It's Baby Month! A T-minus 4 Weeks Update!

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I’m currently 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant, so it’s baby month! Technically I’m due on March 29, so I guess she might not arrive until April, but, still, we’re within 4 weeks or so!

While it feels like I’ve been pregnant for a LONG time, it still feels very soon that she’ll be arriving! And the idea that she could basically come anytime also feels crazy. I’m both ready and NOT READY at the same time! I know she’ll get here when she’s ready, and I imagine everything will be perfect and great, but I still feel like there are things that need to happen before she comes!

To that point, I’m trying to get ahead of things work-wise so that I can have some chill time with her when she arrives. I should put “chill time” in quote marks, because I imagine having a newborn can be very much NOT CHILL, but at least I won’t have work tasks to complete! Ideally, by the time she comes, I’ll have most things scheduled out for 4-6 weeks so I can simply interact with my 1:1 clients and let everything else run on its own. That’s the goal, at least!

Here’s what things look like these days… these photos are from between 35-36+ weeks!

Okay, here are some more updates:

Who knew nausea can come back at the end of pregnancy? That, plus the added heartburn haven’t been fun. Basically, every meal takes forever to eat because if I eat at a normal-person pace I’ll definitely throw up. Luckily this version of nausea isn’t the same as at the beginning of pregnancy when the smell of certain foods would make my stomach flip… it’s not like that… it’s moreso due to severe lack of space and a baby kicking and flipping, which makes me feel even more pukey!

Maybe she’ll drop soon and I’ll get a little more room back? Am I supposed to be able to feel when that happens? Or just have to pee even more frequently and experience slightly less heartburn? I guess we’ll see. I already feel like I have to pee all the time, and am getting up 3-5 times a night to pee, so why not add a little more?!

Interestingly, my belly is definitely getting bits bigger as these last few weeks go by (I know that because fewer and fewer clothing items fit comfortably now!), but my weight hasn’t really shifted too much lately. I think that might be somewhat normal, but also interesting. She’s apparently getting bigger, but where’s the weight? *shrug emoji*

Some days I feel fine, and then some days I feel SUPER uncomfortable. Like my ribs hurt, her movements hurt, walking is hard, etc. I can’t necessarily draw any conclusions about these various days either. Like if changes in my movement are influencing how I feel, or sleep duration/quality, or whether I workout or not… none of those things seem to indicate how I'll feel. Otherwise, I would just keep doing the “feel fine” day things!

Speaking of movement, I’m still getting (slow) walks in 5 days a week and a workout in 4-5 days per week. I’m very grateful to have been able to keep moving and feeling okay enough to do so all this time. Like even if I needed to stop working out tomorrow for some reason, I would have made it just about 37 weeks and I feel like that’s pretty dang good! Some workouts are very heavily modified or adjusted, and some workouts can still be pretty typical, which also feels good.

I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to make these necessary adjustments. After years of doing CrossFit-style workouts a specific way, or with specific weights or standards, I was worried that I might have a hard time letting that go a little bit, but it’s been easier than I thought it would be! I still do the same kinds of workouts I have for years, but with adjustments or modifications as needed.

I didn’t even feel bad about not being able to do the CrossFit Open this year! This is the first time I’ve missed it in 11 years! Could I have technically done the workouts? Or could I have modified them so that I could do them? Sure. Was that necessary? No. To each their own, of course, but this was the right choice for me at this point! In my research, there are just too many issues that can arise from doing certain movements or trying too hard that I didn’t want to put myself in that situation.

Last thing… as we’re getting closer to the end, I’m getting a little nervous about the whole labor and delivery process. Yes, I know it’s natural and women have been doing it forever, blah, blah, blah… and it’s also something I’ve never personally experienced so I imagine it’s fair to be a little anxious!

I have a plan, I understand the possibilities of how things could go, I understand how the process works, but I still don’t know how it’ll FEEL until I’m in it! So, I’m open to the possibilities… I’m not mentally or emotionally tied to any specific experience or anything like that, which is the best approach for me given the unknowns.

I don’t know if there will be another one of these blog post pregnancy updates before she gets here! We shall see! Otherwise, I’m sure there will be plenty of sharing after she arrives!

If you have any questions or comments about my experiences, I’d love to hear them! Share in the comments or send me an email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com.

As always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Sara