Yesterday I had my 38 week prenatal appointment!!! I actually wanted to get this post up yesterday as well, but Jamie and I ended up being at the doctors longer than expected because they were a little backed up. After the appointment, we decided to stay in Halifax and spend the rest of the day on one long day date which included a trip to a coffee shop, visit with my grandma, pedicures together (that took a little convincing, hah!) and then Jamie made me the most delicious mac & cheese for dinner AND did all the dishes. Needless to say, I’m feeling pretty loved and spoiled.
My 38 week appointment went really well and we got to hear Baby Logan’s heartbeat for a long time which is always my favourite. At the appointment, I was offered a cervix check for any signs of dilation and a membrane sweep if I wanted to see about getting things going, but I decided against it as I know baby will come when he is ready…even though I am still hoping he makes his début this Friday. I haven’t had many signs of labor except for Braxton Hicks and some slight cramping but my doctor did say the little guy is very low and well engaged (my pelvis feels it too) so I think that means he could realistically come at any time!!! I have felt it this entire pregnancy that he was going to be early but now that I’m almost 39 weeks pregnant, I’m not so sure.
Anyway! I wanted to share today a few snaps of my 37-38 week belly as well as an update on all things third trimester, so keep scrolling to read more!
How Far Along: Today I am 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant!
Are you Prepared for Baby?: Yes! Well, mostly…haah! I have always been the type of person who leaves things to the last-minute. Even when I don’t intend to, it is just the way I am with deadlines. I think I work better under pressure and with a little anxiety even though that is probably not the healthiest or the most productive, lol! I actually ended up ordering last-minute hospital bag items and a matching swaddle and hat for Baby Logan for the hospital that just arrived yesterday. I kept telling myself “you are NOT going into labor before these items come”, and I didn’t so clearly my gambling paid off! Other than my silly ordering spree, we have been working on the nursery for months which I’ve mentioned over and over. Again, I never realized how long updating old houses can take, but seeing the results get closer to my vision is so cool and has me excited about what other updates we can make to our home. For the nursery, all we have left is to stain the floor, a few paint touch-up’s and then once the cosmetic bit is completed, we can decorate! Our glider and crib are actually supposed to arrive today and I can’t wait to get everything into the room and style it up. Baby Logan won’t be sleeping in his nursery for the first little while so as for being prepared, we purchased an affordable changing table at Ikea that is all stocked in our bedroom along with our bassinet. We will likely also move the glider down to our bedroom for a while for comfortable nighttime feedings. Jamie and I have been keeping things clean and organized, especially in our bedroom, so that everything feels calm when we arrive home with baby. Lastly, I keep meaning to make some freezer meals. I did freeze a turkey veggie chili and will freeze the leftover mac & cheese from last night but I wanted to pop some more healthy options in the freezer too. If you guys have any good recommendations, please let me know! I’ve also found myself baking a fair amount lately to pass the time since I’m not shooting content or doing much as of late. In the last few days, I’ve made a delicious granola with a peach and strawberry compote to pair with yogurt (I’ll share recipe here after I am back to blogging) and I made healthy breakfast cookies that we’re delicious and are also freezable. I guess you could say that this is my version of nesting even though I still feel a little chaotic…but that is just my personality.
How I’m Feeling Mentally: This is such a tough question for me to answer because I feel like mentally, I have been ALL over the place my entire pregnancy. Some days I go from being super positive and excited to then feeling extreme anxiety, pressure and stress. I’ve always been afraid of the unknown and I’m not a huge fan of change, so I think that likely plays a big part in my anxiety. However, I am trying my best to let the positive side win even amongst all of these crazy hormones that are happening and will continue to happen postpartum. I’ve also been super emotional over the most random things like TV commercials, hearing certain songs, etc. When I break down crying over those small things, I usually end up laughing hysterically afterwards because I know that those are simply hormones out of whack and I find it hilarious.
When it comes to going into labor, mentally I am trying to keep an open mind and positive attitude as I know that will result in baby and I having the best outcome. I am trying to visualize riding a wave instead of crashing directly into one and I keep telling myself that hundreds of thousands of women do this every day. Whenever I feel a Braxton Hicks contraction or pain in my pelvis from baby, I try not to tense up and I really focus on my breathing. as I hope that will help me practise for labor. I have read so many articles on labor, some over and over and now I’m just at the point where I feel I’ve prepared as much as I can and it’s time to do the damn thing! 
How I’m Feeling Physically: At this point, I feel like I am going to start sounding like a broken record with the physical symptoms because a lot of them, like heartburn, back/hip pain, lack of sleep, etc are all still going strong…if not stronger as they were in my second trimester. I will say that weeks 27-31 were probably the best in regards to physical pregnancy symptoms but as I’ve mentioned before, pregnancy has been very hard physically on my body so I can’t really sugar coat it. New physical pregnancy symptoms from the third trimester for me include:
Hot Flashes: Yes, that’s a thing and holly sweaty molly! Though, I will say that it has been nice not to have felt absolutely freezing this winter. I’ve worn all of my regular winter jackets open and have felt fine! I’ve even rode in our car with the window down multiple times and I haven’t slept with a blanket in bed in months.
Pelvis Pain: This might be the worst physical change in my body, especially with the back and hip pain thrown in for good measure. Baby Logan has been low in my pelvis for what feels like forever which makes walking legitimately feel like the most uncomfortable and painful feeling. On top of that, with baby being so low, his head bangs into nerves down there that cause sciatica and something called lightening crotch….just google it, hahah! I didn’t know about any of these things before becoming pregnant and so, when I started feeling pelvic pressure and pain, I was quite taken back and concerned. However, my doctor said all of this is completely normal, as do all the pregnancy websites…it is just no fun at all. On a side note, I now completely understand why pregnant women waddle and it’s not just to be all “look at me, I’m pregnant”. When you’re this pregnant, you have to waddle…there is no choice but to waddle….especially when it feels like a bowling ball is pressing on your vagina and every single nerve in the surrounding area. If you see a pregnant woman waddling around and you can help her with holding a door or anything…help her out! Also, I now completely understand why there is designated mother to be parking….WE NEED IT PEOPLE.
Frequent Urination: I can honestly say that I feel really blessed in this department because I didn’t have the frequent urination that a lot of women get in the first trimester and I didn’t have this symptom until just a few weeks ago. For most of my pregnancy, I was actually able to sleep through the entire night without having to get up to pee. Just in the last few weeks have I had to start getting up 2-3 times a night to and have had to pee much more throughout the day. I’ve also not had any bladder leakage but man when I do have to pee I have to PEE!!
Glowing Skin: Here’s a GOOD pregnancy symptom! My skin has never looked better in my life. While I do have a few bags from the lack of sleep, I am happy to report that my skin feels so smooth and more acne-free than it has ever been. Let’s just hope that this “symptom” sticks around.
Food Cravings/Aversions: My biggest craving in the third trimester has been anything with vitamin C. I love eating raw red pepper, lemon and cantaloupe. I’ve also really been loving frozen fruits on their own like peaches, pineapple, mango and berries. On the flip side, I am still loving the carbs my friends…my booty is really going to be thanking me later, haha! But seriously, give me a baguette, some pizza or some pasta and I am one happy gal. Aversion wise, I can’t stomach the thought of salmon because I got sick after eating it about a month ago but other than that, no aversions.
And that’s it…well all I can think of for my third trimester! This is likely going to be my last post for a little while until we share the nursery reveal with you in 2-3 weeks…I can’t wait for it and to introduce you to our little guy! As always, I’ll be around on Instagram so you can follow along, comment and message me there…or e-mail me, I’d love to hear from you!
Kaylee xo
