(I didn’t have a chance to take an official bump pic this week, so I pulled this from my Snapchat!)
This week has been all about starting the next phase of renovations (master bathroom), basement renovations continuing, and trying to juggle a heavy workload despite the commotion. I’m not going to lie, the renovations are chaotic right now! I’m handling it pretty well (better than I thought); I’ve been so busy I haven’t really had much time to think about all the mess. I’m sure it’ll hit me at some point and I’ll have some kind of hormonal breakdown…bahaha.
How I’m feeling: A little nervous this week, actually. The realization that I’m quickly approaching my due date has made me reflect about labour (something I hadn’t given much thought to this time around), and I’m starting to freak out a little. Well, I’m not freaking out, just feeling nervous. Butterflies. The benefit of having been through childbirth before is that I know what to expect (to some degree). The drawback of having been through childbirth before is that I know what to expect! I’m scared to go through labour again, but considering what I got through the first time around, I know I can do it again. I’m probably most anxious about post-delivery recovery. It took me months to recover from my first labour (thanks in part to some lingering episiotomy pain), and I’m just hoping this time around is a bit gentler on my body. These third trimester nerves have made me consider hiring a doula again, and I’m even considering a hypnobirthing doula because I’ve heard good things about this approach. But, I’m really on the fence as to whether I want/need the extra support given that I’ll have two midwives present, and possibly a midwifery student. I’ll keep you posted with what I decide, but in the meantime if anyone has tried hypnobirthing and wants to share their experience, I’d love to hear it!
Midwife appointment: Good news: my midwife thinks baby is head down now! I’ve felt extra pressure on my bladder lately, so I was hoping that was the case. I also got blood work returned this week. I was bracing myself for a big drop in my iron level like I had with my first pregnancy, but it’s still very high (first trimester was 142, and I’m currently at 135). I’m not quite sure why, either; I haven’t been taking any iron supplements and I haven’t been paying super close attention to consuming iron-rich foods (although, I definitely get a variety of plant-based sources!). My whole foods-based prenatal supplement (which I looooove) contains a daily total of 18 mg, so I must be absorbing at least some of it each day. I’m also careful not to take my prenatal with tea or coffee, which can hinder absorption. Either way, it feels reassuring having such a rich iron store, and I hope it’ll help boost my postpartum energy!
Names: We’ve narrowed it down to a couple first name options, and we’ve chosen one of two middle names. Progress! I really love both of our first name options, and am feeling so torn!
Home life: As I mentioned, the master bathroom renovation has started and it’s basically a madhouse in here. Eric and I moved out of our master bedroom and into the guest room and I’m already counting down the days until I’m reunited with our bed, lol.
Symptoms: I’m rocking a bit of a waddle. It’s pretty much impossible to walk without arching my back. I love walking outside with the BOB stroller though, it gives me some support. Also, I’ve had some upper rib pain in the evening here and there, but it hasn’t been too bad yet. When I get rib pain, I always remove my bra as I find the wire puts more pressure on the area (or maybe I just need to go up a size). It also helps to lie down on the couch rather than sit up… No complaints about that one.
Sleep: I mentioned last week that Adriana was going through a rough sleep patch, and now I think I know why (aside from her super high energy at night)—she’s cutting her top and bottom eye teeth! She cut the two top ones late last week, and the bottom ones will be cutting soon. I’ve heard that these teeth are particularly painful to cut, so that would explain the reduced sleep quality, hand chewing, and mega clinginess. Poor girl!
Exercise: After a week off due to a cold, I got back into my workout routine last weekend and had a couple strong days of workouts. I’ve been struggling this week, though, since we moved out of our bedroom and now the treadmill is wrapped in plastic to protect it from dust. A treadmill wrapped in plastic is super motivating, obviously. ;) Eric says I can unwrap it when I need to, but there’s been so much going on this week that I haven’t bothered. I’m going to make today the day! I’m still doing outdoor walks each day, and yesterday I did Barre3 since I can do it anywhere in the house (aka…away from dust). Barre3 feels extra hard now that I have this belly trying to throw me off balance, but I love how strong I feel when I do it. It’s amazing how difficult 15 minutes with hand weights feels now, and how many times I have to pause the video for a water break. I have a lot of exciting work-related things coming up in the fall, and I just hope that the added strength will help me recover faster.
