Beautynthebaby| Weeks 35-38: Nesting Season

Hey Beauties!

The end is near...I hope.... Thank you sweet baby Jesus because I am so tired of being pregnant. Sometimes I look at my belly and think I will miss this BUT then I start walking and feel like I just got kicked and my vagina and that thought rapidly dissolves. The pressure.....

So much has happened in the last few weeks as we are getting ready for the arrival of Princess Gabrielle! I have been insanely busy and was thinking that there was no end in sight...but I am happy to report I have finally come to a place where I can actually take some time to just..dare I say...RELAX..a little...I actually have a hard time doing that.  Before I get to that I will tell you guys what's been going on.

I had my baby shower a couple of weeks ago, yes it was a bit late...March 1st and a month before my due date but hey I wasn't planning it! My mom actually did most of the planning with the help of my mother-in-law and my best friend. It was really nice and I was so grateful for the turnout and all of the love in the room to celebrate our little. We got some great gifts too and a lot of adorable clothes! We decided to do a co-ed shower since my hubby's super supportive friends wanted to be included. I will post some pictures below!

Next up, weekly doctor's appointments. Those started for me at week 35- they pretty much do the same thing as the earlier appointments- vitals check, baby's heart beat, belly measurements, and the occasional shot or blood draw.  At week 36 they do a Group B Strep test...I never heard of that so I really did want to share. Basically they take a vaginal/rectal swab and test it for this bacteria...yes...strep in your vag.... apparently anyone can just carry it but it can cause major problems for the baby if they pass through it so they need to know if you have it so they can give you antibiotics when you go in to labor. The end....

My week 37 appointment gave me a bit of a scare, my blood pressure was sky high out of nowhere. Enough to cause some concern since mine is always perfection...what?!? I'm not bragging....this spike in my blood pressure cost me a 24 hour urine collection...yup I had to bring a cooler to carry a container that I had to collect pee in all day long to work! Good thing I work in research at a hospital...it didn't spark any questions. They test the urine for protein...which is an indicator of preclampsia. When my doctor told me my blood pressure was high and that I needed to pee in the container, I'm not going to lie, I cried! I was just so upset thinking that I possibly did something wrong to cause me to get preclampsia and now my baby was at risk. Even though she made it clear that there is nothing that I could do to cause it, I just felt so guilty. THANKFULLY, my blood pressure came back down and my pee was negative for protein and aside from swollen feet I wasn't showing any other symptoms of preclampsia. God is good, and the talk about possible induction went away. 

My doctor did tell me that I need to take it easy and actually wrote me a note to work from home more. So that's what I am currently trying to do- take it easy and I am working from home twice a week. Which has been great- less time in the car  and less time on my Fred Flinstone feet! Needless to say- I stopped working out a couple of weeks ago because of this. 

Symptoms

I have accepted the fact that I will never escape heartburn this pregnancy, I know a little late to accept it, but I always had hopes that it would stop. It's actually worse. Did you know tomatoes can cause heartburn?!? Basically, most things give me heartburn and almost all fruits taste like acid! BLEH!

Not so sure that I can call this a symptom but it is....I guess....nesting! Now for those of you who know me, I mean really know me, you already know that I can be a bit high strung especially when it comes to cleaning and organizing. So, I actually enjoy nesting and it was the perfect excuse to do an intense spring cleaning in my home. You know who doesn't like nesting?!? My husband lol because I needed his help cleaning obvi and also because I was throwing everything away! While he did the heavy cleaning (bathrooms, kitchen, mopping) I was organizing cabinets, closets, drawers, and pretty much anything I could think of. I must say once that was done, my blood pressure went down lol I'm not kidding! Now I feel like my house is in the best shape and is ready for baby girl...she just needs to get here before her dad messes it up again! BONUS: Her nursery is pretty much finished as well, I've got a few more decor things happening but other than that...next project is my vanity room!! 

Body aches and pressure are my most recent symptom and they are really making life quit uncomfortable. Everyone kept saying, wait till you get to 38 weeks and like clock work at 38 weeks i began to waddle. I thought waddling was caused by some type of balance thing but it's really caused by the fact that baby's head is so deep in your pelvis it's like you've been riding a horse. My whole seat is so sore as if I had an intense cycling class...and when I told my doctor she said....that's normal! Like every other weird thing that happens during pregnancy, it's normal. I'm actually concerned about this because the longer she stays in the more likely I will be unable to walk soon! It's that uncomfortable!

Last but not least, I'll quickly talk sleep which for me has been inconsistent, I am either exhausted or suffering insomnia on any given night. But I guess I am still getting more than I will be once the little one arrives so I won't complain!

Cravings

Um, healthy food is totally unappealing as this stage in the game. I plan and force myself to get my veggies in. I don't know if it's a I'm at the end and I earned this or what but I have ice cream regularly....but only after I eat my celery sticks lol! I am dying to send my husband on a craving run because I've yet to do that...maybe this weekend!

BumpWatch

I forgot to get a pic for 37 weeks...I feel lucky I've gotten this many lol anyways as you can see the bump is HUGE and we are still going....I turned 39 weeks today and I am one week away from my due date. So this may be my last update until after the baby!!! 

XoXo,

Amanda