WEEK 29
June 27 – July 3
- We return from St. Louis after the shower for some serious R&R.
- Baby hiccups for the first time…but it won’t be the last. Within a few weeks he’s having them multiple times per day.
WEEK 30
July 4 – 10
- We’re back on the road and in Missouri again this week. And I do mean “on the road” because we (Aaron) make the 12-hour drive back to Columbia for a FINAL work week on the AirBNB.
- I am feeling more heartburn and bloatiness than ever. But, I still find a way to eat all our Columbia favorites…Bangkok Gardens, Sub Shop (the veg with bacon, so no deli meat), B&B Bagels, Shakespeare’s Pizza…
WEEK 31
July 11 – 17
- Following the work week, we drive to Bolivar for another big weekend. First, the Roweton Roundup (family reunion) at the park on Saturday.
- Then, another amazingly adventurous baby shower! It was so wonderful to be surrounded by so much love from friends and family. Thank you to all the wonderful women who hosted and attended and are already loving Baby boy so much!
WEEK 32
July 18 – 24
- Is it just me, or is my hair looking awesome? I didn’t mention it before, but my fingernails are also amazinggg (for me). As a lifelong nail biter, my nails have always been weak. But now they’re so much stronger and longer!
- I can actually see my Baby’s movements in my belly.
WEEK 33
July 25 – July 31
- The 33rd was a veryyyy long week. Aaron and I came down with COVID, so we spent a few days in bed watching movies and sleeping…telling ourselves it was good practice for the early newborn days.
- Baby was still running small at our last ultrasound and I’d been advised to bulk up on the protein…ME…a cattle farmer’s daughter. How dare they. Though in truth, I haven’t had much of an appetite since my belly started growing, so started eating like a Hobbit. My daily “meal plan” was something like this…
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with protein powder and peanut butter, then coffee with half a FairLife protein drink as creamer
- Second Breakfast: 3 eggs (in whatever form I could stand to eat them: burrito, tacos, frittata, on toast, scrambled, hard-boiled)
- Elevenses: Tuna or chicken or salmon salad sandwich
- Luncheon: 2 beef jerky sticks and 2 cheese chunks
- Afternoon Tea: Protein muffin and apple with peanut butter OR peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk
- Dinner: Whatever our usual dinner for the day was
- Dessert (though Hobbits also have a “Supper”): FairLife protein drink
WEEK 34
August 1 – 7
- Things are starting to get more uncomfortable, so I’m doing whatever work I can from bed. Ooooh how terrible 🙂
- I’ve also cut back on my long morning walk and we’re just doing a short walk after dinner. It certainly helps with the indigestion of eating and eating and eating.
- We start “The Impending Baby To-Do List”…
- Finish/put away on-going projects (erhm, Aaron)
- Finish the nursery
- Send thank you cards
- Sneak in a date night
- Make pre-registration appointment
- Make birth plan
- Meal prep
- Sterilize everything
- Register for Texas license plates (that’s on everyone’s before baby to-do list, right?)
- Install car seat
- Pack hospital bag
WEEK 35
August 8 – 14
- Baby’s weight percentile is up, so a full menu is…back on the menu!
- Oh hello, leg cramps. A late-night scroll on Reddit informs me magnesium will do the trick and it certainly does. It’s also a helps with sleep on the occasions I’m feeling restless or my mind is spinning in the middle of the night.
WEEK 36
August 15 – 21
- My belly isn’t BIG, but it’s big enough to get in the way these days. My belly button hasn’t quite popped out though…just kind of weirdly folded over.
- Baby moves like a wild man. He seems to have found the position he’ll maintain for the rest of the pregnancy: head down (so far down), back along my right side, butt up and little feetsies kicking at my left side.
WEEK 37
August 22 – 28
- Baby’s weight is holding, but as he’s still on the smaller side, so we’re scheduled for an induction at 39 weeks. It’s strange to have a countdown, but Aaron’s project procrastination is usually eased with a firm deadline.
- The 37th week is probably the most uncomfortable so far. Even 38 and 39 don’t seem as rough as all the discomfort of 37 weeks: hot flashes, pressure, a sharp pain in my sternum one night, Braxton-Hicks, heart burn, sleepless nights.
WEEK 38
August 29 – September 4
- Like I said, the symptoms have decreased significantly this week, which is fortunate!
- I’m sleeping much better, but my dreams are strange and vivid. That’s actually my whole strategy for getting to sleep after middle-of-the-night bathroom wakings: When I wake up, I keep the dream on my mind to keep it from wandering. Then when I lay back down, I dive back into the dream before I can start worrying about the many, many things I am worried about, lol.
WEEK 39
September 5 – 11
- As is to be expected, my anxiety was off the charts this week. I would have thought that knowing when I was going in to be induced would have helped eliminate some of the uncertainty of the whole experience…but it really did not. I think it just made me more scared and worried about all the other things that would be out of my control…for the rest of my life.
- We FINALLY decided on a name. After months of discussion, the impending induction was the ~forcing function~ we needed to final decide.
- At 8:00 p.m. on September 11, we made our way into the hospital to be induced…about 20 hours later, our baby boy was screaming on my chest.