Best thing I ate/drank all week: Once again, my carrot-banana muffins from my bonus recipe bundle (coming early August!). I think it was Adriana’s fave food this week, too; she claps and says “yay!” when I offer her one.
Cravings: No major cravings to speak of, except for craving something sweet at night. I’ve been testing some no-churn vegan ice cream and have been snacking on that in the evenings this week. I also made a single serving (okay, it was more like a triple serving!) of my fave Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats (I just scaled the recipe down by 75%) and split it with Eric. Such a quick way to satisfy a sweet craving!
PS – You can find my 31 weeks update from my first pregnancy here.
I did some hypnobirthing training, so to speak, when I was pregnant with my little one (and I can’t believe she’s almost 16 months old already!), but I wasn’t able to use much of it in the beginning as my labour went from 0-60 in a matter of a couple hours… Start-to-finish everything took 5 hours and 6 minutes haha. When things go that fast, you don’t really have the time to fall into a relaxing hypnotised state. It wasn’t until the very end when I managed to “zone myself out”; one moment my midwife is telling me she sees the baby’s head and the next I’m being told to turn over to hold my baby. It wasn’t until after that I realised that I had used my hypnobirthing training.
Also, I’ve heard wonderful things about water birthing, and although I don’t know if hospitals will allow it, I know the birthing centre I had been looking at did have it as an option.
Like several other ladies said, though, even if you don’t go with a hypnobirthing doula, working on relaxing is always a great way to go. And like you said, with this being your second labour, you know what to expect. Good luck and enjoy the last few weeks of pregnancy!
Your labour sounds fast and furious for sure! I can only imagine things progressing that quickly! Eric told me how I fell asleep in the ub in between contractions last time, and I had absolutely no recollection of falling asleep. It’s crazy what the body can do! Thanks for sharing :)
Hi Angela! You look great! I’m loving these baby posts as I am currently 20 weeks with baby #1…I’m wondering what Barre3 workout youre doing? I’ve been trying to find a good one on youtube but filtering through the crappy ones is like a full time job. Thanks!
Thanks Carolyn! My fave online Barre3 video is “Studio to go” It’s 60 minutes, but I only do 15 minutes at a time. I even have my favourite spots in the video and have modified some moves for pregnancy. It’s still super challenging even though I’ve been doing it for months now. I start at 10 minutes and go until 20 minutes, and then I skip ahead to 27 minutes and go until 32 minutes ;) Instead of doing planks, I do 20 knee lifts with hand weights on each side and focus on my core. I’ve found this workout to be really great overall in addition to the cardio!
wow thank you so much for this! about to go try it!
I’d also suggest pelvic floor physiotherapy afterwards. I work in a clinic that includes this and so many women find it helpful for a quicker and stronger recovery. More women should be aware that it’s available!
Hey Angela!
I didn’t have a chance to read through all your comments, so I’m just putting this out there. I had a doula for my first birth and it went well, but I was not necessarily calm or comfortable.
Second time around I used Hypnobabies home birthing course and listened to the training tracks for the final 10 weeks of my pregnancy. It was super easy and helped me sleep better too I think. All I did was listen to the appropriate track each night as I laid down to go to bed. You can literally prepare for it while you’re sleeping!
I was calm and able to sleep comfortably for full nights through two solid days of prodromal labor and contractions. When it was time to head to the hospital, I knew it right away and only 6 hours later my little guy came into the world. I still cannot believe I had a nearly painless birth. Only during pushing did I have discomfort. My husband and mother (who thought they hypnobabies thing was all hogwash btw) were with with me and they know I’m a giant wuss when it comes to pain and I have anxiety to boot. I was calm, steady and comfortable for birthing.
I ran into my doula in the hospital when we were there for our second. She was so excited to see us and that everything went so smoothly without her. It was beautiful and calm and very close to pain free.
Just thought I’d toss this out there in case you’re feeling overloaded schedule wise. The power of the human mind is incredible. Take advantage of it! If you do decide to use Hypnobabies I highly recommend using their online community or joining a forum like the BabyCenter hypnobirthing forum where there are trained Hypnobabies doulas available to answer questions as they come up. Those ladies helped me know what to expect and encouraged me when my techniques didn’t appear to be working during prodromal labor stage. They were right, when my labor was the real deal, my body and brain worked together beautifully.
Just my experience! Hope it’s helpful for you!