38 Weeks: Bumpdate + How To Find REST
38 WEEKS
It is hard to believe that we are two weeks away from our due date and baby boy could literally be here ANY day now! David and I spent Easter weekend in our house finishing up all of the final tasks we had on our DO-THIS-BEFORE-BABY-GETS-HERE LIST. We printed pictures for the frames in the nursery, hung a little gallery wall in his room, added the books to his shelves, washed the rest of his tiny little clothes and blankets... PACKED OUR HOSPITAL BAG!... and a zillion other tiny things. We are so excited, anxious, nervous (me not him), we can't even bare the idea of waiting another day for his arrival.
I feel like I can't turn my mind off, every thought is "baby" and I'm really struggling to find rest these days! I have a few tips on finding rest in the final weeks of pregnancy for you mamas to be below... it's especially important to try and find rest before your baby arrives because Lord knows you won't be getting any once they're born! Cue SURVIVAL MODE. I have a feeling he'll be here before his due date- so I'm going to share a little #bumpdate before it's too late!
How far along? 38 weeks, 14 days to go!
How big is the baby? 19.5 inches and the size of a pumpkin!
Total weight gain/loss: I’m up almost 40 pounds!! I swear my boobs alone have gained 10.. ha!
Maternity clothes? The only 'maternity' clothes I've really loved are these t-shirts from Target. I have 2 black and 2 white and rotate them daily!! They're actually on sale right now, 2 for $22!
Sleep: It really depends. Most nights I've been waking up by 4:30am and having a really hard time getting comfortable and falling back asleep. Around week 34 I started having Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms and my hands are numb/in pain for most of the day... it gets really bad at night and keeps me up! Everyone keeps saying "get your sleep while you can!!!" But I have really been struggling these past few weeks.
Best moment this week: Spending time with my hubs before our baby is born. He has been serving and helping me like crazy- cooking, cleaning, hanging things, washing bottles, feeding Winnie, you name it. He took the whole weekend to do whatever needed to be done! Even if that means ANOTHER trip to Buy Buy Baby and ANOTHER nightly foot rub. I seriously could not imagine life without him. Of all the things I'm excited for- I'm most excited to see David be a DAD... Y'all... I knew he was going to be the best since the day I met him and now he's going to be the dad to OUR baby.. WHATTTTT!
Movement: This baby moves like crazy! He has definitely slowed down the past week or two because I don't think there's much room left in there... but I will never forget this feeling of his little feet sweeping across my stomach. I try to touch his little toes!
Food Cravings: Chickfila. Everyday. And cereal. It's my go-to snack when I wake up starving at 4:30am.
Food Aversions: Nothing really... I haven't been craving meat as a meal this entire pregnancy... only if it's on a sandwich or burger, haha.
Gender: Boy. Durrrrrrrr.
Labor signs: I was 1cm dilated last week. Which doesn't really mean anything and I didn't have any symptoms until this past weekend! Saturday night I had some intense contractions/cramps paired with nausea and they continued all day Sunday. I've only had a couple today... so no real signs of him coming. We will go back to the doctor tomorrow and I'm praying he's getting closer to his arrival!
Belly button—in or out? That belly button has been out for months.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach!!! Ohhhh, I miss it so much. I miss being able to bend and move without feeling like I'm 110 years old.
Upcoming appointment/events: Tomorrow! And praying for a miracle!! That miracle being my doctor saying "Okay! He's coming any day!!!!!!"
Wedding Rings on/off: OFF! But I can still squeeze my band on... we actually got my wedding band a size too big because we knew we wanted a lot of babies and I know my hands would be the first thing to swell!
What unsolicited advice do I hate hearing the most: Really just any kind of mom-shaming. Like, don't use those diapers or your baby will turn into an alien!!!! I sometimes struggle sharing so much of our life because of all the judgement/criticism that comes along with it... but the positive encouragement definitely outweighs the negative. I received one of the meanest/cruelest messages ever last week and have been contemplating sharing it or not... I'll go deeper with all of this one day!
Mood: READYYYYY TO PARRRRRRTAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY! Just ready. Ready. Ready. Ready. So ready. I just want to see his little face!!!!!!! And trying to find a little bit of rest wherever I can.
So, now back to that little four letter word that I used to know so well: REST. Finding rest during your final weeks of pregnancy can be so difficult... your mind is going a million miles a minute and you are constantly thinking about all of the little things that need to get done before baby arrives.
Here are my three tips that have helped me feel more prepared, and in return helped me find REST at the end of the day!
1. MAKE A LIST before you start your day. Every morning, after I have my alone time (reading my devotional, listening to some music, drinking my coffee... whatever that morning may look like..) I sit at my kitchen island with a pad of paper and a pen. I keep an ongoing list and a daily list of tasks. My ongoing list may have that month's deadlines and random things (getting my car inspected, etc) on my to-do list but not exactly URGENT. While my daily list will have the things that MUST get done that day (even items as simple as folding laundry and deciding on a pediatrician). This really helps me prioritize my day and stay on track when I get distracted... HELLO PREGNANCY BRAIN.. this also helps me to be able to shut my mind down at night knowing that I checked things off of my list!
2. Tidy Up Before Bed. This is something that I learned from my mom... she always left the house spotless before bed. I, unfortunately, never leave it 'spotless' but I at least like to 'tidy up'. Sometimes that means sorting things left on the island, other times that means throwing a load of laundry into the dryer before I wake up to a bunch of stinky clothes that were left overnight in the wash! I especially want to keep our house tidy just in case I go into labor! So, lately I am making sure the guest bedroom and bathroom are stocked with clean sheets and soap!
3. Take A Bath + Let Your Husband Rub Your Feet! This is my favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day. At the end of your pregnancy, no matter what you spend your day doing, your days are LONG... and my feet are normally resembling Vienna Sausages by 5pm. I am so thankful to have recently discovered Thymes bath and body products. They have everything from bubble baths to amazing candles that will leave your entire home smelling like a sultry, tropical paradise.
I first received a Thymes Beauty Bag to select my scent (you get to sample 11 of their best selling fragrance body lotions for under $10). It was so much fun to test out the different scents and see what worked best for me... and to also let David be a part of it! I picked my top 3 favorite scents and made my decision based on his favorite for me.
We both loved Thymes' new scent Neroli Sol which is a really light, citrusy, tropical scent. It smells really clean on the body and around our home! I then received all of my amazing Thymes Neroli Sol products. I have been LOVING the candle and am thrilled our home will be smelling nice for all of the guests who will be in and out when the baby arrives!
The Neroli Sol hand cream has also played a big part of our nightly routine... It has helped my sore hands and feet and the scent is so relaxing. These products are all made from the most natural, amazing products and are great for my skin... It was such an easy process to find my new summer scent! Thank you Thymes for sponsoring this post- but these are products I would have purchased on my own! I have been a Thymes fan for years!!