Enjoying the last weeks of pregnancy « Back to Group Discussions

[nelson]

This is my 2nd baby and my last :(  I am do at the end of Sept. so I probably have a few more weeks than many of you, but although I am beginning to get more uncomfortable, I really want to enjoy being pregnant for the last time, (I think I mostly have, I really do love being pregnant).  But I need some reminders of things that you can only do or get away with while you are pregnant that you are unable to do other times in you life, and any other general thoughts on how to really enjoy this last part. 

Some examples I can think of are:

• reg. back massages from DH (I need to remember to ask for more of these because they will probably stop as soon as baby arrives)

• feeling baby roll around inside of you

• eating many more desserts than usual

• strangers give up seats for you and typically let you use the bathroom first

[Carson]

No, wow, I totally know what you mean. This is my 2nd and last also. I spent the first third in denial, the second dealing with a death in the family, and with 6w to go, I'm really wishing I could find joy through the intense back pain and discomforts.

One thing for me is I want to take pics, because there's a reason behind the bump, pics with DS cuddling my belly like he does, with DH supporting me like he does, and by myself, just feeling very much womanly and voluptuous.

[judybean]

Too funny! Late last night I was thinking of starting a thread like this too!

This isn't necessarily my last pregnancy (odds are that it's not, but you never know).... but even with that, I've felt this is a very *special* pregnancy because this is my rainbow baby. I have never taken any of the kicks, the hiccups, the rolls, the alien movements, the seizure-like shimmies, etc, for granted because I've experienced how fleeting it all can be. I've really done all I can to embrace this growing, life-holding belly and body, I've tried to feed it properly, to move it when I can, and just love the heck out of my ever-shifting shape. And honestly, I *do* love my pregnant body. I'm probably more comfortable in my large, round, life-encapsulating body than I am in my "normal" or just-me-alone body. I wear more form-fitting clothes for sure! And I really do have a pretty stellar maternity wardrobe. I've made sure of that even with just a few cute, key pieces.

I cannot say enough how much I love in utero hiccups. They're a gentle, rhythmic reassurance of this baby's life-- growing and getting ready for the outside-of-the-womb experience with this life.

[calpurnia7]

I was thinking about this a little bit yesterday... here are some of the things I'm savoring:

• Resting whenever I want (more or less): it's rejuvenating and a great time to connect with the baby
• Taking warm baths, something I usually don't treat myself to
• Having DH all to myself for a few sweet more weeks
• Feeling the baby move around, and imagining a sweet, increasingly chubby little body in my tummy
• How nice people are to me
• Not having to commit to things I don't feel like committing to (since we're being honest)
• How delicious the foods I crave taste: cobb or chef salad (we use pasteurized feta instead of blue cheese), fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, buttered grainy toast, and hot sandwiches are at the top of the list
• Sleeping late on the weekends

[MadiMamacita]

I am mostly there with you feeling the love. I am hoping to do a surrogate pregnancy or two in the future so hopefully this wont be my last time pregnant but it will probably be MY last baby. Even through the uncomfortable last weeks I truly enjoy pregnancy as a whole. We tend to get a little complainy towards the end so its nice to read a thread like this

[nelson]

Originally Posted by judybean 

I've felt this is a very *special* pregnancy because this is my rainbow baby. I have never taken any of the kicks, the hiccups, the rolls, the alien movements, the seizure-like shimmies, etc, for granted because I've experienced how fleeting it all can be. I've really done all I can to embrace this growing, life-holding belly and body, I've tried to feed it properly, to move it when I can, and just love the heck out of my ever-shifting shape. And honestly, I *do* love my pregnant body. I'm probably more comfortable in my large, round, life-encapsulating body than I am in my "normal" or just-me-alone body. I wear more form-fitting clothes for sure! And I really do have a pretty stellar maternity wardrobe. I've made sure of that even with just a few cute, key pieces.
I cannot say enough how much I love in utero hiccups. They're a gentle, rhythmic reassurance of this baby's life-- growing and getting ready for the outside-of-the-womb experience with this life.

  This is our rainbow baby as well, so I even tried to "enjoy" the first trimester feelings of nausea because at least I knew baby was healthy.  I also really love how my body looks pregnant.  I am not too curvy normally and pregnancy makes me feel very womanly and confident. 

[Yeeska]

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is a Rainbow Baby?

