36 weeks today! We are officially 1 month out from our due date, and in the timeframe where the baby could essentially come any day. My pregnancy app even has a new button as of this week that says “my baby was born!” Whoa. We don’t think she’ll come early, and I haven’t felt any pre-contractions (Braxton Hicks) yet, but who knows. Time to just wait and see! We have our 36 week appointment with the doctor later today and they will be doing an ultrasound for the first time in many months – it will be fun to see her again, and to see if she’s already in position or not yet!
Check out my previous pregnancy posts first if you missed them:
- Sharing our big news
- 1st trimester recap/Q&A post
- Boy or girl?!
- 16 Week Pregnancy Update (all the emotions, all the carbs)
- 18 Week Pregnancy Update (all the sandwiches, not feeling the snoogle)
- 20 Week Pregnancy Update (in the sweet spot + starting to feel movement flutters!)
- 22 Week Pregnancy Update (still in the sweet spot!)
- 24 Week Pregnancy Update (emotional roller coaster)
- 26 Week Pregnancy Update (officially looking pregnant, dealing with hip/lower back pain)
- 28 Week Pregnancy Update (realizing my old bras were now wayyyyyy too small)
- Our Baby Shower!
- 30 Week Pregnancy Update (nausea is back a bit)
- 32 Week Pregnancy Update (emotional hot mess)
- Pregnancy, Body Image, and Intuitive Eating
- My Maternity Leave Plan
- 34 Week Pregnancy Update (still an emotional hot mess)
36 Week Pregnancy Update
Baby Size: Almost 6 pounds now and the size of a head of romaine lettuce!
Symptoms: Still feeling progressively more awkward and uncomfortable, but still pretty good as far as things go, which I’m grateful for! Having some mild nausea and headaches throughout the day, although not every single day which is good. I’m also starting to get some mild heartburn every once in awhile now, which I really don’t love. Thankfully it’s not every day but blech. The one upside to heartburn, though, is that then I don’t crave/miss wine at all because that would make it worse. So there’s that…
Also, putting shoes on/tying them = SO uncomfortable.
Currently Missing: Being nimble.
Sleep: It’s still really hard switching sides during the night (and I need to do that often because I wake up uncomfortable with my hips aching or a leg numb or something), but I’m sleeping a little more soundly with less constant wake ups lately, which is nice. I’ve discovered that if I sleep on my side with two pillows between my legs, and keep the bottom leg out straight (not bent under the pillows), and the top one bent on the pillows, that seems to be the most comfy right now and the least likely to make my hips ache. Whatever works!
Cravings and favorite foods: Ehhhhhh food and I are still not super good friends… most things just don’t sound good so I just have to choose something and try to eat it. As usual, carbs, dairy, and fruit are generally the safest bet. Mexican food and I have also been having a moment lately – burritos and tacos FTW.
Food aversions: Still having the hardest time with dinner – some nights I can eat normally, other nights I’m hitting the cereal or having PB&J or cheese and crackers. Chicken in particular and I are still a bit on the outs… I like shredded chicken in soups, but otherwise not feeling it.
Exercise: I continue to be REALLY grateful that my body is cool with me continuing my fun boot camp friend dates, yoga classes, walks/hikes, and swims. Yoga is feeling a little more awkward as my belly gets larger and more in the way, but I just go slowly and do my own thing when necessary. Instead of flowing through chaturanga, for example, I’ll just come into tabletop and stretch my hips side to side, then go straight to down dog. Whatever works! I have been meaning to go to another prenatal yoga class, but my regular favorite classes have just made more sense logistically/timing-wise.
My routine is still 1 to 2 boot camps per week with the girls, plus a solo yoga class and a solo swim, and then lots of walking and an occasional hike.
Sidenote – if you’re pregnant and looking for a workout tank top that will take you through the pregnancy, my #1 favorite is actually a regular (non-maternity) tank from Brooks – the Pick Up Tank. It’s really long and super stretchy – so comfortable. I bought a couple extras in one size up from my normal size and they have been awesome for workouts – they don’t ride up and show off the belly awkwardly, and wick sweat well, too. It has been hard to find maternity workout shirts/tanks so I figured I’d mention this! It’s pictured below – comes in a ton of colors.
As for tights, my favorites are still these tights (also pictured above). They are so comfortable and among the only maternity leggings I’ve found that don’t awkwardly fall down or move around a lot during a workout. The dip in back is also nice so your lower back gets a little air. 😉 I have 3 pairs of them! For these I recommend ordering either your normal pre-pregnancy size or, if you were between sizes, one size up.
Reading/Baby-Related Classes and Prep: Matt and I have been doing all sorts of baby-related classes over the past few weeks – had to get them in before it was too late! We have now done the following:
- Infant skills/care 101 class at the hospital
- Breastfeeding class (this was awesome), also at the hospital
- Infant/child CPR and choking class
- Hospital tour (good to know where to go when it’s go time now, and to have seen the rooms and everything beforehand to better visualize it all!)
We have our final class tonight on labor and delivery. It’s only a 3 hour class (vs. the ones at the hospital that were 6 or 8 hours) so we think this will be a good way to feel more prepared/understand what’s going to happen and things to look for but without being on information overload or spending one of our last free weekend days in a classroom forever.
Matt also installed our car seat this week – we are going to make an appointment with the local police department to have it checked and make sure it’s all good to go.
Question for you guys – I’m going to pack my hospital bag this weekend so it’s ready to go just in case. Besides the obvious stuff (an outfit for the baby to go home in, an outfit for me to go home in, and my toiletries) – what was the #1 most useful thing that you had with you in your hospital bag that maybe isn’t super obvious/expected? I’d love any tips you have to share for what I should bring with me besides just normal overnight bag stuff! I think I’m going to bring some chicken bone broth, coconut water, and some running gels/gummies too in the case they let me have those during labor!
Baby Room Progress: Nothing new with the baby room, but I got a notice that the bookcase we ordered is coming this week, so it will be good to get that set up! I’ll share some more pictures once it’s all finished – we need to do a little more decorating but for the most part it’s pretty good to go! And of course the baby will be in our room for awhile in a bassinet, anyway, so it’s not like it HAS to be done – but it’s still nice to feel prepared/organized and not have that waiting on the to do list. It also makes me happy to go in and see this pretty tree decal on the wall. 🙂
One thing I still need to do related to the nursery is get blackout curtains (thank you guys for the tip to pick some up) – both for the baby’s room and also for our room, since I’ve been meaning to get some for our room forever and also since the baby will be in there for awhile with us. Hopefully I can find some cute ones!
Thank you for reading and sharing in this special time with us. <3 My next update will be at 38 weeks… unless the baby comes before then!
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