The Bags are Packed! (Week 37 & 38 Updates)

As I wind down near the end of my pregnancy I realize that some things in my life are going to change. I'm going to have to relearn and make a habit of 1. Zipping up my pants and 2. Wearing my wedding ring. These are two things I don't have to do right now. Be a friend, if my zipper is wide open let me know because I haven't had to zip my pants in a couple months now. My wedding ring still fits but I don't like to wear it. If it gets busy at work or the weather is suddenly humid my fingers will swell a tiny bit and I feel my ring getting tighter. I love my ring too much to even risk it getting stuck. Even though my fingers don't look swollen I can feel it so I'm not wearing it.

When it comes to things I'll miss about being pregnant, I will see more of those after I have the baby. For example I'll probably miss feeling the baby inside. It's a unique feeling and most mothers have expressed to me that they love and miss it. The number one thing on my list (which is still like a love hate thing) is my body temperature. If you know me, you know that it's normal for me to be ICE COLD ALL THE TIME. In the summer I still have to wear cardigans to work because  freeze with the AC on. I can have the house set at 75 and be just fine. I used to freeze my tushy off when Dan would turn the AC or fan on at night and I would huddle up in multiple blankets. NOW… as Dan likes to call it, I'm a 'normal' person. Who knew housing a baby in my body would make me more normal?

Can you tell this outfit made me feel pretty? It is possible to feel fab at 37 weeks ladies!

How far along:

37 weeks

Baby is as big as a:

 Winter melon

What? If anyone knows what that is, that'd be great

Total weight gain: 

27 lbs

I weigh myself consistently in the morning and it hasn't changed significantly in about 2 weeks. It's fluctuated between a total of 25-27 lbs gained.

Maternity clothes: 

YAASSS. I'm getting to the point where I feel BIG. I was buying some postpartum goodies and I had such a hard time estimating my size for clothing items you don't really try on before you buy. In my head I'm whimpering, 'I don't know what size I am or what I'll be??' It was a gamble but I think I did ok.

Sleep:

I had a rough night this week but I'm not sure if it was more pregnancy or the storm outside (and that Dan was gone that night). It could have been a combination but I felt like pregnancy didn't help because I was tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. My dream topics lately consist of Pokemon (no I don't have the app), mutant ninja turtles, an abandoned house and digging in the dirt. I'll spare you the details.

Movement?

I don't know if I'm failed to mention this before now (sorry if it's a repeat) but my entire pregnancy, I'm talking 99% of the time (no exaggeration) I've felt baby on my right side only. He is always on that side. I rarely have movement on my left side and he could honestly care less about my ribs over there. BUT that right side! Jungle Gym I'm tellin' ya. So that's kind of interesting. 

A new development is that I feel movement downward too. Previously I've only felt kicks anywhere on the surface of my belly down to my ovaries but nothing lower. Because baby is dropping, it's weird to feel his head and hand movements so LOW. Maybe a little shocking at first? Overall still lots of good and healthy jabs, rolls and pushes.

Best moment this week: 

So many good things I can't choose! I got my toes done, had a good appointment, my boss took me out to lunch, I finished all my postpartum shopping and I attended a Religious Freedom fireside with Elder Oaks. It was a great week.

Weird pregnancy moment:

Okay this story has a weird thing and a sweet thing. Well I can't reach my toes anymore so I've been wanting to treat myself to a pedicure. The last time I had a pedicure was for my wedding (before that was my senior year of high school). I usually don't get pedicures because I'm so dang ticklish! Well Jaclyn and I went and got our toes done and it was great. I had a hard time understanding the ladies that worked there however from what I did understand my nail tech asked if she could touch my belly. I loved that she asked and told yes go ahead. She was pretty enthralled with it and rubbed it and stroked it. I didn't mind at all. Then I learned that she's been married for 9 years and hasn't been able to have children of her own yet. Heart wrenching. She can rub my belly all she wants!! So that was very sweet and my heart just went out to her.

On to the weird thing. Well nail salons obviously are relaxing and have super comfortable massage chairs. I was loving it and changed the settings to what I liked and it felt great. About two hours later I started realizing my back was hurting but not muscle soreness, BRUISING. I bruised my back with a self controlled massage chair [facepalm]. It felt so good at the time but maybe with all this increased blood volume I'm bruising easier than I already do? They're not visible but I totally feel them, oops! Also while reading the scriptures aloud with Dan instead of Syria I said cereal. We laughed through the rest of the reading. I JUST LOVE CEREAL KAY?

Symptoms:

The same. Back aches. Mild swelling. I've found that my feet aren't really swelling they're just becoming wider. During pregnancy your body send out hormones and chemicals that relax your ligaments so your body can grow, stretch and house a baby for 9 months. However it just doesn't target certain muscles and ligaments. My feet have relaxed and widened because of the looseness of the ligaments and muscles. They're not swollen but they are bigger.

