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A Baby Story [Part II]: Week 38

Week 38: Baby’s the size of a pumpkin

This week started off with our 38 week prenatal appointment–Sirena tagged along again and midwife Elizabeth was really great about including her in all aspects of the visit including helping her get all of the materials out, measuring my belly, squirting the goopy stuff on my belly so that she could use the fetal heart doppler machine, and cleaning my belly off afterwards. 🙂 The midwife felt Lucia and confirmed she’s still in the heads-down position and she thinks she was around 7 pounds at the time. My belly is still measuring a week behind but everything else is showing signs of good progress so there’s no worry there.

IMG_3938Sirena showing off her “I visited with my mommy’s midwife today” sticker!

I finally tackled one huge item off my to-do list this week which was prepare three meals to store in the freezer for when Lucia’s here so that we don’t have to worry for a week at least about making dinner. The midwives also suggest bringing a meal for Kevin and me (especially me) to eat after the birth so one of those meals is for us to chow down on. I remember how hungry I was after Sirena was born and because it’s not a hospital setting with a full kitchen they won’t be providing us food and if it’s 3am we may not be able to get anything so it’s best for us to prepare ahead and being a meal to eat. I made sure to make it protein and carb heavy for the marathon I’m about to embark on!

IMG_3953Two of the three meals I made–Spinach tortellini + tomato soup and Italian rice and beans (not pictured: Tahini lemon rice and beans)

This past week has felt like a roller coaster for me. It was my last few days of work which had me overwhelmed, stressed beyond measure, and frankly just tapped out. After signing off for work for 3 months (hallelujah!) the start of my maternity leave began with a couple of days being with Sirena on my own which isn’t anything new and I generally love our “Mommy + Sirena time” but she has been going through a somewhat difficult phase (outright saying “no” when I ask her to do something, yelling and trying to hit me when I put my foot down, and an emotional meltdown when she doesn’t get her way) which also left me running on empty. After the weekend I was blessed with two full days off–from work and, I hate to say it, but from Sirena too while my mom watched her on Monday and she was in preschool on Tuesday. These past two days have been incredible–I don’t have to worry about being anywhere, doing anything in particular, or anyone else’s needs but my own. I could nap when I wanted to (glorious I tell you!) and I’ve felt so relaxed the past two days, something that I guess I haven’t felt in a long (long) time that Kevin even noticed how different I’ve been acting. I appreciate this little baby Lucia for giving me at least two days to recharge and refuel, it’s been so nice. But I keep telling her that I don’t need too much time off before her arrival because I want to spend as much time of my maternity leave with her as possible. She’s the boss, though!

A few people in my family (including me) thought that Easter Sunday might be the day Lucia decided to make her grand appearance which, obviously, didn’t happen. I also thought she might decide to share a birthday with her Papa George (Kevin’s dad) which was yesterday and again that obviously didn’t happen. It’s funny how many people keep asking me where the baby is and if I’m still pregnant when we aren’t even at her due date yet but since Sirena was a week early and since Lucia dropped 1.5 weeks ago I guess it makes sense that everyone thinks she should be here any minute! I’m doing my best to just trust her and not get myself worked up as each day passes. During Sirena’s pregnancy, this was the last blog post I wrote before she was born. The following day (when I began week 39 which is tomorrow) my water broke and then she was born the following day (so Thursday of this week). Crazy! These final weeks/days of pregnancy are a trip–so much anticipation and anxiety and excitement! Many times throughout the day I think, “This might be my last time __ before Lucia’s born” which trips me out. Trying to soak up these last days (hopefully just days) of being a mama of one and living this life as I know it.

I’ll end this blog post with a gratuitous photo of Sirena who climbed into Lucia’s Rock ‘n Play sleeper, pretended to drink from a toy bottle, all while wearing her “Big Sis” outfit, lol!

IMG_20150329_095423_310

 Belly shot!

 wk38

 Other pregnancy updates:

  • Total weight gained so far: 17 pounds
  • How I’m feeling physically: Overall pretty good! Still tired each day but as long as I get a little nap in the afternoon I’m good for the rest of the day. Another possible sign that her arrival is approaching is that for the past three days my pelvic bones have felt really sore like things are loosening up in preparation for childbirth.
  • Fun baby developments: She measures around 20 inches and weighs somewhere in the 7-8 pound range but who really knows until she’s born!
  • Days until our next prenatal appointment: 2!
  • Days until due date: 8! (April 15)

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