Weeks 27-28
Hey trimester three, I cannot believe you are here already! During these two weeks Joe and I did the majority of our baby shopping, I had a couple awesome finds on Facebook marketplace, and we received more information on my abnormal glucose levels. We also took four online birthing courses. Even though I was not gaining weight, my body shape changed rapidly. Lastly we were also a couple weeks into the new year and I wanted to set some goals.
After the baby shower and speaking with my trusted advisee’s of mom friends I had a list of things that they found helpful and recommended. Every baby has different preferences, so it is helpful to have a variety and know that these things that helped other moms might not work for baby Berg. Joe and I did an Amazon haul. I was also able to find a high chair, I know we will not use this for a while, but it was five dollars on Facebook marketplace. We also found a pristine condition pack n play for $15 that one of our neighbors posted. When I went to pick it up, she also had a bag of books to take if I wanted them. I did take a couple to read. Joe and I washed out the new finds and set the pack n play up in our room. We are not sure if we are going to have Baby B sleep in our room or for how long. When we put up the crib, Zoey was very curious. I read someplace that to help the dog get used to having baby things around, set them up well before the baby. I like having the pack n play set up in our room as yet another reminder out to see regularly that things are about to change.
Ever since graduating with my masters and my first job, Joe constantly reminds me that there is more to life than work. Joe and I learned early on in our marriage that balance/moderation is not something I am great at. Who knew when I was younger I would find so much fulfillment and purpose working? Anyways, about 3 years ago we started making yearly goals as a way to focus and align my ambition with other things besides work. This is when I first attempted to implement a workout routine, started thinking about what I ate, read my first self development book, got really into budgeting and started to try to figure out what I liked to do for me. It seems crazy now, but literally before this my mind and actions were 99% work and school, 1% friends and family.
This year when we chatted about setting goals we both agreed that it would be tough to have fitness, financial, personal, and work goals. With the additional child expenses, my job in the air, my eating routine constantly changing, and anticipated physical limitations, we didn’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves or set ourselves up for failure. I take these goals seriously! We have pushed ourselves pretty hard the past couple years. There is a time to grow and a time to live in and be thankful for all we have accomplished. We had decided to just focus on being calm, happy and content with all the upcoming changes.
WELP! That lasted all of two weeks and I felt like I was not accomplishing enough. I set a couple little goals:
Health: Pre-baby: Move 30 min a day. Post-partum: 1 KB complete plan, 10 k Run, 100 day smoothie streak.
Work: Shut it off after 6pm.
Personal: Read 2 fun books (Not self dev or baby books)
Financial: Keep up with weekly budget even with baby.
Weight: 161lb.
Symptoms: GERD – Even though I was careful, the discomfort was back. It may be a wives tail, but I read that acid reflux can mean that the baby will have hair. The doctor did make a comment about my short torso and said the GERD may be inevitable as I just don’t have that much room in my midsection. TUMS worked great, it almost immediately relieved any acid.
Hip discomfort – At night I was laying on my side (specifically my left side to elevate the Acid reflux). I was also trying to keep my head elevated with the pillows. This lead to mild discomfort in my hips only while sleeping. It could have also just had to do with my body changing.
Acne – After being back at work, from holidays and quarantine, I returned to constantly wearing a mask. My face is continuing to break out.
Workouts: I did not keep up with the kettle bell workouts but I was still biking regularly. On the peloton app, Robin, one of the instructors is pregnant so it was fun to do classes with her. My body was changing, this was evident when riding the bike. When I pedal, my legs hit my tummy, that was now hanging over the bike seat. It just gave my ride a little more swag as it pushed me left to right a little more. It is these little realizations in my otherwise normal day that bring me back, make me pause and remember that I’m pregnant.
Food: I was feeling pretty hungry. I would ask Joe to make me eggs(3) almost every morning before work. Then at the office I often found myself eating my lunch by 10am. After a couple days I started packing smoothies again and would have those around 2pm. That ended up being good enough to last me until dinner if it was ready RIGHT when I got home from work. Otherwise Joe would make a me quick grilled cheese to tide me over so that we could enjoy a walk with Zoey before dinner.