Have I talked about stretch marks? Let's talk about stretch marks. They are tiger stripes. Warrior marks. Proof that you have made, carried and birthed a child. Some women would have all the stretch marks in the world if that meant they could conceive a child. I've gotten a few mostly on my hips and some on my lower belly as this baby drops. I've tried to keep my skin hydrated so it could stretch without itching but they are nothing to be ashamed about. Your beauty and worth are not dictated by the discoloration of skin caused by your body MAKING A HUMAN BEING. Wow that got soap boxy really quickly, but you get my point. And for those you you who want to know what I've been using, a friend sent me this picture from pinterest early on in my pregnancy so I thought why not!

I couldn't ever find the blue one of the left but the other two I found at Walmart. Obviously Equate brand is Walmart's store brand and although I do like their lotion, I got the Vaseline brand to make sure it did an extra good job. I've been applying them after I shower since...16 weeks(?) and towards the end I've been doing morning and night mostly for the itching. My body is prone to stretch marks so I haven't been completely spared but they came significantly later than I expected and they're still minimal. I probably slacked a little with the application in my second trimester there too but i'm happy with the results.

Food cravings:

Cereal I guess ha! I really wanted chicken salad this week so I made it and it was bomb!

What I'm looking forward to: 
Being able to roll over and sit up on my own! But really...
Obviously I'm excited for the baby to come! People keep asking me in I'm nervous and I tell them not yet. Maybe nerves will kick in but I've felt pretty calm about the whole impending labor and delivery. I guess I feel why should I be scared or nervous of something inevitable? He has to come out eventually. No one is going to be perfectly prepared to have a new baby but I feel I've read enough, have a good amount of knowledge that I'm just going to do my best!

The bags are packed! Social media and pinterest makes me FEEL like I should have had this done weeks ago. I had a personal goal to have it done around 36 weeks but it really happened around 37 weeks so whatever. I'm a notorious over packer and my mother is the same way. BUT we've gotten better! We just like to have options! (She's laughing and nodding her head right now). I stole Dan's mini carry-on suitcase and put mine and baby's things all in one bag. The only downside to packing your bags is having to pretend like you don't own anything in the bag and just leave it there for half of the things and the other half I use, I keep it all ready to grab. For example, all the clothing, pj's, robes etc I'm pretending I don't own and just keep in there. I have travel size for most of my toiletries but I don't have (or want to buy) double of my makeup. After I get ready in the morning I pack everything back up in my pink toiletry bag so if someone other than me is getting my things, they can just grab and go. When I use my blow dryer I'll put it right back in the suitcase. Living out of bags is kind of annoying but I feel it'll be totally worth it and less stressful when it's go time!

List from the hospital

Like I said, I'm a notorious over-packer BUT I feel like I did really good. I followed the hospitals suggested list and tried not to add much more. I've been asked, 'Are Dan's bags packed?' The short answer is no. I laugh because Dan travels so much he can throw things into a back pack in exactly .5 seconds. I'm not joking. He always has a toiletry bag ready to go for work trips, underwear, clothes and he's good to go. Dan functions at such a fast mental pace already and he works even better under pressure, so no his bags aren't packed and no I'm not worried. Onto what's in my bags!

For me:

Night gown (Bought here but in blue & white striped)

Robe

Slippers

Fuzzy socks + normal socks

Nursing bras + a nursing tank + undies

Nursing pads + lanohlin

Comfy lounge pants + cut offs

PJ's + going home outfit (maternity leggings and a maternity shirt)

Toiletry bag

Blowdryer

Not pictured: Flip flops + my pillow

Toiletry Bag

In this bag I have travel size everything. Since I've been traveling with Dan a lot more recently we rarely check bags so I have all this travel size stuff handy. For things that don't come in travel sizes like my make up remover and hair product, I buy those cheap plastic containers (also in the travel aisle) and fill them with what I need. I honestly don't know if I'm going to want to wear makeup, wash, blow dry and straighten my hair or maybe I won't even take a shower! Who knows but I thought I'd just pack what I usually use so I will feel comfortable. Plus it's all so tiny and fits in the cute bag I don't feel bad about bringing it.

In my toiletry bag:

Lotion (body + face)

Deoderant

Hand Sanitizer

Toothbrush kit

Body wash

Contact solution

Make up remover

Shampoo + Conditioner

Face wash

Hair spray

Hair Product (Frizz Ease if you're wondering how I tame my lion's mane)

Contact case

Hair ties + head bans +  bobby pins + hair clips

Comb + brush + mirror

Make up (smaller pink bag)

Chapstick

Not Pictured: glasses & straightener

Baby

Now this picture isn't totally accurate because I was having a freakout moment of, 'What if my baby is bigger than newborn clothing?' and I felt the urge to pack more choices. However I relaxed and a couple things did not make it into the bag (extra clothing + extra swaddle blanket). I'm guessing if we really need more or different clothing for him, Dan or someone else will be able to make a quick trip home, no need to stress about it now.

While in the hospital the baby will be diapered, dressed and swaddled with all the hospital's things. I know every hospital is different but it seems this is standard for many around here. Less for me to bring!

For the Baby:

Going home outfit (onesie + pants + hat)

Extra onesie + hat + sleeper

Muslin swaddle blanket

Diaper + wipes (you never know what may happen on the drive home!)

