Since I was on a plane at 5:45 am last Friday…I decided to combine my 32 and 33 weekly posts into one big long one for you!
Baby Size Week 32: At 32 weeks old Blitzen was weighing around 3.75 lb (which we know he or she is MUCH bigger than that since the weight at my 32 week check-up was 4lb 10 oz!) and is about 16.7 inches long. I should be gaining about 1 lb a week and 1/2 of that goes straight to the baby! So this child is only gonna get bigger 😉 Blitzen’s weight is about that of a large jicama (isn’t this just a potato?)
Here’s what Blitzen looked like inside my tummy at 32 Weeks (to see the actual ultrasound at this time you can go here!)
Baby Size Week 33: This week the average baby Blitzen’s age weighs in over 4 lb, which is the size of a pineapple (how appropriate since I was in Hawaii during this week!). He or she is over 17 inches long now and is losing that “alien” look.
Blitzen at 33 Weeks
Belly Pictures: Both weeks are not very attractive! The day I turned 32 weeks (officially 8 MONTHS people!!!) we had to get up at 3:30 am to get a 5:45 flight to Hawaii. It was a long, tough day. We snapped the pictures during our lay over in Utah 🙂 Don’t you love the airport buzz around me??? And aren’t you proud that I remember to carry on my belly sticker for the week?
Yes, that IS my belly button sticking out!
Today’s pictures are even less attractive than last weeks. We LEFT Hawaii at 12:55 pm Hawaii time on Wednesday and didn’t get home until 10:45 am Georgia time on Thursday. It was a BEAST of a flight for sure and I’m still recovering. Usually I get up early on Fridays to make sure I’m picture ready before Zach leaves for work, but I needed the extra sleep and didn’t even mess with makeup when I went to drop Kye off at school. You KNOW I’m tired when I don’t even care about looking my best!
Again, yes, it’s my belly button you see poking out 😉
Doesn’t my stomach look lower in this one than last weeks? Maybe Blitzen has dropped???
My Symptoms: Welcome to my 8th month of pregnancy! I actually had someone tell me at church that they didn’t even realize I was pregnant and that I still don’t look like I am. I just don’t understand how anyone could think that?!?! Every single time we went anywhere while in Hawaii I’d have at least one person mention my pregnancy. Granted, we were on an Aflac trip so there were 3,700 of us at the resort and Aflac people are mega outgoing and talkative so it makes sense that I’d get more comments there. But still. While I always appreciate attention, I actually got sick of it. It’s nice to talk to people but why does it have to be just about my stomach? Or what we’re having? Or when I’m due? I’m pretty ready to just be Emily again, not that-pregnant-girl.
While in Hawaii I had several people come up to me because of another pregnant girl on the trip. I guess several of the Aflac people were on a plane where a lady went into labor! She was a blonde too and so a lot of people worried that it was me! They had three hours until landing and they announced over the speaker for people to pass back their clean blankets and no one would be allowed to go behind row 50 of the plane. I don’t think she delivered the baby on the actual plane but the escorted her to a waiting ambulance right when they landed. Can you imagine?!?! I had my prenatal records and birth plan with me just in case, but thank the LORD that wasn’t me!!!
I’ve started to have Braxton Hicks contractions, and they aren’t fun. I don’t remember having them too often with Kye and I don’t much enjoy having them now. It’s a good reminder of what delivery will feel like so I appreciate the preparation, but they hurt and kinda make me nervous about this baby coming early! I’ve had a lot less discharge and have seen more drips of milk in my bra. Still nothing worthy of wearing nursing pads or anything but I’m thankful it’s there.
Blitzen is BIG and I can tell! My stomach is much harder overall and when I pee I feel like I can’t fully relieve myself. Just a little comes out at a time and I have to go much more often. It annoyed Zach on the trip that I was always hunting for another bathroom!
The discomfort of the third trimester is here. My back hurts pretty much all the time. Mostly the lower back but the upper part will hurt too. It’s practically impossible for me to get comfortable and Blitzen’s sweet little kicks are more like hardcore punches. If I am too active I swell and my hands will throb with pain. And by “too active” I mean basically being up doing stuff for longer than an hour! I walk slower than any turtle I’ve ever seen and it’s a legit waddle at this point. It’s like just moving takes effort! I moan and groan and sound like an old woman. Obviously, none of these traits are very attractive nor are they desirable for a major vacation.
Don’t get me wrong…I totally appreciate that we got to experience Hawaii, especially since it was free, but I’m thankful we didn’t get to go to Italy. And we will NOT be traveling on as big of a trip again when I’m past the 8 month mark. It was too much on me. I’m a soldier and don’t complain much but it was simply too much. I was tired majority of the time and worn out before the day would even get started. I hope I didn’t put a damper on Zach’s first trip to Hawaii! I mean I skipped a free dinner and free Sheryl Crow concert so I could SLEEP. You KNOW I was hurting!!!
