37th week. How did 37 weeks go by so quickly? I’m due to give birth in about 2 weeks!
When I first found out I was pregnant, I knew the next eight months were going to be the longest eight months of my life.
Imagine the excitement of booking the most amazing vacation of your life and then having to wait eight months for it. And if you multiply that emotion by about 75 million, you can pretty much imagine what it feels like to be expecting a baby.
I was so excited/nervous/scared/excited/terrified that I almost exploded. But once I got over the shock and excitement of pregnancy, my life pretty much returned to normal. I continued traveling, working, and hanging out with friends, and before I knew it, I was 30 weeks pregnant. I know this is boring, but that’s pretty much what happened.
I had planned to blog more about my pregnancy, but in the best way I could, I had nothing to say. Yes, I felt tired and emotional at times, but other than that I had a surprisingly stress-free and trouble-free pregnancy. I have never had strange desires, strange dreams, hysterical mood swings, or excessive “baby brain”. I am me. I drink less wine and wear more stretchy pants.
It wasn’t until I was 30 weeks pregnant that I really started to realize I was pregnant. Bump’s growth spurt slowed my growth, and I’ve been getting slower and groggier (sure, is that a word?) ever since. I had a really small bump until around 30 weeks. My bump was so small that I actually had to go for a test scan. Everything was going well and the baby was the perfect size, but I still don’t understand why I was so small.
If there’s one thing I learned during my pregnancy, it’s that everyone is different. No two pregnancies are the same and no two women can be compared. You have to sit back, relax, and trust that your body is doing well.
Here are some things I learned, liked, and disliked during my pregnancy.
What I liked about being pregnant
Mainly the part about having a baby at the end
Everyone is really, really kind forever. It is amazing.
No need to pick up dog poop (I told Sam that pregnant women shouldn’t do that, and he hasn’t allowed me to clean up dog poop in the yard since). I don’t even know if that’s true. Shush.)
Amazing how my body knows how to raise a baby surprised.
Shiny hair – I wasn’t sure if this was an old lady thing, but you have really great hair when you’re pregnant. I’ve always had shitty hair, so I’m proud of it.
My Friends and Family – The love, support, and encouragement I have felt for my friends and family has been amazing. I don’t know what I would do without them and I feel like a new baby in our family has brought us so much closer. My brother’s fiancée is also expecting, so I’m even more excited!
Hiccups – Babies hiccup at least once a day and I love it. During these few minutes of hiccups, your forehead will no longer be bumpy and you will be able to imagine a real baby inside your belly. This is a good time for others to feel the baby’s movements and I love seeing the look on their faces when they feel their baby for the first time.
I always wear yoga pants. I didn’t buy maternity clothes, mainly because they were ugly, flimsy, overpriced, and made me look like a whale. But it’s also because I didn’t see much change until I was 32 weeks old, so it felt pointless to buy clothes to wear for 8 weeks. Instead, I spent virtually all of my time in yoga pants and gym clothes. The benefit of workout clothes is that when people see you, they think you’re fit, healthy, and working out. You look sporty, but you’re actually wearing head-to-toe spunk, which is a slight step up from wearing pajamas.
Have this conversation:
Friend: “What were you doing today?”
Me: “Oh, I’m busy raising a baby.”
The truth is, I don’t do anything all day, but there’s no way they can match that. Because this is the only time in my life where I can watch TV and eat cake all day without feeling guilty. I won’t be able to do this until I’m about 80 years old.
what i learned
You don’t have to drink to have a good time. I went on a lot of nights out during my pregnancy, and I can honestly say I had just as much fun sober as I did when I was drinking. I’m never going to be a teetotaler, but I’m definitely going to cut back on my drinking once the baby is born.
People are really kind – As I said, everyone is really kind to pregnant women, but I was moved by the kindness of complete strangers.
There may be too much advice. People have different opinions about everything. I stopped reading books for young children. Because they all offer worryingly contradictory advice. All you really need to do is trust your instincts and figure out what’s best for you (while grinning through gritted teeth as someone gives more well-meaning advice).
What I didn’t enjoy during my pregnancy
Fatigue – I’m tired of being tired. I want to stay up past 10pm and walk more than a mile without getting puffy.
Lung Capacity – I feel like my lungs are half full. If you get too excited while talking, you’ll balloon up!
Nighttime peeing – He pees every 3 hours during the day, but he can tolerate it. I can’t pee every 3 hours during the night.
Lack of exercise – A combination of laziness, worry, and physical fatigue cause most people to stop exercising during pregnancy. I continue to walk as much as possible, but I don’t do any “proper exercise”. I’m not beating myself up over this, but I really can’t wait to get back to the gym and go to spin class or swim. That’s something I never thought I’d say.
Wanderlust – Sometimes it feels like wanderlust is actually a symptom. It takes over your mind until you can’t think of anything else but traveling, exploring and seeing new places. I haven’t been out since early December, and I don’t plan on going abroad for a few months after my baby was born and my wanderlust drove me crazy.
Literally “everything collides”. It looks like there is a balloon at the top.
What I’m looking forward to
Travel with your baby! We haven’t booked much yet, but we’re really excited about his first trip abroad. He’s booked some trips to England for the summer, but this will be his first time on a plane and he’ll be really excited.
I’ll take a break for a while. If you read my post about the truth about being a travel blogger, you’ll know that number one is the fact that bloggers don’t have vacations. I’m not complaining because I love being a blogger, but I’m looking forward to closing my laptop and keeping it closed for a few weeks. For the first few weeks, all you will be thinking about is your baby.
Apologies for the obvious lack of bump photos. I hate having my picture taken at the best moments, so I’ve become a little camera-phobic since last month.