Doctors Visits:
Due to the exposure to COVID they changed my typical visit to a virtual visit. Joe got me a blood pressure monitor on Amazon and we already had a scale. The virtual process was amazing, I highly recommend it. The nurse called on the phone to ask some screening questions like, blood pressure, weight, if I was taking medications, if I was depressed, felt safe at home, and if I needed help getting onto the Video portion. Then the provider came on to ask me a couple questions like, if I have had contractions, bleeding, or pain. She let me know I was healthy and asked if I had any questions. This time I did! I asked about my blood sugar to make sure I was on the right track managing it. She looked up my results and said they were normal. I asked “why do they have red flags on them” After a little bit of digging she realized that the lab tech entered the incorrect amount of sugar in my drink (the lab tech was clearly new to the clinic, remember the collection story?). This error changes the normal reference ranges making them look abnormal when they were actually normal. Then I asked for tips about getting ready for birth since there were not birthing classes due to COVID. The provider was a little taken back that we were not already provided information on signing up for virtual classes and sent me instructions. She mentioned that maybe no one told me about the virtual classes because on my chart it says “subsequent pregnancy”. She apologized and suggested that we try to catch up since most mothers start taking the classes a little earlier than I started. She also sent me a video of a virtual hospital tour to help us feel more comfortable with the upcoming stay.
This visit made me feel exponentially better. First of all, I figured out I actually don’t have a blood sugar issue…… GIANT relief. Second of all I have information from my provider to get me prepared. Joe and I signed up for tons of classes including: Preparing for baby, Baby Basics, Breastfeeding, Labor and delivery, Pain management, and Postpartum. The error with the blood sugar re-enforced that I need to ask questions and not feel like a burden to the providers.
Advice to pregnant women – ASK all the questions no matter how stupid, or if you think its not something they will be able to help with, or you feel like you can look it up on your own, or even if its not a question but more of a feeling… just ask/ mention it. They will most likely have answers or aides to help ease your concerns, and confirm that some of these things are normal.
Opposite Advice – I had received comments from a couple of people saying they did not read, or research or look into things and trusted the doctors would just tell us what to do when. It was almost as if those people were happy going into labor and delivery not knowing the possibilities. They almost gave off the vibe/suggestion to not to research read too much as it would just instill fear or make you disappointed that the birthing process was not happening as I planned/wanted. They pointed out you can’t really control what happens and that every birth is so different. Fearing labor will do more harm to the birthing process than not knowing every detail about what is going on. Honestly, these people might be right. After listening to a couple birth stories, there are some that are scary and did put fear and doubt in my mind. However the more birthing stories I heard the more I learned from them. The things that made me scared before, now seem somewhat “normal”. The more I listen to the more confident I feel that my own birthing experience will fall somewhere within the parameters of these experiences. Personally, I want to know my options and be able to speak to the providers and nurses intelligently, ask appropriate questions, and be able to suggest alternatives if I do not prefer their recommendation (if appropriate). For me, not knowing what is about to happen would cause me more fear and panic than knowing some of the possibilities. I did take and find this advice helpful in the following way- Be openminded and ok with whatever happens, some of it is not in your control, trust the doctors and nurses for the most peaceful and worry free experience. You know you best. Do what is right for you whether that means being informed, or going in without expectations. The most important thing is that you feel good an confident going into delivery.
Money Spent: We went over our inventory after the baby shower and started to buy the remaining things we figured we might need.
Baby Items:
Mattress: The newton mattress came highly recommended but Joe did his research and found on one Amazon we both felt comfortable with. What I think you wan to look for is a breathable mattress in case your baby rolls over to prevent suffocation. I will let you know how I this goes.
Mattress protector – I think we will end up wanting more than one, but one is good for now!
Butt Paste: Did you know Baby powder is not recommended anymore for Diaper rash? I didn’t either. They told us in one of our hospital birthing classes. My friend recommended this brand.
Hospital Prep:
Long charging cord – Recommended by everyone. I guess in the hospital there are barely any outlets and they are not in convenient spots.
Postnatal Care items:
Nursing tanks – I actually tried finding nursing bras as well and none of them fit me the way I wanted so I ended up returning them and just plan on sticking with the tanks. I looked at Kohl’s, Walmart, and Amazon, but ended up finding some I like at Target.
Disposable Undies – This was recommended by everyone. I guess the ones that they give you at the hospital are not as supportive and these ones are much better.
Nipple Cream – I do want to attempt to breastfeed. This helps reduce the chances of blisters, chapped, or bleeding nipples.
Sleep: Due to sleeping on my side, my and my body changing in general, my hips were hurting. I still slept fine.
Our To Do List:
- Continue to work through our list of things to buy to get ready for Baby B.
- Continue taking Hospital prep classes.
Did you love your OB provider? Are you the type that wants to know so that you feel confident or would you rather not know, go with the flow and have no worry? How did you know what to pack for the hospital or what supplies were needed post partum?