I appreciate all the sweet comments I get about how great I look, how well pregnancy suits me, how I don’t look as far along as I am, etc. I got lots of those type comments on the trip and they did make me smile…especially since I NEVER heard them the first time around (I got a lot of the “you’re about to pop!” type comments during Kye’s pregnancy). But nothing can make me feel pretty at this point. My skin KILLS me. The dark spots are horrible and I have a lot of uneven skin tone and discoloration. Yuck. Zero percent of me feels attractive and I can tell that I’ve now gained in my face. Zach has been a sweet reminder to me that I AM 8 MONTHS PREGNANT and it’s a blessing that I’m just now feeling this way. I felt this way about myself soooooo much earlier last time. Last time I cried about feeling ugly when I was still earlier than 30 weeks…this time I was 32 weeks so that’s an improvement. There is a formal night at all Aflac trips where we all dress up for an awards banquet. I literally had nothing to wear and spent the whole night feeling gross and unattractive while seeing tons of gorgeous size 0 girls (there are lots of Aflac sugar daddies as you can imagine…) wearing adorable dresses. It sucked!
The flights were very, very difficult for me. I’m typically one of those people who can sleep anywhere – especially on a plane but I couldn’t sleep at all on the way there and was only able to sleep for less than 3 hours on the way home. I didn’t swell too much (I drank TONS of water, wore compression stockings, and got up every 45-60 min to walk/pee) but the pressure from sitting for so long made my vagina hurt. I didn’t even know that was possible?!?! It’s still hurting today! My butt and vag are so sore and the only thing I can think of is that it’s the pressure???
I hate that I’m being so negative so here’s some positive things going on! I haven’t had any migraines in ages, I love that my belly button sticks out as I’ve never had that before, I only have 7 weeks or less to feel this way then I’ll get to have the new-mommy glow!
While being in Hawaii was tough, it was also wonderful. At home I feel SO stressed with ALL the things I have to do in order to get ready for Blitzen’s arrival. But on vacation, all the “to do” lists go out the window. You can’t really do much while half way across the globe ya know? So instead of feeling stressed, I was able to just be EXCITED. I thought more about Blitzen during that one week away than I have probably the whole pregnancy combined. He or she (to be honest, I always picture a “she”) was always on my mind and I just kept thinking about the moment I’ll first get to hold my baby in my arms. About the time we’ll spend bonding in the hospital together and how eager I am to get to nurse again! While thinking about all these things makes me so happy and excited for these next weeks to fly by, it also always makes me think about Katie Green and baby Hallie. They are in my thoughts and prayers all the time. Our pregnancies are so close and while I am eager to hold my baby outside the womb, I know Katie is hoping Hallie will stay put as long as possible because it’s where her baby is the safest, healthiest, and happiest. Oh my heart just aches for her!!! Please continue to pray for Katie and Hallie and the entire Green family. That Hallie will stay right where she is until she is full term and that God will bless their family with as much time with Hallie as possible and a peaceful, smooth transition if/when her time on Earth comes to an end.
Weight: I’ve gained 4 lb in two weeks. Not my ideal. Now I’m at 17 lb which means I’m inching closer and closer to that 20 lb marker. I’m hoping that being home will get me back in routine and that I won’t gain as much this week. With Halloween, my birthday and Thanksgiving all around the corner it’s gonna start getting tough to turn food away!
Gender: Very, very much thinking girl. Like to the point that if it’s a boy I’ll be SHOCKED (in a good way, but still shocked). It was funny telling people over and over and over again how we enjoy being surprised when the baby is born. For those of you that are on the fence if you’d like to keep the gender a surprise or not I want to tell you that NO ONE has ever said they wish they’d found out if they were surprised. Majority of people who talk to me about it say either that they, too, didn’t find out or that they wish they had kept it a surprise.
Maternity Clothes: I’ve reached THE POINT OF NO RETURN! I look better now in legit maternity clothes than I do in regular clothes. At least for the most part. Packing for Hawaii was mega tough as stuff that fit me just a couple weeks ago now looks awful (like all the dresses I wore to Disney are beyond gross on me now). I’m thankful that it’s gotten cold b/c I have lots of maternity sweaters and stuff and it’s easier to dress semi-cute when pregnant if it’s cold out!
Movement: Still very frequent. Still able to feel hiccups with kicks. Still pretty sure that Blitzen is head down just where I want him or her to be!
