling good!

Sex: BOY!  

Symptoms: My lower back has felt tender again over the last few days.  I was doing a lot this weekend and it could be related, but I'm trying to keep it stretched out with cat cow pose.  I also got my blood work back and I'm slightly anemic, so I get to start taking an iron supplement.  Besides feeling heavier, I'm still happy with how well I have been feeling.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and busy.  I joke that because I'm carrying a human I get enough work for two people at the job...I'm the only one who finds this amusing and it doesn't work to lessen the workload.

Looking forward to: My baby shower (in 2 weeks, eek!), maternity leave, and meeting my sweet boy.

Exercise: Walks daily, 2 gym workouts including full body weights circuits and cardio, and one yoga practice.  I'm aiming to get more in this week and still really enjoying movement.

Oh- and in case you were wondering about sympathy cravings, I let Chino try my all fruit popsicle.  He approves....and don't worry, I rinsed off the puppy drool before I had the popsicle.

27 and 28 Weeks

Hello fellow food bloggers.  I keep coming back here without food- so let's start with that first. We got a new waffle maker and today was its maiden voyage.  Waffles are back in the home =)

In other news, I'm still gestating and still around.  I caught a rough cold that lasted for 9ish days and one would have thought I caught the plague or something.  I'm usually what I call a functioning alcoholic and can usually work my way through colds but this was no joke.  I am pretty much recovered now and ready to attack the last 12 weeks!

How far along? Just hit 28 weeks this Saturday! 

Here is a picture from 27 weeks:

And here I am today- woah bebe!  Big brother Chino was squirrel hunting in the background with us.

Total weight gain/loss: I go in again on Friday, but I'm guessing up 18 pounds or so to add a pound a week since 26 weeks.  The baby is going to be doing a lot of growing and brain development in this trimester, so I'm suspecting the scale will keep going up.  I'm still eating healthy and when hungry so I'm letting my body do what it needs.

Maternity clothes? Yes, and yes.  I still wear a lot of pre-preg shirts but I can't get my lululemon zip ups to close anymore.  Sad face.

Stretch marks? Still holding out for them- maybe I just can't see them yet?

Sleep: Sleep is still great.

Best moment this week: Finally feeling better had to be my best moment.  I also had my golden birthday- 28 on the 28th and my family and friends made me feel pretty special.  Finally, our parents and the hubby have been working like crazy on our house and it's starting to come together.  Today grandpa Jacob (my dad) came over to paint the baby's room and yesterday grandpa Stan hooked up the light in the room.  Here is a sneak peak of the progress to date- you can't see the colors too well, but this is a light aqua and a light grey.

This week's comment of the week:

- People haven't said much.  Maybe they're afraid of the hormonal wrath I can bring.

Miss Anything? Not really.  I think I missed drugs while I was sick, but I'm feeling pretty well and trying to enjoy this time. 

Movement: Lots of movement.  Baby has a party in there in the early mornings and evenings and he's getting stronger.  My ribs have started hurting so he may already be kicking up there.

Food cravings: None of note.  I made a fruit salad this weekend and have been plowing my way through it, but I have kept most of my eating habits the same- just more =)

Anything making you queasy or sick: I noticed that when I get hungry I start to get queasy- all signs telling me to keep up with the growing babe.

Sex: BOY!  

Symptoms: Besides the cold of death that I keep referencing, I have been pretty much pain free.  In the last two days my ribs have felt tender and after a busy day my back was a little sore.  Part of it is from not being active while sick so I'm going to get back to a regular workout and yoga schedule since my body needs the movement and flexibility.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Not pregnancy-related, but I had a really cranky week from work stress and not feeling well.  I know I'm not being rational half the time and set crazy expectations for myself half the time, so the goal for this week is to be more relaxed and keep stress levels down.  Maybe it's OK for me to not be so nice and to be more assertive.

Looking forward to: Lots to look forward to- including my baby shower, maternity leave, and meeting my sweet boy.

Exercise: I was able to keep up with only about half of my walks with Chino since all I wanted to do was go to bed by 7 each night.  I am so thankful hubby took over and walked the pup the other evenings.  Now that I'm feeling better, the goal is to get back to formal exercise and yoga most days of the week so that I'm in shape for my endurance event.