Pregnancy Update: 31 Weeks

Hey ya'll! So I'm 31 weeks pregnant and trucking along. Can't believe I only have 9 weeks left until this little angel is welcomed into our lives!! I have been a little stressed as of late, working on the new house and trying to get as much prepared and furnished/finished before the baby comes. Lately, I've had to remind myself that it is okay if I don't get everything in line. I am one of those people, unfortunately, that loves and needs to have EVERYTHING organized. With homes and ordering furniture and furnishings, it is a process (not to mention a lot of items I want are backordered - boo). So, I've had to remind myself that I need to be patient. I find myself praying for God to takeover in a lot of instances. I've been having feelings of being overwhelmed and feeling a little bit out of control - whether it's regarding the home or now having not one but TWO children at home and as a stay-at-home mom. I know that everything will be perfect and these are the prayers that I have prayed to be answered my entire life (having a home and a growing family - true story), so I try to remind myself to appreciate it - my goodness!! It's funny, sometimes when you get what you prayed for you can still have those feelings of uneasiness and stress. While it is everything I want and I know this, I just feel it is a lot all at once. I have felt these feelings more often since being away on vacation and being "removed" from being able to tackle our home - which I think God did on purpose (keeping us away for 2.5 weeks) from our new home - and not to mention the fact that I forgot my cell phone at home - God laughs! Anyways, I know that everything is as it should be and in most instances I am more than thankful to be in the position I am in. Enough about that - and more on my current pregnancy stats and a little sneak peak of how the nursery is coming together...

Weight Gain: 20 lbs weight gain at this point - ah. I was going to say 'I can't believe it', but actually I can -- given the holidays and all of the extra food I have been consuming. Not even blaming it on pregnancy or the baby, I definitely enjoyed myself over the holiday with family. That included a lot of eating out and desserts, in quantities that were likely over justified. But hey! I enjoyed it :) Since my last 27 week appointment (over a four week period or so), I gained four pounds. So that is in line with the recommended 1 lbs per week weight gain. Now that we are back home, and back to somewhat of a routine, I am hoping my weight will stabilize. As of now, my appetite is very consistent with how it is while not pregnant. I may be slightly more hungry than normal, and if I go for long periods without eating I begin to feel nauseous rather than hungry.

Exercise: I haven't been able to exercise as much as I've wanted to. I probably exercised over our vacation every three days or so. I hope to get back to the YMCA with Lincoln - participating in classes like spinning, step and yoga. I'm physically feeling good and now more energized than I was while in the altitude in Colorado. Therefore, gaining energy to exercise shouldn't be a problem. As of late, I've had a little bit more strain on my lower back. I believe this is from moving packages and getting our house prepared (doing things I shouldn't necessarily be doing at almost 8 months pregnant). With a toddler around, I do get plenty of movement chasing him around the house and around stores. Not to mention, we now have a two-story home, which means STAIRS... so I am constantly going up and down the stairs - which is good. I'm trying not to stress too much about exercise, given that I'm so pregnant, but I also feel way better when I do. I also feel as if exercise will help my body recover faster from delivery and will also help give me the strength for a great delivery. However, looking back on my delivery with baby number one, I rarely exercised (besides brisk walking), and had an amazing delivery!

Nutrition: Like I touched upon, my diet hasn't been the greatest over the holidays. But whose has?! :) I'm trying to get back into my routine of warm lemon water in the morning, which really regulates my blood sugar and acid reflux, and a green smoothie. Then a healthy lunch and decent dinner. Since we've been home, I've been able to stick to this! I'm not perfect with my diet, as Cate + I believe in somewhat of an 80/20 principle -- 80% of the time keep your diet clean with whole and organic foods, and 20% of the time, you should moderate with cravings and leniency - so a little bit of sweets at night won't kill you. Plus it's good for the soul :)

Pregnancy Symptoms: My acid relux has gotten A LOT better. I attribute this to being home and now on more of a regular diet with portion control and blander flavors. I'm still a little more tired than normal, i.e. when I wake up in the morning, I still have to lay in bed for some time to get myself started. Pre-pregnancy, I didn't have to do this - I was excited to get out of bed and tackle the day. I'm getting a little more hyper-pigmentation on my face. I got this with Lincoln and after having him it faded SLOWLY. I'd say once I got pregnant with baby number two, it started to fade. Unfortunately, now it's coming back. That said, I have had ZERO acne this pregnancy - YES! My skin is a perfect consistency -- it's just the pigmentation that is affecting it. In terms of swelling, I'm not really swelling much this time around. My wedding ring still fits perfectly and my feet and hands feel pretty normal - yay! I remember, I took my wedding ring off at 7 months with baby #1.

Fetal Movement: Lots of movement - not overkill tho. At first I was sure it was a boy, given how much this baby moved! Now, I'm thinking girl?

Predictions About Baby's Gender: Once again I don't really know. I was the same way with Lincoln. People say "you have a feeling"... but not me - ha! And I will say that I bonded GREAT with Lincoln, so that really has nothing to do with bonding... I just don't know what the gender is. Despite not knowing, we love this baby tenfold!! The nursery decor is neutral but is starting to go slightly more girly -- but I think that's just a matter of doing my best with decorating a gender neutral nursery. Most things "baby" and "nursery" tend to look more girly. Who knows at this point tho... I believe there are pros and cons to having either a boy or girl, and that it's all what you make of it, but I do think it would be nice to have both boys and girls... but also cool to have only boys. If we don't get a girl this time, I think we may try for baby number three (depending on the workload of two).

Thoughts About Delivery: I pre-registered with the hospital which was SUPER easy. I didn't realize how easy it was to go online and pre-register... I did ask my doc a few questions about what to expect for delivery. The biggest quesiton I had was whether she would be delivering my baby. When I delivered at Georgetown Univeristy Hospital and through my prenatal care, I rotated physicians because this is how they routinely did it. I was also prepared to not expect the doctors I had seen through prenatal care to be present at my delivery - and they weren't. I ended up with a doctor that I had neither seen nor met.. and he also was rarely in the delivery room during my labor and delivery - it was the nurses and residents that did the grunt work - and they were amazing!! Originally, on my birth plan I had written that I didn't want residents in the room, but after my experience with it, it changed my perspective. If you have a normal delivery, it really shouldn't matter who is in the room so much (unless you have a bad nurse or resident - which I'm sure you wouldn't). After this, I felt confident delivering my baby in most any situation, that is, in a hospital!! I would never opt for a home birth and I would never opt for a natural delivery, unless it just happened to work out that way. For me, there is way too much that can potentially go wrong during birth and I would indefinitely want doctors around me. Also, the pain of contractions with my first birth were way too intense around 5 to 6cm dilation, so at this point, I am definitely opting for an epidural. On the flip side, I have heard stories with birthing second children that your body is more acclimated and prepared to give birth the second time around, and not only is birth usually faster but it can also be easier (in terms of pain of contractions)... so we shall see, but as or now, I will opt for the epidural.

​Preparation for Baby: The nursery is coming together!! The tones in the nursery are greys, golds, beiges and eventually a pop of color. It has a rustic and bohemian feel to it. I've gotten pieces from buybuy Baby, Gabby Home, Home Goods, Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn. Lately, I've really been trying to mix up retailers in order to get a mix of "looks." Check out a sneak peak below - I've updated the look since the last post. Again, I have A LOT of work to do and some of the elements, like pillows and accents, I may add after baby is born when we know the gender. Until the next time!!
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​xx, ILA