My Pregnancy: 39 Weeks

So I officially packed my hospital bag... well bags, plural!  I honestly tried to pack relatively light but I'd rather have everything I could need with me than bring the bare minimum and be annoyed that I don't have what I want.  I have one bag with all my and baby's stuff, then another bag of snacks, the L&D nurse basket, gatorade, and some odds and ends, like a folder for paperwork, an extension cord, etc. and then there's a trash bag with a pillow for me and my nursing pillow.  So 3 bags and a birthing ball... Dave should be able to carry all that in one trip right?!  lol.

I hit the gym on Friday morning for the Bergeron Open Test.

Last time I did it was in January and I had my sights on a big PR... then my jump rope broke in the middle of the dubs and I was pissed.  I was much more relaxed this time!  My modifications included using a 10# wallball, I did 10 calories on the assault bike instead of dubs, I stepped up to a smaller box, I did 40 incline barbell push ups instead of T2B, I did 15 regular pull ups (!), 15 squat thrusts, and I used 55# for the power cleans.  In the 20 minutes I got through 18 of the power cleans.  I probably could've repped out 30 pull ups, but they were taking forever and I didn't want to spend the last 5 minutes of the workout just doing 1 pull up at a time.  I was feeling the squat thrusts in my abs, which hadn't been a thing for me in the past, so I figured 15 of them was plenty as well.

On Saturday Dave and I cleaned the house a bit.  We're trying to keep it super tidy so it will be clean whenever baby comes.  Dave vacuumed the entire house!  I did odds and ends, but found myself on my hands and knees scrubbing the floorboards of our one set of steps at one point.  The need to nest is real haha.

In the afternoon we checked out the Pierogi Festival that was happening at a church in Phoenixville.  I was debating all morning if I actually wanted to leave the house, but the homemade pierogies were totally worth it!

Other stuff:

• I think I'm done getting a good night's sleep.  Womp womp.  Getting up to use the bathroom isn't terrible, but it's when I can't fall back asleep afterwards that really sucks.  I've been listening to my hypnosis tracks to go to sleep, but now I've been doing them in the middle of the night to try and help me drift off again.  Sometimes it works great and other times I'm just awake and annoyed.
• I'm definitely uncomfortable.  I'm still walking fairly normal for the most part, but getting comfy on the couch isn't a thing unless I'm full out laying down.  I've been spending a lot of time leaning forward on my birth ball or sitting on it and bouncing around or just sitting on the floor indian style or in a butterfly position.  All of those positions are supposed to be good for getting the baby into the right position and they feel good anyway, so it's a win win.  I'm so happy that I'm working from home now!  Mela is too.

• My hands have been achy for a while and the internet says carpal tunnel is common in pregnancy, but my hands suck lately.  When I wake up, I can barely bend my fingers into a fist and it's pretty painful.
• I've had some cramping over the past few days, but nothing that seemed noteworthy.  I'll feel some somewhat painful tightening in my uterus like once or twice and then nothing the rest of the day.  The baby is still sitting super high.

So I wrote that last bullet during the day Monday and then early this morning around 3 am, I woke up feeling crampy.  It didn't think it was Braxton Hicks or waves (aka contractions in Hypnobabies language) because it was pretty constant and it didn't have a tightening feeling to it.  I put on a hypnosis track and was able to sleep on and off, but the cramping was still a thing when I woke up at 7. 

I continued to feel some action throughout the day and at some point in the afternoon, the cramping turned into what I officially deemed early birthing waves.  I've been in touch with my doula all day and she's excited but told me to try and get some rest unless things really pick up.  They haven't been consistent yet so this could be my early birthing time or they could fizzle out and just be a practice run.  Either way I think its safe to say I'm not heading to CrossFit at 6 am haha!

My Pregnancy: Week 38

I always figured I'd stop working out at some point near the end of my pregnancy... but maybe not?  I still feel good in the gym and although I'm modifying a lot, I could be doing less and still getting a workout, so it seems silly to stop completely.  I think working out has been a huge factor in how good I have felt throughout my pregnancy and especially now at the end.

