I never got around to posting last week because we had some very special visitors! My mom and sis Kristi flew in to help out before the baby shower and then the big event was yesterday. I hope to put together a post once I go through pictures. It was such a great day filled with good vibes, support, great food, and lots of love. And the cute clothes! I just die.
Today marks 31 weeks. I can’t believe I only have 9-ish weeks to go! I was looking forward to resting after the baby shower, but not much rest is happening right now because our kitchen reno starts today. Eric is ripping out the cupboards as I type this post. I’m sure I’ll have some kind of hormonal breakdown by the end of it all…hah. Deep breaths! We spent Sunday night emptying the cupboards and moving all the dishes to the dining room where they will sit for 6-ish weeks. The only thing keeping me going right now is knowing that we’re getting this done before the baby arrives (knock on wood). I can’t imagine doing a major reno with a new baby so that’s why we decided just to hunker down and get ‘er done. I’m not promising to stay sane though…
I’m at that stage in pregnancy where people love to ask me about my due date and chat about pregnancy. It always seems to be in check-out lines. One woman asked me if I was going to have a natural birth. Quite the topic for a check out line wouldn’t you say? lol. I wish I was clairvoyant, I really do. A month ago we were in a furniture store twice in one weekend and the second time we went back to the store the salesman said, “Geeze, you still haven’t popped that baby out yet??” He yelled this from 30 feet away and about 10 people stopped to look. I was only about 26 weeks pregnant at the time so I’m sure my expression was priceless. Oh the things people say.
Food loves: I had my first juicy, deep purple organic plum of the season a couple weeks ago. Followed by many more. I’m buying them a dozen at a time. I know people like baking them into crisps and such, but I just can’t imagine these plums tasting any better than they do fresh. I’m also loving pink lemonade popsicles and French press coffee with almond milk first thing in the morning. Still loving green monsters every morning for breakfast (here is my current go-to recipe filled with protein, healthy fats, and more). Dark chocolate and homemade coconut oil dark chocolate are sweet treats of choice.
Currently reading: The Baby Name Wizard, Revised 3rd Edition (on Kindle) – We hadn’t purchased any baby name books before last week, but after scouring the internet far and wide for baby names I decided to buy one baby name book “just to be sure”. I’m still reading the books I mentioned last week too. Well, technically I haven’t had much time for reading over the past week, but I hope to get back into them soon!
I’ve been into reading birth stories lately too. It’s funny – before I got pregnant I had no interest in reading them (they basically terrified me), but now that I’m getting close to my due date I find myself reading lots. I’m reading a real mix of stories from the super positive to the challenging/scary ones. I like to learn about the many different ways labour could go, rather than focusing on just one “ideal” outcome. With that being said, I’m still cultivating a positive mindset about it all. Knowing that I get to meet her at the end of it will be the ultimate motivation. I’m really happy my doula will be there to support us too.
How I’m feeling: Overall, I feel pretty great. My left sacrum pain is still bothering me and limits my bending movements, but my rib pain has gone down probably by 50%. Progress! I will take whatever I can get. I can even wear underwire bras again on some days. My energy levels are solid and I’m still going for my hour long brisk walks each morning. I think a healthy diet has helped me feel my best! I really notice a dip in energy levels and mood when I have too many sugary things.
Sleep: This is probably going to implode now that I’m writing it out, but my sleep has been so much better the past two weeks. I went from waking up to pee 2-3 times per night and then not being able to fall back asleep, to waking up just once to pee and sleeping pretty solid otherwise. I’ve been sleeping 5 hour stretches at a time which is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I feel like my body just needs more sleep lately. I’m sure it’s related to baby’s growth spurts. I tried out a pregnancy pillow I ordered from Walmart.ca (it was a Sealy brand) and I really didn’t like it. The pillow was too firm and high and I could barely get my leg around it! So I switched back to my small pillow and I’ve been using that between my legs when I’m sleeping on my side. I’m actually finding it very comfortable now and I’m even getting used to my belly in bed.
