Pregnancy Update: 8 Months
I am 30 weeks pregnant. Â Next week I start month 8.
Last month we went swimming at a hotel. Â I had heard that swimming is a great activity for pregnant women, but while I was in the water I didn’t feel that different. Â HA! Â That is what I thought until I actually got out! Â Oh. my. word…
I stepped out of the pool and instantly felt awful. Â The pressure. Â The strain on my back, stomach, everywhere. Â The weight of the baby was incredible. Â At that moment I realized just how strenuous it is to carry a baby, even when everything is going well. Â It was pretty depressing.
I started to beat myself up about stuff. Â This might be my last pregnancy and I want to be sure I’m truly embracing it.
- I haven’t written in a pregnancy journal.
- I don’t have any plans for awesome pregnancy photos like I did with Grace.
- I don’t even have any nice “non-professional” pregnancy photos.
- I’m not moving as much as I did with Grace since I’m not working full-time.
- I should be stretching, walking, talking to the baby more, getting foot rubs, and a handful of other stuff!
Is this just the difference in first pregnancies vs. subsequent pregnancies???
5 Random Pregnancy Tid-Bits:
1. Â Gender –Â The envelope with the ultra-sound guess is still sealed and sitting on the kitchen counter.
2.  Names – We are no closer to naming this little one.  Just this week someone told me not to use a certain boy name that happens to be near the top of my list.  She had no idea.  Won’t that be awkward if we end up picking that name!?  haha!
3. Â Healthy –Â I had a doctor appointment on Monday and everything looks really good. Â I passed my gestational diabetes test and my iron levels look good.
4. Â Weight –Â I don’t like getting on the scale each month. Â I’m guessing I’ll gain more with this baby than I did with Grace, but my midwives aren’t concerned at all. Â At one appointment a midwife told me to keep doing what I was doing as far as my weight gain. Â Still, it is mentally hard to see those numbers rising.
5. Â Getting Ready – I have about 46 things left to do on my Insane Goals list before the baby comes and only 10 weeks to finish it all! Â Eek! Â I’ll give an update in my next progress report for the Insane Goals Monthly Link-Up on March 1st.
Overall, I am very lucky. Â My health has been good and all my pregnancy woes are minor. Â Hopefully, I will start taking care of some of those things I’ve been feeling bad about. Â Perhaps I’ll start tonight by requesting a foot rub!
I totally undertand about wanting to embrace and treasure everything about pregnancy #2 as much as #1. Honestly though, you will have to let go of that—it doesn’t end when the baby arrives. There is a LONG list of things that Macy didn’t get that Owen did (books read, songs sung, playtime and on and on and on). We strive for the ultimate but realize that life doesn’t turn out that way all the time. Yes I read to my daughter and sing to her and play with her but……. Make the most of what you can an accept that it may not be the “most” you had in mind.
You are right that it can be a slippery slope when moms thinks about all the things they wish they could do with their kids. Sometimes blogs, Facebook, and Pinterest make all those “I wish I could…” feelings worse!
Pro or no-pro photos- you look GREAT! I think the blogging you do about your pregnancy is way better (and probably way more) than the journaling a lot of moms-to-be do!! Your kids are very lucky!
I am looking forward to when I can enjoy another pregnancy, but I have the same thoughts (fears?) as you as far as it being a lot different from the first…
I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well and baby #2 is all that you hope for!
Thank you, Jen! You made a great point that I’ve been BLOGGING about this pregnancy even if I haven’t been writing in my journal. The other day I went though my old Facebook status updates and copied pregnancy related ones into my journal. Maybe I don’t need to feel so bad after all. 🙂
Every pregnancy is different, just like every child you have will be different. I think you’re doing a great job of documenting your pregnancy on your blog. You can see a progression of photos of your belly. They may not professional looking but you’re going to be able to look back and remember.