Weeks 29-30
Just a couple weeks into my third trimester started I started to settle in and things started falling into place. Although I was 30 weeks pregnant I received a new job offer. We also continued to take birthing classes and my parents came down for a visit. We ordered a bunch of items to prep for birth.
The breast pump I got through insurance came in the mail this week. I pulled it out and realized that I have never seen/ have no idea how to use a breast pump. Not one of the books or even the breastfeeding class showed or talked about how to use a breast pump. There are alot of parts. I also didn’t realize it plugs into the wall, therefore I will have to find a place with an outlet to pump. I am going to need to YouTube something/ google assembly instructions. Every time I feel like I am more prepared, something little like this reminds me how much I still need to figure out.
Yes that’s right, I received a job offer within the same organization I was currently working at and accepted. I will transfer with 4 weeks notice meaning I start my new role 34 weeks pregnant. Luckily I work for a company that is extremely fair and values me knowing that when I come back from maternity leave it will be worth it to have me on the team. This role change was not an easy decision as I have always been career focused and constantly love to challenge myself to grow. I decided to take a ‘step back’ for the opportunity to work remote, and have more bandwidth to focus on being a present mom. My current role was about 50 minute drive one way, and I needed to be in person every day, even during the pandemic. Not only was the drive time consuming, it also consumed my mind. Every time I would work out, walk, shower, etc… I would think about what I could do differently to help ‘fix’ the hospital I was working with. An opportunity came up to go back to being an analyst, which I know I can be successful. This also allows me to write a to do list, knock it out and leave work at work. It is extremely difficult to make a decision based on anticipated wants and feelings. After all, I do not actually know what its like to be a mom yet. I keep reassuring myself that this is not a step back, it is a realignment in priorities. I do wonder what my new role has planned to do with me for 5 weeks before I am due. If nothing else, this time will be a blessing to clear my mind of the stressors that haunted me at work and really focus on me, Joe and preparing for baby B.
Not all birthing classes are created equal. All of them are informative, but some are technical, anatomy, advice, hospital policy, what to expect, and some are just reassuring. Here is a link to some classes I watched on YouTube before I started taking the hospitals recommended classes. I was given this link by a fellow mom friend. I found this to be more helpful than the hospitals virtual classes. It was a good balance of anatomy, understanding why things work and what to do. In comparison the hospital’s pain management class they talked about epidurals, spinal taps, Tylenol, and protocols around them such as how far along you need to be before administers, and that it might be 45 min from when you want the epidural that its administered, and that then you will not be able to walk, and you will need a catheter etc. Although I fully anticipate wanting an epidural, this was really the only birthing prep class that went over techniques to mitigate pain at home. All the birthing classes recommend laboring at home for a while before coming in based on the timing of contractions so, it is helpful to know things to try naturally at home to reduce pain. Now this you tube course did not cover all the topics that the Hospitals many courses had, but I found it to be the perfect level of detail, tips and tricks, and explanations that I was hoping for.
Weight: 157 lb. Yes, I lost weight loss. I was up to 162 at the end of week 29 and then in week 30, in 3 days, I dropped 4 pounds. I did end up messaging my MD just to doublecheck everything was ok. Even though I lost weight, you can tell my stomach was still growing. I took this minor weight loss way too seriously and changed a couple of my regular habits to try to gain weight back. This was surreal as I had never in my life wanted to gain weight before.
Symptoms: These 2 weeks I really didn’t notice my GERD much at all it almost seemed to have gone away.
Acne -still a struggle
*Warning- the next two symptoms might be TMI so if your my dad, skip down to workouts*
Swamp crotch – this I had not read about in any book but when I googled it, it made sense. When sitting down at work I would find that my bottom would become super sweaty. I guess this is possibly caused by an increased blood flow to that area? When I told my husband he said that happens to men athletes and they sometimes put baby powder in their undies. I did this and it helped so, if this happens to you, try baby powder.
High Libido – I want to be as real and honest as to what I went through as I can, therefore, this is making it onto the symptoms list. It may have been because I was watching Netflix’s Bridgerton, but I was constantly heated. I don’t think there was a time in my life that I have ever felt like this. I was like 😉 lets go Joe!
Workouts: I biked four times in week 29 but week 30 I decided to hold off biking due to the weight loss. I would have probably been fine, but I figured take it easy and stick to night walks with Zoey.
Food: I was back to eating normally, in comparison to the last couple weeks when I devoured my lunch by 10 am. Smoothie in the morning, something healthy for lunch(Veggie Stir fry w/ cauli rice), a quick snack at 3pm(Apple and PB) and then dinner (Burgers, Tacos, chicken and veggies) by 5:30 just in case that GERD came back. I let up a little on my dinners and was letting more carbs into my diet than previously. These were small changes like adding cheese, having taco shells instead of lettuce wraps etc.
Doctors Visits: I did not have an appointment but I did end up messaging my doctor about the weight loss. After I had last it, it didn’t seem to come back so by Friday I sent a message to doublecheck. They responded within 15 minutes! They said it can be normal as long as I don’t continue loosing. They also asked that I monitor baby movements, once a day, lay on my left side and make sure I feel 10 movements within an hour. The Apps – BabyCenter, Ovia Pregnancy, Pregnancy, and Pregnancy+ all of have a tool to help count/time your kicks. The Bump and what to expect when expecting did not have this tool.
Money Spent: We were still working through the list our friends helped us put together.
Baby Detergent – This way we could wash the sheets, clothes and blankets prior to Baby B’s arrival. Baby’s have sensitive skin so we went ahead and got this to prep the baby room.
Rectal Thermometer – Our mom friends told us that when you call the doctor worried about the baby the first thing they will ask is for a rectal temp, so you might as well get an infant rectal thermometer.
Women’s Depends – I may not actually need these but I figured if I was really uncomfortable when I come home, I would rather have them and not make a special trip to the store for them the first couple days home.
Sleep: I went back to sleeping pretty well. I did wake up about 2 times each night to go to the bathroom but no night GERD or hip discomfort. Because my tummy was getting so big, I did need to start wedging my pregnancy pillow under my bump to prop it up. It would get to heavy and kink my back sleeping on my side.
Our To Do List:
- Focus on staying healthy
- Get through my last couple weeks at my old job.
- Look up how to use and configure a breast pump. – This is not in any book or birthing class so far.