Belly moves: Over the past two weeks, the baby’s movements have gone from jabs and pokes to full out “rolling hill” movements where I can see my entire belly rolling/rippling across as she shifts positions in my stomach. I think she’s getting pretty squished in there! Even though it will be amazing to have her in my arms in a few weeks, I just know I’m going to miss feeling these kicks and movements all day long. It’s such an incredible feeling.
Birth weights/lengths: Eric and I have been comparing birth weight/lengths and baby/child photos lately just for kicks. I was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long at birth and he was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches long at birth. Pretty close! edited to add: My mom just corrected me that I was 8 pounds and 8 oz at birth – oops, preggo brain! She says, “I would’ve loved a 7 pounder!” haha. I had a full head of brown hair at birth + blue eyes and Eric had a bit of blonde hair and hazel eyes. We shall see!
Instagram account: I started a new Instagram account a few weeks ago and I forgot to mention it on here. It features pictures of pregnancy, home renos, life stuff, and everything else non-food related. I decided to keep my @ohsheglows Instagram account for mostly food-related content so that’s why I started this new one. You can follow my new account @theglowspot.
Ok, tell me how you’re doing…love hearing from you!
xo
Hi Angela, Do you plan on posting about making baby food when that time comes? Do you have an idea of how you are going to approach baby food making in the first year?
Yes, I do hope to when we get to that stage! :)
Yes, I can’t wait to hear about the baby food stage. I have 3 kids, ages 1, 6 and 9, and we’re all vegetarian. It’s been hard to find many options that they will all like that gives them the nutrition they need. The baby loves everything and even drinks my green smoothies, but that might change as she enters the picky stage. One thing I’ve learned though, is that if they see you eating salads and vegetables all the time they will want to too. It’s not true that kids don’t like veggies – my older boys LOVE broccoli and spinach and ask for it all the time. I put some soy sauce on it and they’ll eat the whole plate. I just discovered your site last week and really love it. I’m ordering your cookbook from amazon and can’t wait to try the recipes! Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and wishing you an easy and safe labor!
Hi Angela,
Loving your site.. I am a week and a half behind you with my second. I had my first only 11 months ago-both are girls! Pregnancy is such an amazing (and exhausting) experience! With my first pregnancy, I was a week late. I only went into the hospital after the doctor suggested I get induced. I refused an epidural and Pitocin and the nurses thought I was crazy..they were also surprised that I came in a week late.. I figured women have done it for centuries..so why couldn’t I do it too. I did surrender to the induction though-they put some sort of pill up my “you know what” and a few hours later.. I went from a 2 to a 9. It felt like really bad flu pains. The hardest part was being tied up to all those machines, especially when I had to go to the bathroom. Now, word of advice.. empty your bowels before you give birth (if you can). Because the force of delivery will make you empty your bowels on the birthing table..lol. True story!
Anyway, on a whole other topic.. I wanted to commend you for leaving your research job and going after your passion! That took lots of guts and many people have a difficult time doing that! I also went into the psychology field-graduated from the Masters in Clinical psychology program and was extremely bummed after I graduated.. but after some tweaking and learning about who I am and what I want in life, I am going after what’s important now.
Now that I wrote a book.. I’ve been wanting to say hi for a while and thought this was a good opportunity!
Have fun with the renos :)
Great update! Can’t wait to see more pictures of the baby shower! I’m in week 18 now, and in the throes of the “Was that movement?” stage. Nothing definite enough yet to convince me. I’m sure once I’m feeling the kicks, punches and rolls constantly while trying to sleep I’ll wonder why I was so impatient, but I’m sure finally feeling a presence makes it all feel more real. Right now I just feel awkward… like I want to push my stomach out as much as possible in public so people don’t have to wonder, lol. Sucking it in is no longer an option :P
I’ve been doing the birth weight/length comparison “game” too, but with slightly more worrisome possibilities. I was a reasonable 7 lb 6 oz, but my husband was a very UNreasonable 12 lbs… I truly hope baby size runs on the mother’s side, or at least that we can split the difference!
haha wow 12 pounds! I can see why you’d want to split the difference! It’s amazing how every baby is so different.
