(I’ll post my final ‘bump’ picture next week… we are headed to the hospital today for a C-section because at my doctor appointment this morning I was already dilated 4cm and my bag was about to pop, instead of risking my water breaking and having an emergency C-section, my doctor thought it would be best to just schedule it for this afternoon – 05/10/2013)
How far along are you? 38 weeks
Size of Baby: Baby is the length of a leek
Favorite Maternity clothes this week? Leggings mostly (since it suddenly got cold again) and flip flops because my feet are swelling more and more easily
Stretch marks? No
How’s your Sleep? Not too bad, I try not to drink anything after 8pm and it helps so that I only have to get up 1-2x/night vs. 4-5x/night like the prior week. I do get weird stomach cramps though when I lay in certain positions, but usually turning the ‘other’ side helps with that. I think she might just be resting on some organ that makes it uncomfortable for me.
Favorite moment this week? I think the fact that my to-do list got much shorter this week however, I am definitely still finding ‘stuff’ to do so there isn’t much laziness going on in this house, however I do try to reserve at least 1-2 hours a day to put my feet up and rest. I’m not much of a nap person so it’s hard to force myself to sleep in the middle of the day.
Do you miss anything? My clothes and I’ve had a really bad craving for raw sushi this week, so much that I’ve already told Matt what options I’d like delivered to the hospital… nothing crazy, just some raw salmon from whole foods sounds delicious!
Do you have any Food cravings? I craved the fruit cocktail drink that they serve at Henry Mayo… I even made my own ‘lo-calorie’ version with sparkling lime seltzer water and strawberry lemonade, very refreshing!
Anything making you Nauseas? Nothing specific, but I’m having to eat more frequent meals to avoid nausea.
Mood? Good! I got a little frustrated with Bode when he wasn’t napping but overall he has been a really good boy, so much better than the ‘terrible two’s’ we had for the first couple months of this year.
What are you looking forward to? WOW, well so much! Really just the anticipation of meeting our baby girl.
I think when I look back on how life has changed since we had Bode only 2 ½ years ago and while so many of our priorities have changed, I think the biggest thing for me would be that my relationship with my husband grew to be stronger than I could have ever imagined. We have been together for a long time (since 2000) and while we have struggled with long distance, planning a wedding, purchasing a home, raising a dog together, and all the other usual things couples go through, there was nothing in those 10 years together that could have prepared us for raising a child. While we both come from very stable homes (both parents still married and in love), we both have slightly different views on how best to parent (as I’m sure most couples do.) I think that instead of judging each other we have learned to communicate better and also respect each other so we can be a parenting ‘team.’ After all there is no ‘I’ in teamwork (haha, yeah I know is cheesy but it’s also true!) Having a boy has to be different than having a girl because I can’t imagine a little girl having the energy that Bode has, therefore, I am looking forward to seeing how we grow as a family with having a little girl around. I have seen so many of our friends (males) fall head over heels for their little girls and I’m hoping to see the same in my husband. I think little girls bring out the softer side in everyone and I think in this male dominated home that that will be a good thing! These are just some of the thoughts running through my head… Being a parent is the hardest but most rewarding job I have ever had and probably ever will have!
Nicole Hank 