the blog

I know, I know…this series has taken a bit of a hiatus. But here’s a spoiler for future posts in this series….having a baby, two jobs, and keeping up with a blog is HARD!!

Speaking of hard work….apparently keeping up with bump photos was also hard work. (And teaching my husband to take them was even harder. No husband and wife photography team here!)

Soo my third trimester was LONG. So long, it’s getting two posts. This post is about weeks 28-40. Weeks 40-42 deserve their own post.

The Good

• Connor was so big by the third trimester, I could count on seeing and feel him move on a pretty predictable schedule (which was great for new mom anxiety and just fun!) Calvin could clearly see Connor moving by now and would put his head on my tummy at night, just to feel Connor karate kick him. Connor clearly didn’t like his space being invaded.
• Connor was always active during the day, so at work it was like bringing a friend along to keep me company. I especially loved just feeling him move around as I sat in meetings.
• The excitement. By the third trimester, it felt like the first two trimesters flew by, so the end felt SO close. I knew I had a busy wedding season, so made a point to get the nursery done early. All that was left was to enjoy…and wait. We had our baby shower and maternity photo sessions, and that was it. My last wedding was booked for September 19 (at 34 weeks) for a friend of mine and I just told Connor to let me get through that, then it’s free game! After that wedding, as much as I tried not to, the countdown began…

(Calvin and I at our Baby Shower/BBQ)

• With the anticipation building, I started thinking more and more about what Connor might look like. We looked through baby photos our parents gave us and I just kept thinking, hopefully he’s not much like either of us and ends up being a small baby! (Calvin and I were both 9lb+ babies.)

(Calvin on his way home from the hospital)

(Me apparently really happy to be home. Also, I may or may not have slept with that bear up until moving in with Calvin. hahaha)

• I felt amazing! Sure, I had my moments that were uncomfortable…and sleeping at night became increasingly difficult…but I felt beautiful! I think that’s honestly the first and only time I’ve ever been able to say that with no hesitation. With every move I felt, I was just amazed with what I was lucky enough to be experiencing and in awe that my body was capable of this.

(Photo by Sharon Elizabeth Photography)

The Bad

• Buying endless amounts of maternity clothes. Towards the very end, I started getting so big, I probably needed to size up on some things. Plus, with Fall coming, my go-to summer clothes didn’t always work! The end felt SO near, though, it felt silly to buy more clothes. Enjoy just a few of my ‘holy-crap-can-I-get-any-bigger-faced selfies’.

• By 38 weeks I started shifting from ‘this is awesome’ to ‘get this kid out of me’. I was literally up every hour at night to use the bathroom. Also, I was so huge that no position was comfortable to sleep in. I would’ve given anything to stretch out and lay on my back.
• Also, by 38 weeks, I was looking for every sign possible that it might almost be time. I googled everything little thing that I felt. Is that labor?!
• I put off my cervical checks up until this week, too…because I knew all it would do is give me false hope. So, by the 38th week, I was sure that the exam would show some real progress. hahahahah Little did I know. Weeks 38-40 showed nothing. I got a courtesy 1cm from one midwife, I think just to make me feel better.
• Speaking of waiting for labor to start…I tried everything I could to induce labor. Never. Again. I truly think that whatever people were doing when they went into labor became what started their labor, when really, it was probably just a coincidence. Yet, I was still trying.
• That’s basically the gist of the rest of  my third trimester. ….Waiting…. Everyone said the last month would be the worst. I was prepared for that. I had an inkling Connor would make me wait…..but I definitely never imagined he’d wait THAT long! Next week I’ll recap the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy! Weeks 40-42!