Congrats on your pregnancy!
Dont’ worry, you two! My husband and I were both 9+ pound babies, but then my daughter was 2 weeks late and under 8 pounds.
After my first child, I told myself I’d buy a proper pillow so my hips wouldn’t hurt from so much side sleeping. I bought http://www.mumanu.com. You can adjust how much air you want in the pillow to make sure your hips are aligned at the right height. It came really fast and I’m madly in love. A bit pricy but having it for the past 12 weeks as been amazing. I have 6 more weeks to go and I know I will be using it faithfully up to birth and it may even go to the hospital with me!
I love your baby shower dress! Can I ask where you got it? My shower is in a month, and though I recently ordered a cute dress online, someone stole the package from my lobby before I could pick it up. And of course, the store is now out of my size! Needless to say, I’m on the hunt for a new one, and your dress is beautiful.
I’m so sorry someone stole your package! That’s awful. :(
I found this dress at Winners several weeks ago. It’s not maternity, but I find the empire waist is very preggo-friendly. :) The brand name on the tag says “Pink Rose”.
Thanks so much for checking and for the reply! I know, right? Who steals a pregnant woman’s dress?!
I feel your pain on the reno. We decided at 19 weeks(I’m 29 weeks now) that we needed to rip up our carpets and install new floors(4 dogs+4 years of accidents, didn’t want to bring home baby to that).
We ordered the flooring and in anticipation of it arriving and family traveling to help us install it….we packed up half the house into the garage and pulled up all the carpet….only to find out they shipped the wrong color flooring. It took 5 or 6 WEEKS to get it picked up and then another week to get the proper stuff shipped(they wouldn’t exchange until the wrong flooring was returned).
So we lived for 5 or 6 weeks on bare subfloor with half our furniture/stuff in the garage and the rest pushed to the sides or middle of rooms.
We are JUST now completing the finishing touches(adding quarter round, caulking and re-setting up our), and I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck with your reno!!
ahh that sounds like a nightmare for sure! Glad it’s finally coming together after all these weeks. It’s amazing how many things can go wrong during a reno!
Yay for 30 (well, 31) weeks! You look great, and I hope to see more of your shower. I’m almost 22 weeks and am just starting to think about my baby’s shower, which is tentatively scheduled for when I’m 30/31 weeks as well! Well, so my friend said she’d plan it, but I feel bad since she lives 2 hours away and am trying to coordinate what I can on my end!! I am definitely looking forward to getting together before the baby, though! With no sex announced, I wonder what kind of clothes people will inevitably bring since we won’t be registering for those really.
We JUST started doing stuff to prepare for baby, and I can definitely tell I am going to spend those last weeks hurriedly getting stuff together, as well! It’ll be a good distraction, right?!
Angela, it has been really great following your story. I have been following your blog for years but the baby blog is fun! My little one will be 7 months next week! We decided to do a whole house reno before the baby and well she came 6 weeks early and we still are not done! The weekend she was born we had planned to finish everything up, however little Charlotte had her own plans! I hope that the kitchen reno goes as planned. Trust me it will be wonderful to get it done before the baby. She will be taking up all of your time. :)
Love your dress!!! And yay for 31 weeks! You look fantastic. Tomorrow marks 37 weeks for me! :)
Each week, I get so excited to read your next post about your pregnancy – so thank you for continuing to share. You are so inspiring! Also, I love the dress that you wore at your shower!
Thank you Vandy! It was the only dress that fit in my closet so Im glad it worked out ok…heh.
Hi Angela! I am right behind you at 21 weeks pregnant. So far I’m lucky to be pain free, but I have a friend who swore by an osteopath during pregnancy to help her with rib pain, which sounded similar to what you describe. Ask around to find someone who is reputable and well-regarded in this field (unfortunately I don’t live in your area so can’t help with this). At the very least, it is worth a try. Good luck!
I’m going to look into this – thanks!
