I’m in my eighth month of pregnancy! That sounds like I’m almost done, but technically there are 10 months of pregnancy, not nine. Two more months seems like a long time to go, but when I think about it in the context of how many more carefree, childless weekends we have left — only seven, as I write this, if the baby arrives on her due date — it sounds like hardly any time at all!
I don’t really trust my pregnancy app to be accurate about our baby’s size and weight, since we know she’s a bit bigger than average, but it says she measures about 18 inches long and weighs about 4 pounds. Remember, a doctor estimated she weighed 4.3 pounds last week based on ultrasound measurements. Keep packing on those pounds, kiddo!
I’m feeling her dance around quite a bit multiple times a day, which keeps me happy and anxiety-free. She seems especially active after I eat anything, whereas earlier I usually only felt her reacting to sweet foods. I can also easily see my belly move anytime she moves, which never fails to amaze me.
I felt extra-tired this week and failed to exercise at all except for one three-mile walk on Saturday. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so I shed my sweatshirt pretty quickly and proceeded to get multiple comments from people about my belly!
This was surprising because I’ve worn a puffy coat outside for the majority of the time I’ve been really showing, and I can count on one hand the number of comments I’ve gotten from complete strangers. Once I was just wearing a t-shirt, it was pretty clear people were not afraid to say something about it.
Luckily I still feel comfortable in my body at the moment, so comments like, “You’re about to pop!” and, “Twins?” don’t bother me. Yes, I got both of those, back to back, from one guy. He clearly didn’t get the memo about what not to say to a pregnant woman — or any woman!
I definitely look a lot more pregnant than I feel for the most part, which is a good thing, but that’s another reason why the comments surprise me — I often forget how big my belly is and looks to other people. Sometimes a certain outfit or angle in the mirror makes me go, “WHOA,” like this one:
It’s only going to get warmer, and I’m only going to get bigger, so I’ll just prepare myself for even more comments over the next several weeks — although I won’t be afraid to speak up if anyone is downright rude! But I believe most people only have good intentions with what they say, even if it doesn’t quite come out the right way.
As far as baby prep goes, Aaron and I are now registered for a hospital tour at the end of March (when I’m 35 weeks along) and an infant safety and CPR class that our doctor recommended in mid-April (when I’m 38 weeks along). I waited a little too long to register for the safety class, since there was only one left with open spots before our baby’s due date, so hopefully she doesn’t arrive before then!
We asked our doc if she recommended any birth classes, and she said she thinks they’re useful if you’re looking to have a specific type of birth experience or if you want to ease your anxiety about giving birth, but otherwise, no. This probably sounds silly, but I feel like I’ve read enough birth stories to know in general what to expect, and to know that I should also expect the unexpected. I’m actually not anxious about giving birth (yet) and feel prepared to roll with whatever happens. I trust our doctor and other professionals to help guide us when the time comes, and Aaron feels the same way.
My breast pump arrived and is safely tucked away in a closet until that exciting time when I need to use it. I also don’t dare to open the package until our insurance claim is approved and we’re reimbursed for it, because it is freakin’ expensive! I wound up choosing the Medela Pump in Style with On the Go Tote, thanks in part to recommendations from many of you.
Now, on to the nursery. It’s pretty much finished! Just add baby.
The final piece of art arrived this week, which is the custom name sign over the crib. We ordered it on Etsy and are really happy with how it turned out! It’s made of wood and feels surprisingly lightweight, but I’m still terrified about it (and Kermit) falling into the crib in the event of an earthquake. The next step will be reinforcing these pieces so they absolutely won’t budge.
We also hung our IKEA spice-racks-turned-bookshelves and loooove them!
Aaron took on this project, inspired by this blog post, by staining and finishing these $4 spice racks to match the dark wood of the nursery furniture. We love how the shelves fill this random space between the two closets and turn our little book collection into art!
Despite having no definitive color scheme or theme (besides “a baby’s room”), we love how the nursery turned out. It’s pretty gender-neutral and feels clean and bright — especially when it’s warm out and we can have the windows open, like this past weekend! It’s hard to see in this photo, but there’s a beautiful cherry tree in full bloom just outside the window, too.
If you’re wondering what’s along the fourth wall, remember we’re still using this room as an office!
This is an old photo — I’ve since cleaned out those plastic drawers of all the crap I’ve hoarded for years (like birthday cards from 1996) and moved it down to the garage for Aaron to use for tools or bike parts or something. The lamp has moved to the side table next to the glider, and the printer is now on the desk. A diaper pail and laundry hamper now live where the plastic drawers used to.
I can hardly remember what the room even looked like before, but here’s a photo from when we got the crib — our very first piece of nursery furniture — when I was only 14 weeks along:
We’ve come so far! And by “we” I mean the room, the baby, and me. 🙂
Now that the nursery is complete, the things we have left to do before the baby arrives are not as exciting:
– TAXES. Ugh.
– Have our car seat inspected. Aaron has installed the car seat we’ll use to take the baby home from the hospital, but we’ll have it checked by a professional to make sure it’s all good. Here is a list of people and places that perform car-seat inspections in Washington state.
– I need to roll over my 401(k) from my previous job into my new plan. It took me two years to do this after my last job change, and I want to get this one done before the baby comes so I have fewer excuses to put it off.
– I need to order a new passport with my married name. My passport is the only thing I haven’t updated, and I kept putting it off since I had no plans for international travel. Now I have a bachelorette party in Vancouver, B.C., on the books for Labor Day weekend, so I need to start this process to make sure I have it ready in time. (This will likely also be my first weekend away from the baby — eek!)
That’s all for week 32! We have another doctor appointment tomorrow, so next week’s post will have an official update on how the baby is doing if we get any interesting info. Typically these appointments are quick, as the doctor just checks my weight, belly size, and baby’s heartbeat, plus asks if we have any questions. Uneventful appointments are a good thing. 🙂
Until then!
Dev on Running 