Sleep: I slept SO much in Hawaii…it was very much like the Vegas trip. That much of a time difference, you can’t help but be tired! Zach was equally tired so I don’t really feel like it was a pregnancy thing. I’m still needed two pillows for my head, two pillows to prop up my feet, plus my pregnancy pillow. It’s getting VERY difficult to get comfortable. Between the bulging belly and sore back it’s a struggle. I also wake up every night drenched in sweat. No matter what the temperature! Last night it was down to like 60 something in our house, I only had on a thin sheet, and I slept good with minimum sweating. While I slept great, Zach and Kye FROZE. I also wake up a lot in the night with shooting pains down my legs! I guess it’s cramping?
Cravings: I’ve been drinking TONS of water. No real craving cravings…but I have enjoyed more than my fair share of candy corn.
What I Miss: Being just Emily to everyone. Looking in the mirror and liking what I see. A clear complexion!
Best Pregnancy Moment of the Weeks: Before heading to Hawaii, Kye and I had a play-date with my friend Kori and her daughter Aubrey. They also have a young baby, Mary Allen and it was SO sweet watching Kye with her when she woke up. He kissed her and was very gentle with her. He also said randomly “I wanna be the big brother!” And told me that Mommy and Daddy were leaving and bringing back the baby…I told him not this time but the next time we leave him that’s probably what we’ll be doing! We’ve been talking about it A LOT and he knows that we go to the hospital to bring the baby home. We have our class this week at the hospital introducing Kye to all things baby so I’m excited for that! I enjoyed feeling Blitzen this past week and just being able to relax more and visualize the days that are to come with my sweet newborn!
Questions/Concerns: Yesterday I felt INTENSE pains, more than usual and in a different way. Like Blitzen was going to come out of my skin or something (hello Bella from Twilight!). I don’t know if it was from all the travel and lack of sleep but my whole stomach just feels SO tight. Then last night I looked in the mirror and it looks like my stomach is lower. Zach agreed so I don’t know if maybe Blitzen dropped??? I can also feel an empty space at the top of my belly? No other real concerns or worries!
Goals for the Week: Since Teresa said she’s on board for the whole natural childbirth thing I want to practice difference birthing positions since there’s a chance I’ll be allowed to use them! I did great on my goals from two weeks ago – I did do Bradley some while in Hawaii and I’ve booked our Italy stay! I need to keep up with the Bradley and continue to knock things off my list. This week I’m hoping to get a LOT accomplished including cooking several more freezer meals.
Also before we left for Hawaii, Kye started to play with his baby monkey in the nursery and put it in the swing. He did great being gentle and pushing the buttons on the swing. I left for a few minutes and heard some interesting sounds so came back in and found Kye in the swing. We had our first talk about how somethings will be just for the baby. We listed all the things that are just Kye’s (his big boy bed, his friends, his potty, etc) then we talked about things that will be just Blitzen’s. I think it’s important for us to get all the baby stuff down from the attic and set up so Kye can start learning those boundaries now.
Notes from Pregnancy #1: In comparing my stomachs from my 32 week post with Kye, they do look pretty similar. I just think I haven’t gained as much all over don’t you? I wasn’t having as much back pain then, but at the same time I wasn’t lifting a 30 lb toddler 24/7 either! It was at 32 weeks during my last pregnancy when I first even heard about The Bradley Method. When I talk to people and tell them I did natural childbirth and didn’t even start preparing for it until my 8th month they are usually pretty surprised. Heck, I’m shocked we were able to do such a great job with it with so little time to train! Here‘s the post when I first learned about it! We had our last two parenting classes: the postpartum and TLC ones. It’s funny we were finished with the classes at this point last time and haven’t even started them this time yet! The postpartum one was good to read and refresh myself on, I need to make lists around the house for anyone who comes to help us (how to run our washing machine, Kye’s schedule, etc). The TLC class was also some good reminders especially about the umbilical cord, circumcision, and infant massage. I massaged Kye every night but use lotion and this time around I plan to use baby oil because lotion actually has ingredients in it that cause your skin to dry out thus making you need more lotion!
We went on our Babymoon to Gatlinburg and had a wonderful time! I guess Hawaii was kinda our babymoon this time around! We’re hoping to actually celebrate our Christmas together before Blitzen arrives and have that be a 24 hour babymoon 😉 It’s also funny that I had my shirt on inside out while in Gatlinburg and last week, at the Honeybee Festival (post to come!), I also had my shirt on inside out. Guess pregnancy brain affects me a lot during the third trimester 😉 Brandon and Chrissy announced their engagement during my 33rd week and I had my first baby shower for Clover (and I have my first one this weekend too). It was a family shower in Melbourne and was a great time!!! It makes me a little sad looking back at those memories and knowing Nana won’t be with us to celebrate this time around. I also had a prenatal massage (and I had one in Hawaii this past week too – AMAZING!) and went to the Aflac state kick-off to celebrate Zach’s accomplishments for 2008. It’s hard to believe, but I’m even prouder of him now than I was then!
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So glad things are going well for you & the little guy! You look great! Congratulations!