I love all your pregnancy updates. You look so beautiful at your shower. I will be 38 weeks tomorrow and I can’t believe how fast time has gone. I’m trying to soak up being pregnant while I can. The baby’s movements have really gotten stronger the past few weeks as I think he or she is running out of room to move. Last week, my Dr. took measurements and this baby is measuring at 8lb 9oz and that terrifies me lol. She did say it could be off by as much as a pound though. Best of luck to you with the kitchen renovations. I hope it will be done before the bog day :)
Good luck during these last couple weeks! Not much longer to go now. :) I’m sure everything will go great…keep us posted!
We gutted our entire kitchen in my third trimester too. I feel your pain! The baby was born the day before counters were installed haha.
haha…that’s what we’ve been joking about, but I honestly wouldnt be surprised if it came true!!
I look forward to your pregnancy updates every week and I love your dress. I’m still in first trimester with my 3rd and found out today that my ultrasound last week bumped my due date back 10 days. I also learned today that I need another ultrasound because they found something on the first one that could indicate “multiple gestation”. So now I have to spend the next 2 & a half weeks freaking out and wondering if I have baby number 3 or babies numbers 3 & 4 in there. The waiting game is the worst.
Hi,
You are looking great! I will post how I am doing although I’m not sure if you ready my posts as I don’t have my own food blog so it’s just me. A simple, plain, ‘ol follower!!
I am 25 weeks and still running about 20km a week. I’ve slowed down quite a bit though and I am finding that 10km’s are becoming a bit too tiring and I’m starting to feel pain and discomfort in my pelvic muscles. Although I am now running with my bellyband (advice from my midwife) I may cut my runs to 4 milers. I am also trying to do weights about once a week focusing on squats, plies, lunges and upper back exercises to counteract my future breastfeeding posture (leaning forward).
Food wise-I wish I was more passionate about food and cooking like I was pre-pregnancy but that’s just not the case. So, I rely on my green smoothies everyday. This week I decided to do a summer version of fresh peaches, ginger, mint, bok coy, cucumber, and kale. It’s really good especially if the peaches are super sweet! I usually get my fats from coconut oil, chia seeds, avocado, and hummus. My main source of protein has been lentils, tempeh, and hemp seeds.
Currently reading-Dr. Sears books.
Thanks for sharing your weekly updates, I love hearing about how you’re doing especially because I am also a first time Mom!
Best wishes,
Heather.
I love reading about your pregnancy! It brings back such sweet memories of my first trip down this precious road. Everyone had an opinion or comment! You seem to have your feet beneath you – it will all be fine!
I have videos of Ada in utero doing the “alien move”. I still can’t figure out how a knee or foot managed to traverse the entire width of my belly many times a night. Back and forth, back and forth…incredible to see such a thing.
Wow, I guess I haven’t been to your site in awhile…. congratulations on the baby news!!!! I am so excited. My family and I joke about how much I love your recipes and I have told countless people about your site. I am thrilled about the baby news and look forward to all of your creativity when it comes to feeding your baby. I have a baby at home now and I’m always trying new healthy recipes for her. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. All the best!!!
Thank you Alisha! I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying the recipes so much :)
I’m 32, and have been with my boyfriend over 5 years now. Pregnancy was nowhere in my mind. Reading your posts, talking to other people, etc have now started to give me some ideas and direction. Although I’m a bit afraid and not sure if this is what I want. I think, as a loyal reader of you since 2010, I will wait and see how things go with you, Eric & your baby girl ;) Congrats already, and pls keep up your stories of motherhood. I love reading them. Big hugs xx
haha I love your wait and see approach…that’s pretty much what we did with out own siblings over the years!
oh my goodness! because i typically read your blog on my reader, i’ve been completely missing these updates! wonderful to go back and read them now, though. you look amazing and i’m so happy for you both! exciting times all around! xx
I love your blog and I love your book. I wish I was vegan through my pregnancies but am glad that we’ve made the change 7 months ago and my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter are thriving. For weight they are both in the 50th percentile and for height my son is in the 75th and my daughter is in the 50th. Children can completely thrive on a vegan diet. I’m looking forward to seeing your child friendly recipes once your little girl eats solids.