For this Friday workout I did 10 calories on the bike instead of the run, I used the 10# WB instead of the 14, I did 10/8/6 pull ups instead of 21/15/9, I did the thrusters with 10# dumbbells, and I did 15/9/6 barbell incline push ups instead of the 9/6/3 HSPUs.  I finished in 23:10.

On Friday night Dave and I went out for a nice dinner date at Sage in Phoenixville.  I decided we were having the "mixed combo" appetizer before we even got there and it was so good.  It came with tabouleh salad, hummus, kafta (meat on a stick), goat cheese, stuffed grape leaves, tahini sauce, and super delicious falafel that I'm still dreaming of.  We ordered two entrees to share: veal saltimbocca (thin slices of veal with prosciutto and mozz in a marsala red wine sauce) and linguini pescatore (linguine topped with shrimp, clams, mussels, and lump crab meat smothered in a white garlic sauce).  The veal dish was fine but didn't wow us, but the sauteed veggies that came with it were actually awesome.  But the real star of the meal was the pasta!  The bowl was gigantic and filled to the brim with tons of seafood and garlicky goodness.  The waitress told us she was very impressed when we finished the whole thing minus some pasta.  We figured go big or go home because who reheats shellfish?  The service was great and between the BYO status and our gift card it was a super affordable date night.

On Saturday night I think I had my first practice waves (aka Braxton Hicks)!  Dave was in the city for a bachelor party and we had a loose plan in place in case I suddenly went into labor, but I was positive it wouldn't be necessary.  I had Jeff and Arley over to watch the Penn State game and keep me company for the evening and the whole night was uneventful until they left.  Around 11 pm I started feeling pretty lousy and was really nauseous.  I wanted to go to bed, but laying down didn't feel great so I stayed up watching Easy A and taking lots of trips to the bathroom.  I finally threw up a little which took the edge off my nausea and I went to bed around 1 am.  When I laid down I started feeling some cramping at the bottom of my belly!  It was pretty mild and just a little uncomfortable so I didn't think it was the real deal but it was definitely something I hadn't felt before!  I put on one of my hypnosis tracks and just tried to relax (and not think of the fact that Dave still wasn't home and hadn't answered my last text...) and within 20 minutes I was asleep.  I woke up later in the night with awful heartburn fire throat, but I woke up the next day feeling totally fine.  I haven't had any cramping/possible contractions since then.

I had my weekly OB appointment on Tuesday and it was super uneventful.  The doctor confirmed that the baby is still head down but her head is pretty high, which is what I suspected.  My due date may be 9/28, but I'm fully expecting an October baby.

I worked out this morning.  I still find it humorous that lifting weights feels better than walking around my office.  I skipped back squats and did some power snatching and got up to 70#.  It was definitely feeling heavier today.  The WOD was 30 Curtis Ps (clean, lunge L, lunge R, push press) for time.  Cleans and push press still feel good with the barbell, but I knew I didn't want to lunge, so I subbed those for 10# dumbbell squats.  I broke it up into 10 rounds of 3 cleans and push presses at 55# + 6 DB squats and finished in 10:04.

Other things:

• I still don't have any stretch marks.  I feel like it's a pregnancy miracle, but I'm also still expecting them to show up right at the end as a cruel joke.
• Friday is my last day in the office, I am so excited to work from home in my pjs!
• I still haven't actually packed my hospital bag yet.  95% of the items are laid out on our spare bed, but I still have yet to put them in a bag... maybe after I publish this post haha.  Here's a little snack basket I made as a thank you for the L&D nurses.

Anybody that knows me, knows that patience isn't exactly my forte, but I'm really trying to just relax.  In my birth class we learned that the average first time mom births at 41 weeks and 1 day.  So there's only 8 days till my due date, but really it could be double that.  Baby will come when she's ready!

My Pregnancy: Week 37

On Thursday I had an OB appointment with the doctor that really rubbed me the wrong way when I met her at my 30 week check up.  I tried to keep an open mind for our second encounter and everything was fine.  Maybe she was just having a bad day last time (it was the very end of the day on a Monday), but she was a lot more easy going in general.  The nurse said my blood pressure was slightly high, but nothing concerning.  I got my Group B strep swab done, which if positive would just mean I'd need antibiotics a few hours before delivery.  It wouldn't be ideal because I want to labor at home as long as possible and avoid sitting around getting an IV, but it won't ruin my birth plan if it has to happen.  We'll see.