To add:

-I love how I look in a bathing suit

-I love how freaked out people get. I don't know why that amuses me, but when they hear when I'm due and think I'm nuts, when they hear this is my fourth baby, when they hear that I plan to have a natural birth at home... I just love challenging people's ideas about things because they so often look shocked because I seemed so reasonable before. lol

-I love the nesting energy. I've never been so up on housework and may not be again for a very long time

-I love the excuse to shop

-I love having a legit excuse to talk birth with people all the time

-I love getting to go to LLL meetings again, especially as a pregnant mom

-I love feeling tough and strong

-I enjoy putting off worrying about my weight

-I love not minding people thinking I'm pregnant (because it happens all the time when I'm not, too)

And, can I just say, I love my new rack. I don't generally have very big boobs, so I'm kinda diggin on the low cut tops and such, especially now when they're still mine.

[MadiMamacita]

Originally Posted by Yeeska 

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is a Rainbow Baby?

It is the baby conceived after a loss

[Monkey Keeper]

THANK YOU for this thread!  I have been trying oh so hard to embrace this last trimester because I am 99.99999% sure this is our last. But it has been HARD. Reading what everyone is loving about this time is helping my attitude!

[ColoradoMama626]

I have been struggling to enjoy these last weeks, I am so uncomfortable, but these are  rainbow babies for us as well. In fact, I plan on naming our daughter Iris which means rainbow. I have just had a resurgence of fear of loss that has arisen this last week and that with my physically pain has me spiraling down into depression so I appreciate this thread to maybe help me focus on the positive not the negatives and fear my mind and body are producing.

I love

all the ice cream I have eaten, yum yum

Watching television which I usuallly never have time to do but have found it a great distraction when daddy can take our daughter out.

All the day dreaming about the babies  - i love imagining my arms around to babies kissing and loving their little toes

Preparing the house for them, I love projects like that

Calpurina - totally with you on the ability to not to commit to things and having a great excuse if I change my mind

People saying wow you look great even though I know a am gigantic and that's what they want to say it is nice to get all the compliments all the same

Having breasts!

Feeling them move, it is so reassuring

having doors opened for me

[wendipauline]

I too have been struggling the past few weeks. But with only two days left of this pregnancy, it's nice to focus on the positives.

+ my skin and hair are amazeballs
+ I also have time to just sit and watch tv, which means I'm keeping up with election news
+ anticipating two teeny tiny girls and wondering what they will look like
+ thinking about names was super fun
+ pretty amazed that my body which was a size 0 pre-pregnancy has grown two babies and kept them growing for 36 weeks, 3 days and counting
+ also, double D cups, yay
+ I made it this far without succumbing to any major meltdowns- a few bouts of tears here and there but I've managed to mostly keep my sh*t together
+ dreaming of nursing newborns is pretty sweet
+ the first break I've had from working full time since I was 17 years old
+ feeling them stretch and hiccup
+ knowing that I will never be pregnant again

[Princessjules]

I am also having a hard time... DS is still nursing a lot and I go through phases where I am sick of him nursing and then I just can't stop cuddling him while he nurses, crazy hormones... I get irritated very easily, but that has gotten better since the weather has started to cool off. This pg has been very overwhelming for me because DS is so young and I have times, usually when he wakes up more than usual at night, when I just start bawling cause idk what I am gonna do when the baby gets here. Most of the time it's not that bad though. The positives I try to focus on are

an incredibly supportive family on both sides (they actually jumped up and down when we told them about this pregnancy)

last days with just Jesse, soon he won't be my only baby anymore (doesn't always stop me from being irritated with him though)

last days as a relatively flexible mom who can pretty much pick up and go at a moments notice

Looking forward to the fact that soon I will not be pregnant. I enjoy being pregnant after the first tri, but I am at the point where I can't remember not being pregnant... can't wait to get into my old jeans!

I also look forward to the way those sweet little feet feel on my stomach at night while nursing... Jesse has gotten a little rough lol

Really just the whole newborn package is what I am looking forward to... They are just adorable!!

I guess the last couple are pp so they might not count but hey they help me to feel better when I am having a bad day!

[teegan db]

it's the first pregnancy, and it's been relatively easy for the most part, so i've sort of psyched myself into blocking out most of the negatives (or at least chiding myself for thinking about them).

favorite bits at present:

-feeling super happy/comfortable with my weight. i can't remember every being this satisfied with the balance of food/exercise/weight in my life! i know that it's perfectly normal to gain anywhere from 20 to 60, but the fact that i'm spot on at 25 pounds of gain makes me a lot less nervous about losing it later on, especially knowing that it's because i'm still eating pretty darn healthy and moving around a good bit at least every other day. 

