Pregnancy 1: Week 33

33 Weeks:

Symptoms: upper abdominal pain still, back pain, heartburn is still terrible, especially at night, my need to pee constantly has definitely increased, breast soreness,

Weight: This week I haven’t gained any weight or lost any. I am still at 12 lbs gained (which has been pretty consistent for the past 3 weeks). I actually am glad for this and am hoping that will just make me less likely to gain too much weight and stick to around 20 lbs which I initially thought wouldn’t be possible. Our OB is quite happy with our weight gain! Let me share the fact that gaining no weight or only losing weight is NOT seen as healthy in a pregnancy and the minimum weight gain goal is 15 lbs and the maximum typically around 35 lbs though it just depends on what your weight was before you conceived. We have been asked many times about our weight gain/loss and even had some point out that they didn’t gain anything where it sounds like they are trying to make your gain sound bad, to all my pregnant readers out there, everyone gains different amounts of weight during their pregnancy and gain over loss is better so don’t let people make you feel bad about your weight.

Baby Shower Mock Photo Shoot: Today my amazing friend Carly who does great photo work (she is doing our maternity photos soon so I will share her work with you then) had me pose for her work. Basically I just had to put on a pretty dress, help with decorating with this baby shower boy kit and then let her take pictures of me with the stuff. She had asked if I could have a “guest” as well so I also asked one of my friends if she could come help me out, Sarah, and she was able to do it so it worked out really well. Potentially I will share a couple of these pictures with you depending on whether I am allowed to or not. So if you see it below I was given permission by our special photographer Carly. If you want to see more of her amazing work check out her website (www.carlysecrest.com). She will be doing our maternity photo shoot as well as some special moment pictures in the hospital!

Puppy Update AGAIN: So I have shared so much with you all about Ruby being sick...Well unfortunately our other puppy Maggie Mae ALSO now has the same cough and infection. So Monday morning we went in and got her some antibiotics (we gave her Ruby’s over the weekend so she was medicated earlier and then just put it back when we got her meds). So now both pups are on medications and hopefully will feel better soon. Ruby doesn’t cough anymore (which is good so she can still get spayed on the 30th) but Maggie has been coughing for a few days. I will admit this really upset me because I had initially kept them separated and wanted to avoid the chance of her getting sick but the vet told us not to worry that Maggie has a great immune system and would likely be okay (P.S. vet you were LIKELY wrong!) However, as this week progresses Maggie is getting better, and thankfully we caught it early enough that she didn't get as sick as Ruby did. Thankfully as Ruby's heat is dying down both dogs are enjoying play time, wrestling, and cuddling together (even Tomek jumps in after work most nights).

OB Appointment: This week we had our next 2 week appointment (33.5 weeks) and it went great. Our OB is seriously the best I could ever ask for. I emailed her about my worry of having a man in the delivery room after my last birthing class when I realized I was still quite uncomfortable with the idea of a man even being in the room (other than Tomek) whether doctor, nurse, resident, etc. So we talked about this and she was very reassuring about how she would make sure that we would not have a male OB come in no matter what, she would do her best to make sure she is the one that is there, and explained that the hospital doesn’t have any male nurses in the delivery unit anyway. This was such a relief for me! I honestly just can’t handle the stress due to my trauma history of a man being in the room and I was worried that if a male did walk in I would experience so much anxiety that it would stunt my contractions and overall labor.

So other than this discussion my blood pressure was good at 116/73, Patrick was measuring right on track at 44.5 cm, and as the OB noted his bpm was 175 which is higher than his norm BUT super common (and a good sign) when babies are really active which he was even when she was trying to get a reading he was moving a lot.

Doula Services: This week we finalized our contract and paid for our doula services. We are currently in the matching process. We did turn down one person due to very little experience which is making me nervous now. I am hoping that we get someone who actually has a minimum of 2 years of experience (also Tomek’s desire). If there aren’t people with that kind of experience I am worried about the amount of helpfulness they will actually be able to provide (the previous potential person currently has 4 months of experience...yikes!)