Thursday we also had an appointment with a local officer to check our car seat base installations.  At one of our baby education classes we had learned that a large amount of car seats are installed improperly and that you can easily get yours checked at a local police or fire station, so Dave called to make us an appointment and they offered to come to us.  The officer told us the car seat safety certification class was 40 hours long, so she was a pro!  She was super nice and very thorough, giving us lots of additional tips and information.  She said Dave had installed both bases perfectly.  One more thing to check off the list!

On Friday I hit CrossFit:

With lots of modifications of course: I did 5 calories on the bike instead of running, used 55# for the clean and jerks and snatches, used 10# dumbbells for the thrusters, my bar facing burpees were squat thrusts, I did 3 pull ups instead of 5, stepped up to a slightly shorter box (16 or 18"?) and skipped the toes to bar without any sub.  It sounds lame when I type it all out, but it still felt like a pretty legit workout.  I finished in 15:47.

I make the cutest faces, I know.

At the end of last week my car didn't seem to be starting properly, so I drove the truck and Dave replaced my battery.  He took my car to work on Friday just to make sure everything was good and took it to the car wash and vacuumed it out!  I had wiped it down on Thursday before our car seat check, so now it's really sparkling!  I don't know the last time I actually got it washed, so that was a treat.  Then on Saturday we finally cashed in our extremely thoughtful shower gift from Leah, Kimber, and Shayna: a professional house cleaning!  I had never had my house professionally cleaned and it was really great.  We are now considering splurging on it twice a year or so.  The house looked and smelled absolutely amazing when they left!

While the cleaning company was finishing up, I headed out to lunch with Leah, Christine, Jen, and Declan!  We went to Collegeville Italian Bakery and had some super yummy Italian food and some nice girl time.

Afterwards Leah and I hit the thrift store next door and scored some great baby stuff.  The onesies looked brand new.  Baby didn't have any cloth books yet.  The pumpkin socks were 49 cents and will go great with the little Halloween outfit I recently picked up.  I couldn't resist the blanket with little purple hearts on it.  And we could definitely use some pack & play sheets since we now have 3 of them (thanks Paul & Jen)!  I got all this for $20! 

Sunday we went to my parents house for a nice little family get together with tons of delicious food and football on the deck.  The beginning of the week was pretty quiet otherwise.  I spent some time getting my hospital bag together and just relaxing.

This morning I peeled myself out of bed for CrossFit.  The strength was squats so I subbed the jerks from the day before and did 5 sets of 3 at 65#.  The WOD was 60-45-30-15 double unders and 12-9-6-3 snatches.  I subbed 8-6-4-2 calories on the assault bike and did my snatches at 55#.  I really didn't think olympic lifting would still be possible this far along, but my belly isn't a factor and I can somehow still bend low enough to pick up the bar.  I was cycling them in sets of 3 and finished in 8 minutes on the dot.

I also had another OB appointment this afternoon.  My blood pressure was good, my belly measured perfectly, and I am GBS negative, yay!  I went over my birth preferences with my doctor and she was super supportive and said a lot of my preferences were standard practice for my OBs and the hospital.

Other happenings this week:

• We got so many nice gifts!  My aunt Gina gave us an adorable purple flower bath mat to bathe baby in the sink, my aunt Patty sent us a bunch of really nice clothes she picked up at a consignment sale, my father's aunt sent a beautiful handmade quilt, and Dave's coworker gave us the cutest pittie puppy pants!  On top of all that, both Dave's and my coworkers each gave us cards with cash in them!  We are so grateful.
• I just noticed that my feet haven't been aching like they were before.  I suppose it's possible that I'm just on them a lot less these days, but they would start hurting first thing in the morning and I think that's gone.  My back has been pretty achy but nothing too bad.  I can only imagine how I'd be feeling if I wasn't bffs with my awesome chiropractor.
• My boss told me I can work from home starting the week of my due date!  People keep asking me when my last day of work is and my response has been "when my water breaks in my office chair!" lol!  My official maternity leave doesn't begin until I give birth and I don't want to waste any of my vacation time sitting at home without a baby, so I'm planning on working until I go into labor.  I brought up to my boss that I'm limited working from home (CADD doesn't work great with a remote connection) and I could end up being a week late and he just said "you really don't need to be here when your water breaks, priorities!"  I feel super lucky that I work in such a man dominated field but have the most understanding bosses.