-that being said, very excited about how GOOD watermelon, blueberries, iced tea, dh's pancakes, falafel, and everything else seems to be tasting. 

-baby wiggles, squirms, and nudges, and trying to picture what the little one is up to in there, not to mention feeling my belly and trying to figure out what's a foot, what's a bum, what's a thigh, etc.

-allowing myself to relax! to take a nap with the dog in the afternoon, to sit and read or watch olympics replays and knit diaper covers, knowing that it IS the best thing i can do at that moment.

-how excited all of my regulars are at work. with a very few exceptions, everyone has been supportive and encouraging from ever since i made the announcement. and these are most men at or past middle age who have very little good to say about anything.

-how much this pregnancy has led me to bond with my MIL. we've gotten along since I met her, but because my own mother isn't nearby and MIL birthed four babies and raised them, along with two step children, she has been invaluable when it comes to advice or shopping for necessities or just talking about the whole experience.

[hyde]

Sweet post. :)

Maybe my #1 thing has been how much I've been appreciating my relationship with my husband, like how everything you love about a place stands out more when you know you're going to move away soon. I mean, we'll both still be here (I hope!), but I know things will be different. He's been working tons of long hours lately but then we've been having these great long meals where we just stay at the table and talk. In the space of those meals, I see all these kind of amazing things happening- talk about the relationship and life after baby (big because he's not generally comfortable articulating emotional stuff), improving the way we communicate about other things, and even learning new things about each other, which always surprises me since we've been together for years. I know those meals are going to be harder to pull off soon so I am really savoring them, as I am the time we sometimes take weekend mornings to just read quietly together.

I love the check-ins from the baby when I'm not paying attention and she moves, especially the little feet pushing up- they've been kind of up in the arch of my ribcage rather than between ribs, so it's sweet rather than uncomfortable.

Something is changing in me that I don't quite know how to describe, but I think it is the shift into being in the world as a mother, and that's really interesting to quietly observe. I have no doubt that my actual brain is changing, but without knowing the details there, it's just kind of amazing to note this subtle yet monumental change in who and how I am taking place.

I don't know about anyone else but ice cream is not going away after the pregnancy if I have anything to do with it, so I'll leave that one off the list. ;)

[MIrandaM]

What a nice thread <3 <3

- I'm enjoying the little thrill I get when I see our boy's name written somewhere or hear someone say it.  (We haven't told anyone yet, so it's our little secret.)

- Receiving birth beads from my friends & family, with notes, and how nice the sentiments are that people have written

- Getting my house and life organized - it's feeling really good to see the tasks being crossed off the list!

- Boy's bottom-left hiccups and right side wriggles . . . he's pretty set in his position now so movements are becoming more predictable :)

- Washing and folding his clothes, organizing my cloth diaper stash, making wipe solution, etc has been like playing house or with paper dolls as a child . . . love it!
 

- Having colostrum makes me soooo happy and proud!  Not sure why, since it's a natural occurrence, but still, it thrills me.

- Melting when DH talks about our lives in the future, like how we can make our favorite weekend getaway baby friendly, and that we should go in December.  Or where he thinks we should celebrate the baby's first birthday. 

- How DH gets all lovey and nervous during MW appointments and has to be touching me at all times, like a hand on my leg, his foot touching my foot, arm around me - something.  So endearing.  He's always affectionate, but never as much as during one of our appointments :)

[ColoradoMama626]

Oh I forgot a good one,

The way my daughter kisses my belly every morning to tell the babiesgood morning. She always talks to them and it is super sweet.

[Princessjules]

Originally Posted by ColoradoMama626 

Oh I forgot a good one,

The way my daughter kisses my belly every morning to tell the babiesgood morning. She always talks to them and it is super sweet.

Aw that is so sweet! My son blows zerberts on my belly and then laughs hysterically at the noise... *sighs* boys... but I love it!

I am excited about another boy because I just think boys are hilarious!

[AnyaRose]

Originally Posted by MIrandaM 

- Having colostrum makes me soooo happy and proud!  Not sure why, since it's a natural occurrence, but still, it thrills me.

Agreed!!! You should have seen me when I saw it for the first time. I was SO thrilled. I felt like I could do anything.