Extreme Activity: Little Patrick is so very active right now. This week was the first time that I actually woke up to his kicks. One morning it was like he was testing out being an acrobat in the womb because he was flipping, rolling, and kicking like crazy. It definitely made it a little difficult to try and go back to sleep. Most of his kicks/hits/movements have been quite cute until this week. This week (and maybe last week too really) the movements have been more painful. Some kicks are sharp hits in my ribs, and some of his hits I feel so low it hurts and definitely makes me feel like I need to pee (whether I do or not).

Baby Stuff: This week we went ahead and ordered all of our baby necessities from Amazon and it has been quite exciting receiving the packages in the mail each day (Seriously it’s like a baby Christmas!) and organizing everything. I was able to setup a lot of his things, though I am still trying to get through his laundry (he isn't even here yet and I can't believe how much there is heehee), and we still have to open up the car seat and stroller combo box but otherwise pretty well set. Still organizing but once I am done I promise to share a full room tour. For now look at his adorable crib I just finished setting up. I love that it being in a Harry Potter themed bedroom you can see the subtle hints without it shouting HP. The best part is the crib sheet and quilt. My aunt Becky made the quilt as a shower gift and it is so beyond gorgeous we can't wait for him to actually be allowed to use it (it is currently just hanging on the back because it is so darn cute!). The crib sheet I found on Amazon for $10 and honestly I highly recommend looking up owls, feathers, etc. that are HP oriented but not actually HP. I went to etsy and saw HP bedding and most sheets alone started at around $30-$45 each! I just couldn't do that, and I wasn't nearly as in love with them as I am these soft feathers...which I was able to buy the matching changing pad cover as well! We got a red crib skirt and of course a mesh liner around the crib as shower gifts that were essential as well as the baby mobile. Now that baby mobile has hand sewn HP characters AND the actual music box plays Hedwig's Song (theme song of HP). We are truly in love with our baby setup and I can't wait to have it all done to share it all complete with you!

I also went to the store and bought some of the things I will need to pack in my hospital bag (PJ top, coming home top, shower flip flops, etc.) as well as the items I still needed to buy to make padsicles

Click Here to see my article on how I made them and why---> https://noblelivingstore.wixsite.com/home-1/blog/padsicles-life-saver-why-and-how-to

Blogs: Speaking of my recent linked article I have been a busy little writer this week. So I actually had 2 articles I posted. One article as discussed and linked above is about recovery padsicles. The article goes beyond the recipe and actually explains what ingredients I used and why as well as how many you will likely need. The other article I wrote is to discuss 15 things visitors should not expect or do at the hospital which was written in part because I had so many moms telling me about issues and expectations that they were dealing with. I also understood this because I have been trying to figure out the balance of having our own family time and when to allow visitors knowing that they will come and expect to take my baby out of my hands and hold him instead. After quite a bit of discussion with my hubby we have a pretty good idea of what we would like to do, but it will also depend on when the doctors plan on doing certain things and how delivery goes for all three of us! So here is the article that has quite a bit of information regarding visitors as well. --> https://noblelivingstore.wixsite.com/home-1/blog/15-things-not-to-do-when-visiting-a-newborn

Groceries: So for the past few weeks I have started creating a routine. Every weekend Tomek and I decide what meals we want for dinner each night of the upcoming week and on Monday I go to the store and buy all of the items I will need to make the meals. I have to admit I am not big on cooking normally but I do like making dinner at home for us instead of eating out all the time (Seriously who can afford that?!) which allows us to eat healthier meals and save money. :) I also enjoy going out to eat once a week still so I get to leave the house (I don’t drive a lot due to my vision and so I don’t like to push that either). Though I will admit I ended this week just so exhausted that I didn’t want to cook, figured we would go out, we decided not to, and then I didn’t want to start cooking something that late, and so Tomek made us breakfast for dinner- eggs and bacon! YUM! I will say this week when I went and bought all the groceries it was the first time I realized there just wasn't anyway for me to do self-checkout and I can't keep parking at the very back of the lot like I normally do. By the time I was done and got home I was exhausted and experiencing braxton hicks contractions. Tomek talked to me about how Walmart has the app where you can have everything bought and have workers get it for you and load it into your car (curbside groceries). Unfortunately the Walmart close to us doesn't do it BUT the one right by his work does so I may have him stop there after work in the future