36 WEEK BUMPDATE

36 WEEK BUMPDATE

Monday, 31 December 2018

Almost 10 weeks since my last update, it is true what they say about the second child lol sometimes they really go unnoticed. I hate saying this sometimes because when I say it I have a bunch of people who come for me and make me feel guilty but: I am over being pregnant. I want this baby out lol.

I'm going to use this first part of the update to do a little complaining (again, please don't come for me). I am huge, I don't think my belly can stretch anymore. Also, I have like one shirt and one pair of pants left that fit me so getting dressed is extra fun. Getting out of bed in the middle of the night is also extra fun, especially when you're getting up every hour to two hours to pee. I am literally a turtle on it's back constantly. I can't stand for longer than 15 minutes without wanting to cry because the pressure is on another level, and walking around to do something as simple as grocery shop is almost out of the question. The last legs of pregnancy are the worst for me, and I am getting more and more eager to welcome him into the world. 

There really isn't any other changes other than the daily struggle that I mentioned above. Christmas eve I started having some intense contractions and thought it was go time. The look on Kyle's face was everything lol. But they stopped after about 6 or 7 and even though I have been having cramping on and off I haven't felt any more intense pain like that. My doctor said he is potentially going to be away the week I am due, so my last visit he told me he would "have me swept and delivered by the time he leaves." I am really hanging onto that promise lol. 

I feel like my belly has definitely dropped, and I should be getting my first sweep soon to see if I have started dilating. Fun fact: when I went in with Everly to do my first sweep I had not been experiencing any pain, and when he checked me I was 7 cm dilated. Please pray I have a similar outcome this time lol. I am hoping he does it at my appointment January 7th, but he may wait until the following week because I won't quite be 37 weeks (I am writing this update a little earlier than usual). 

Other than that, I think that is pretty much it! I have lost a lot of my "plug" (I hate the full word lol it sounds so gross). So I think my body is definitely prepping and getting ready. I have a feeling he may come middle of January? But I also don't want to be cocky and assume because then I feel like he will be late lol. 

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain? I am at about 30lbs. 

Maternity clothes? BARELY lol. Nothing fits anymore.

Stretch marks? Yeah, but mostly left over from my pregnancy with Everly.

Sleep? Back to being non existent. 

Best moment this week? Hearing my doctor promise he would have me swept and delivered before he leaves on his conference. 

Miss anything? Sleeping, walking, basic living. 

Movement? Still moving, but I have noticed he is starting to slow down. His busy time is still between 7 and 8pm. 

Food cravings? Nothing really.

Anything making you feel sick or queasy? Nothing anymore so far!

Showing? Oh yes, I am a human billboard. 

Gender? It's a BOY!

Labor signs? Things are starting to get ready I think! 

Symptoms? Still feel a lot of pressure because he likes being low and cramping. 

Belly button in or out? It's an outtie now.

Happy or moody most of the time? A little bit of both I think!

Looking forward to: Delivering. 

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YEAR IN REVIEW : 2018

YEAR IN REVIEW : 2018

It is crazy to think that this is my 5th time sitting here and writing some type of review or reflection of the year previous. When I started this, I didn't know what it would be or if I would even keep up with it. Some years it has been neglected a bit more than others, but for the most part I have been able to keep some type of record of my life since I married Kyle in 2014. 

In so many ways 2018 was one of the challenging years, but in others it was filled with so much happiness and joy. I am finding it hard to write about the year in general because there are so many mixed emotions attached to it. Am I where I thought I would be this time last year? No. Is it more than I expected? So much more. I never have an outline or plan for these posts, I just sit down and write out what comes to mind about the year passed, so here it goes!

I started 2018 confident. Confident in my abilities as a parent, partner, and coworker. As the year went on I felt some aspects of that slowly start to fade. I felt myself wanting more from my job, I loved it so much, but I wanted to expand and learn more. I applied for a new position within the company, and the interview experience in itself was rewarding. It solidified that I am knowledgable about what I do, and I am confident in my abilities as an IT. When it didn't pan out I felt lost for a bit, but still happy because I still got to work with a great team. It was at that point that the conversation to expand our family became more and more talked about. Kyle had wanted to grow our family for months, and I kept putting it off because I felt like I wasn't ready. 

April I decided it was a good time to start. Knowing the struggles we had with Everly I assumed it would probably take at least a year, maybe more. So I had called our OB who helps us with fertility and made an appointment. 4 weeks later I got a positive pregnancy test and that was when the year really jumped into high gear. My pregnancy with Everly was perfect, if it wasn't for my bump I wouldn't have even know I was expecting. This one not so much.. to be honest they did not think this baby would have survived. I was getting ready to go through what I had already gone through 3 times before. I had a bleed where the placenta was supposed to attach, and if the bleed did not rectify itself before the placenta went to attach, I would have miscarried. I had never experienced anything like that before, and when I started bleeding I thought it was all over. My doctor said that given my job description it would be best to be taken off work, and this was probably one of the harder pills to swallow this year. In some ways I felt a bit neglected by the people I worked with, because I never heard from any of them really once I left. What I was going through emotionally was really hard, but resting truly was the best thing I could have done. The bleed resolved itself and Jackson was growing perfectly. 

The summer was when we decided to pull Everly from daycare and have her home with me. Financially we just could not have her there full time with only one income. This was such an amazing time, to get to be home with her and raise her the way I wanted. It meant so much knowing we had the summer together to grow and learn. She has changed so much in the last few months, and I feel like our relationship has strengthened immensely because I was able to spend so much time with her. 

I realized more of more this year how important it is to invest in the people who invest in you. Lately I have been really lacking in that area. Life gets so busy sometimes, and I try to carve out time where I do not have my phone and can focus on my family. Sometimes that means texts and calls go unanswered, and I have to work on getting better at getting back to the people I love in my life (sorry Eva lol, I feel like you got the brunt of it). My marriage has been stronger than it has in a long time, we are learning every year a little bit more on how to deal with one another, and work better as a team. It has been so nice to have him here through all of this, I don't know how well I would have done without him. My relationship with my sister grew a lot more too as she welcomed her son into the world this fall. He is perfection, and being so far away from him hurts my heart some days. But seeing her as a mom has made me so proud, and it is something we can both relate with, and she understands a little bit more why I am the way I am when it comes to parenting. 

2018 saw a lot of happy moments and memories. I am happy to be wrapping up the year, because 2019 we start with welcoming our son into the world. I can't wait to meet him and see Everly as a big sister. She has been waiting so patiently for him to arrive, and I am so glad that he hung on because he is such a special part of our family already. 

My only resolution or goal of 2019 is to be the best version of myself I can be. To let go of the negativity that gets in the way sometimes, and just enjoy my family and the life we have. It's a pretty generic resolution lol, but I feel like too often I let negativity get the best of me, and I focus too much on the bad and forget about all the good. I also want to strive to be a healthier version of myself once the baby comes. Pregnancy is so amazing but dang does it do a number on your body. 

I hope you all had an amazing year, and continue to love and grow as we enter the new year!

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