Pregnancy update (also, it’s winter!)

As I mentioned yesterday, I am officially eight months pregnant. This means I have eight weeks left to go in this whole journey of pregnancy, which is a thought that seems incredibly amazing to me. Have I really been pregnant for eight months already? Is it really only going to be — give or take– eight weeks until I have an actual real baby in my arms to take care of???

Generally, I don’t feel too overwhelmed by that prospect. I’ve wanted to be a mother since I was like… five… so finally being at that point twenty years later, it’s more exciting than scary. Of course, once I’m actually holding him, I could be different. But so far, my husband has been the one to generally freak out about all the possibilities of what could go wrong (seriously, his “what if this happens?” list is… long…) and the fact that we’re going to be in charge of raising a child.

But, you know, I’m also not afraid of babies, so there’s that.

I wonder how long it will take before he realizes he’s not going to break the baby?

Anyway! Eight months has finally brought on some not-as-pleasant symptoms to my otherwise fantastic pregnancy, plus I’ve also discovered some very interesting things about what happens after you have the baby. Aka, healing, and all that fun stuff. I definitely plan on writing a “what to expect” post after I have this kid, because nobody ever talks about it. And I think it’s better to be prepared.

Currently, eight months of pregnancy means that I am finally way too pregnant to reach my feet. Aka, the husband has to put any shoes on my feet that do not just slip on, and he does so with only  minor dramatic sighs. Haha! Somehow, I still manage to get socks on, but by the time I’m ready for my boots, it’s just… too much. Also, I can’t really take my pants off by myself. Again, anything that requires bending over to reach near my feet = impossible.

Our floors are never swept now because I can’t bend over to pick up the dirt pile.

I also drool more than I ever thought was possible while I’m napping. I mean, what in the world? Apparently overproduction of colostrum isn’t enough, so now I have to wake up with an armful of boob juice AND a lake on my pillow because saliva has decided it needs to double itself.

Pretty sure I have mentioned this before, but again: if you’re going to get pregnant, you should realize that not only does your blood and water volume increase, but so does every other fluid in your body. You pee more often, you drool like a hot dog in summer, you sweat no matter how cold it gets outside, your boobs might spring leaks, and… well, let’s just say you should probably also get pantyliners just in case.

And the closer you get to delivery, the worse it gets. But the hardest thing is probably the groin soreness. I really didn’t think sleeping with a pillow between my legs did anything until I started to get sore, and now… well, it cuts it in half. It’s really awkward to turn over with a pillow between your legs, though. And then once you get comfortable, your back decides to tense up and you need to turn over again, and then when you finally get yourself turned over, you realize you have to pee… and the cycle goes on.

Let’s just say, you won’t be getting much sleep for a while.

Really, though, it’s not all that bad. Soreness and general leakiness aside, I have been one of those very blessed individuals for whom pregnancy is not hard. The baby kicks up a storm all throughout the day, but he has yet to kick my ribs and the worst he does is when he kicks my ticklish side.

I wish every woman could experience a pregnancy that goes as well as mine does. I would love to say that any woman can improve her experience of pregnancy by cutting out dairy, at least, but everyone experiences pregnancy differently so there’s really no telling what will help!

I do know for a fact that in myself, eating strictly Paleo = no internal bad symptoms whatsoever. No heartburn, indigestion, crankiness, sleeplessness, headaches, burpiness, gassiness, stomach pains, stuffy nose… etc. I’d even go so far as to say I’m less sore in general when I eat well, and I know I wake up better and have a lot more energy throughout the day when I’m not eating dairy, wheat, sugar, and beans.

And I say this on a day when my brain has been telling my mouth it does not need more peppermint bark, and my mouth says it does, and there’s just no stopping the taste buds. 

My favorite thing about pregnancy so far has been feeling Baby Owl get more and more active. On Monday, he basically kicked and moved around all day, and I love it! I don’t know if this is true for all pregnant women, but when I’ve got indigestion or Braxton Hicks, it feels really good for him to move around. It’s like a little massage. Plus, it’s just amazing to feel a baby moving in your stomach. There’s nothing like it!

In the next eight weeks, I think I finally feel a bit more free to start really stocking up everything I know I will need (and he will need), so hopefully by January I’ll actually be prepared. I haven’t hit the nesting phase yet. Maybe some women don’t. Especially if they have to sit most of the time because soreness means it’s a chore to stand up.

I really want to get his nursery area all set, though, which means I need to grab some sort of shelf, a changing pad (one for the nursery, plus one I can carry around the house with me), a few more clothing items, a stock of nursing pads and diaper wipes, baby lotion and shampoo… the list could go on for quite a while, actually! I can’t wait to get everything put together!

Or perhaps my “nesting” phase is that I feel compelled to make everything now. Yesterday I made this Christmas wreath, and I love the way it turned out! Today, I aspire to clean and decorate the downstairs of our house in Christmas style, and I’ll be utilizing lots of pine branches since… I don’t want to spend a lot of money buying stuff.

Although I do want to buy a few Christmas-scented candles (aka pine and cinnamon scents.)

I love this time of year. I think I said that yesterday. Haha! We’ll blame pregnancy for making me repeat myself.

Vintage dress c/o Shop Vintage Minnie | Thrifted heels and belt | Mom’s (mine now) turquoise ring | Forever 21 owl earrings

I gotta say, I am still wholly in love with this dress. It still fits (yay!) and it is the most comfortable and pretty dress one could hope for in pregnancy!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I feel like it’s Thursday and not Friday, so my mind is totally not ready for the weekend yet. And can you believe Thanksgiving is in less than a week?

Do you all have fun Thanksgiving plans? I  hope so!

Happy Friday!

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Check out some of my favorite cold-weather picks from Shop Vintage Minnie!

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