Penguin pacifier (I'm not sure if we'll use this, the hospital won't provide one so this is just in case if we choose to use it)

Not pictured: nursing pillow + car seat + blanket (the one I'm still finishing for baby) + nursing cover (still undecided, not sure if I need this?)

Everything in the mini carry-on suitcase!

Other things not pictured:

Baby book (This is a binder I've kept all important receipts, insurance info, hospital info. This is where all the paperwork I get there will go. It's just a 1 inch white binder)

Phones + chargers

iPad + chargers

Mini speaker (haven't decided if I want music?)

Things to do (cards, games, books)

How far along:

38 weeks

Is this real life?

Baby is as big as a:

Swiss Chard

The ONLY reason I know what that is because of my obsession with cooking shows

Total weight gain:
30 lbs

It's still been fluctuating a pound or two during the week. I peaked at 31 lbs one day though.

Maternity clothes:

I'm counting down the days I have left at work because dressing myself for work is hard. It's difficult to try to be comfortable, professional, not lumpy looking, not too tight but not too loose. I feel like I'm just re-wearing the same 5 shirts, but even if I am no one should care right?

For all you pregnant mama's out there I bought 2 or 3 of my staple pieces at Target (good maternity leggings that weren't see through, and 2 good shirts) and the rest of what I bought I found at Ross. I have a new Ross by my house and I definitely understand every Ross is VERY different in clothing style and availability. I was lucky enough to find cute jeggings and 3-4 cute shirts. I would have bought more because they did have more that I loved but up until this week I've been able to wear some of my regular clothing still so it wasn't needed. As you know for work I wear skirts a lot along with maternity pants that were given to me that I've hemmed and sewn to make them more modern and fit me better.

Sleep:

I like sleep and I like to make sure I'm getting the right amount of sleep. I'm good at falling asleep, staying asleep or if I wake up, falling back asleep too. Even though it's been more work to get comfortable I've still done a good job on my sleep (at least until this baby is born right?!). However now that I'm actively getting up once a night to use the restroom I have the hardest time falling back asleep now. Just preparing me for parenthood right?

The other morning I was trying very hard to be quiet while getting up in the middle of the night and I gave myself a charlie horse in the process! So. Painful.

Movement?

This baby is so active and it just feels like he's trying to get out. I feel him stretching- his head and hands downward and his feet up towards my ribs. Hopefully all his movement will make my body realize it's time for labor soon.

Best moment this week:

Maybe deciding on a name? Ahhh I don't know. Coming home on my last Saturday from work and seeing Dan had deep cleaned the house SPOTLESS. Ugh, he's such a good man. I almost cried from happiness

Unrelated to pregnancy we like Dave Ramsey and he was in Dallas this past week. We didn't buy tickets because we weren't sure what would be happening baby-wise. However they made a decision to Live Stream the session on YouTube for FREE! How cool is that?! It was for a special promotion because they never do that. So we got to 'go' without having to pay and go. We sat an home on our comfy couch and watched Dave.

We attended the temple this week and it was great! We really wanted to go before baby comes and before the temple closes for a 6 week cleaning. However let me just vaguely state that attending the temple while being very pregnant is hard! Clothing in general is hard enough right! Good news is that even though we were sitting down for a longer period of time my back didn't hurt!
Also last night I took a nice warm bath with a Lush bath bomb and it was heaven. My little gecko friend was hangin with me too on the other side of the window ha!

Weird pregnancy moment:

I almost put the iPad in the dishwasher. Uh.. yeah.
I wanted to watch What to Expect When You're Expecting with Dan. I watched it last week and ugly cried during all the sad parts and this time I didn't cry but it was hilarious to watch and relate to. I was also baking muffins at that time and was a hot mess. Dan is so patient with me when I'm flustered, I love that man.
Symptoms:

I have normal symptoms of my back aching, my feet growing, I feel my hips moving because they pop and ache sometimes and I feel my sciatic acting up periodically. And as of today, Sunday I'm seeing some swelling in my feet. I don't have cankles yet but I feel my feet retaining water

This category is now turning into labor symptoms too which currently are none. Boo. At my appointment this week I'm still at a 1-2, no effacement, no contractions, no other symptoms, no nothing! I'm not to the point where I'm so uncomfortable that I want this baby out, it's more like the anticipation is killing me. The fact that things could start happening at ANY MOMENT makes me anxious. Anyone who knows me know I've had a planner attached to my hip since freshman year of highschool. As one of my coworkers have said, "You could live in that thing," and I could. I'm not a red or a type A personality, but being organized and planning things out is soothing for my nesting bug and helps me remember things. I wish I could say that I'm only forgetful because of the pregnancy… but honestly that's just me.

Food Cravings:

Milk. Sandwiches. Chocolate. More milk. I've been really thirsty still but lately water has been my drink of choice.

What I'm looking forward to:

Although it's bitter/sweet, scary and happy all at the same time, I'm excited to not work? I have no idea what life is like as a stay at home mom but I'm excited to take it by the horns and figure it out. It won't be easy, it won't be perfect but I'm ready for something new. I think I've been in a 'comfort zone' in my life for a bit now and as we've all heard 'There's no comfort in a growing zone and there's no growing in a comfort zone.' So bring it on!