I am such a planner and it's quite a weird concept that this crazy life changing event could happen tomorrow or in almost a month from now.  I feel like the baby is still really high and I haven't had any Braxton Hicks contractions, so I'm thinking she's still pretty comfortable in there for now.  We shall see...

My Pregnancy: Week 36

 

Week 36 and I'm finally feeling pretty uncomfortable!  My ankles are swollen, my pelvis is aching, and rolling over in bed is super painful.  My one hip has been doing this weird popping thing that is new this week.  And my back aches when I walk.  I know I can't complain because my pregnancy has been relatively easy, but I think it's finally time to slow things down a bit... which is really hard for me as a person!

Thursday was my birthday and I was supposed to get up for CrossFit, but I stayed up kind of late Wednesday, my pelvis was feeling achy, and to be honest I didn't really want to ruin my cute hair from my photo shoot on Wednesday lol.  No regrets.  When I woke up Dave gave me some really cute gifts and a card from the baby.

Thursday night we drove down the shore for our last prebaby weekend away.  Friday we worked a few hours in the morning and then headed to the beach for a few cool cloudy hours.  Dave went out Friday night but I fell asleep on the couch right after dinner and then opted for some ice cream and Modern Family in bed.  Saturday it poured all day, which was perfect for hitting the bar and watching Penn State crush Akron in their season opener.  We had a ton of delicious seafood for dinner and then headed over to Dave's aunt and uncle's place for a rainy night in.  Sunday we got some decent beach weather and Sunday night I finally made it out.  We went to 3 of our favorite bars.  I sipped on iced coffee and a mocktail, stayed out till 1:30 am, and survived the mile walk home.  I sure felt like a trooper!  On Monday we had a perfect day at the beach.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we got there nice and early to meet up with Karisa and Frank, their kids, and a few of their other friends with their children.  We got a nice sneak preview at our future at the beach with toddlers running around and had a lot of fun with everybody.  We stayed at the beach for over 5 hours and said a sad goodbye to the beach for this season!  All weekend I kept thinking I should be taking pictures, but it was sort of nice not to worry about it and just enjoy being in the moment versus capturing it on my camera.  These were the only pics from the weekend.

On Wednesday I made it back to the gym!  The strength was 20 squats and I'm pretty sure weighted squats are what left my pelvis aching last week, so I decided to do something else.  My coach suggested I do some push presses, which was the strength from the day before, but I really wanted to snatch!  I did them in sets of 2 and just worked up to a heavy weight that still felt super easy.  I honestly can't believe I put up 85# so easily.

The WOD was every 3 mins x 5 of 40 double unders (I did 30 air squats), 10 calorie row, and 6 handstand push ups (I did incline push ups on a low racked barbell).  I finished every round with about 30 seconds to rest.  I got a great workout and woke up super sore the next day... nothing in my pelvis or belly, just regular CF muscle soreness in my chest from the push ups and my inner thighs from all those squats, which means I'm still getting stronger!  But it did make me realize that I probably don't want to be sore AT ALL for my birthing time... I need to go in feeling my best!

This week was pretty uneventful pregnancy wise:

• I slept like crap at the beach and I was thinking that this might be it for any good sleep, but once I got home to my own bed I slept a lot better.  I generally only get up once to pee, so that's not too bad at all.
• I finally started packing my hospital bag.  I've had my list done for a while but I actually started getting everything together.  I'll be finishing this over the weekend, so we're ready to go!
• My feet are sausages, it's not cute.

And finally what you've all been waiting for!  I really had no plans to do maternity photos, I think if I had intended to do them all along, we would've done them like a month ago... when my face wasn't so fat LOL.  But my friend Megan offered and I said what the heck, why not.  Valley Forge was an obvious choice for the location, we had perfect weather for the shoot, and we got some gorgeous photos!