Hello!! As I near the end of my pregnancy (I hit 35 weeks on Monday!), I wanted to switch things up on the blog a bit and dive into a little more detail in my pregnancy recaps because I feel like so much is happening and changing and I don’t want to forget it. Also, I’ve been referencing my weekly pregnancy recaps from my pregnancy with Chase like crazy lately and am beginning to miss sharing so much about this exciting time, especially now that we’re so close to our due date and everything is starting to hit me and feel so real. Our baby is due in just over 30 days and it feels like the clock is really ticking! Rather than the monthly pregnancy recaps I’ve been sharing, I’m planning to share bi-weekly updates up until delivery.
Here are my past updates from this pregnancy if you’re just catching up:
- A Miracle On The Way
- The First and Second Trimester (So Far)
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 20-23
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 24-27
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 28-31
- What I’m Going To Pack In My Hospital Bag
And you may also check out all of my weekly pregnancy updates from my first pregnancy on the Pregnancy page of this blog.
Also, I know I’ve said this time and time again on this blog, but if you are not in a place where reading about pregnancy is good for your heart, I get it and I am sending you so much love. I don’t want to be the source of heartache for any of you and encourage you to please skip the blog posts you need to skip, take a break from this blog if you need a break and take care of yourself.
Baby Updates
(34 Week Baby Bump)
At 34 weeks, baby is the size of a butternut squash and typically weighs in at around 4 pounds 7 ounces.
At my 32-week prenatal appointment with a maternal and fetal medicine specialist, the doctor estimated our little one is already up to 4 pounds 12 ounces and I’m measuring a bit ahead. I am so curious about the size of our baby right now because my belly growth, belly shape and weight gain all vary quite a bit from my pregnancy with Chase. I’m definitely bigger all around and my belly shape is more of a high basketball as opposed to a long, low belly.
Weight Gained
Currently hovering around 27-30 pounds which is 5-8 pounds more than I weighed at this point with Chase.
Workouts
(33 Week Bump!)
Workouts are a bit all over the place right now as I am just really trying to listen to my body. On days when I feel tired or more nauseated than usual in the mornings, I’ll take a rest day or just go for a walk. This seems to happen three or four days a week right now so I’m making it to the gym or doing a workout at home the other three or four days. You may see what a full week of workouts looked like for me at 33 weeks pregnant in this post: Weekly Workouts: 33 Weeks Pregnant. Favorite workouts continue to include modified Burn Boot Camp workouts (I am skipping most cardio and plyometric days) and circuit-style strength training. I’ve also found a handful of YouTube workout videos that range anywhere from 10-20 minutes that I am loving lately for my random at home workouts! The Tone It Up Bikini Arms Workout is one of my favs for a quick arm burner.
Symptoms
Nausea. Ooph! It’s back with a vengeance right now and I find myself feeling nauseated more often than not in the mornings. Most times I’m able to get ahead of it by eating something immediately upon waking, but 3-4 days a week it will linger through the early afternoon no matter what or how often I eat.
I’ve also noticed that as my belly gets bigger, the shortness of breath I began experiencing a few weeks ago is increasing like crazy! The smallest things will leave me feeling ridiculously winded right now like walking up a very small hill or a flight of stairs… or even simply bending over to pick something up! The belly is a force – I still remember thinking it should be way squishier and more malleable during my first pregnancy – and it definitely fights back when I bend over or squat down these days.
I feel like every day I don’t experience severe sacroiliac or sciatic joint pain, I count my blessings because that was, without a doubt, the most frustrating and painful symptom I experienced in my first pregnancy. I am so grateful it happened before I had a toddler to chase around because I’m not sure what I would do if I couldn’t walk without feeling a stabbing pain in my butt and lower back. I am experiencing minor lower back pain on my right side – more like a quick stab of pain if I stand up after I’ve been sitting or laying down for an extended period of time – but it usually happens at the end of the day and stretching and massaging the spot helps a lot.
I’m also still experiencing occasional calf and foot cramps but introducing Natural Calm into my nightly routine seems to have made a difference and helped decrease their frequency.
Food Aversions
Nothing is really too off-putting to me at the moment, but sometimes when I eat a lot of vegetables or a salad, I’ll feel almost repulsed after the meal is over. I can eat it and it tastes good while I eat, but thinking back about what I ate will occasionally make me feel pukey. So strange! I also tend to be much hungrier in the mornings and afternoons and feel almost indifferent toward food around dinnertime. Smaller evening meals are my friend.
Food Cravings
(34-Week Belly Bump Snack Shelf!)
Fruit, especially watermelon, bananas and citrus, chocolate (<—this often feels like a NEED more than a want) and cereal. I’m also eating a lot of oatmeal, random slices of bread, avocado, yogurt and cottage cheese.
Sleep
Oh sleep, you are a tricky beast. Sleep is on and off and extremely unpredictable around here. I’ve struggled with pregnancy-related insomnia a lot this time around and sometimes it totally kicks my butt (I cannot fall asleep until 3 a.m.) and other nights I’ll fall asleep quickly but wake up for hours and hours in the middle of the night. And then, inevitably, I’ll be blessed with a night or two of decent sleep and it will be AMAZINGGG and I want to wake up high-fiving everyone around me. I also wake up constantly in the night to pee (we’re talking five times at least) but I’ve been that way for months.
I am still 100 percent in love with my Snoogle and don’t know what I’d do without it from a comfort standpoint. I am hugged up on that monstrosity ALL night long!
Any Baby/Pregnancy Related Purchases?
I still haven’t bought much of anything this pregnancy! I am grateful for the sprinkles my aunt and my girlfriends hosted for our little one so I feel pretty good to go on the diaper and wipes front but I need to take some time to stock up on post-delivery self care essentials (Tucks Witch Hazel Pads, Perineal Irrigation Bottle, Dermoplast Pain Relieving Spray, Extra Heavy Pads, etc.).
I’d love to get a jump start on setting up our baby’s nursery but know that our baby will be sleeping in our room with us for months so I’m having a hard time feeling particularly motivated. Ryan moved all of our home gym stuff out of the room that will be our baby’s nursery and into the garage so now that the room is an empty space/diaper staging area, I am feeling the itch to begin decorating but want to know our baby’s sex before going all out!
And these aren’t necessarily brand new purchases, but I’ve been getting a lot of wear out of the following bump-friendly clothing over the course of the past few weeks:
- Flounce Sleeve Wrap Dress (I have this in pink and a dusty blue color and wore it to my baby sprinkle and on a date night with Ryan! It’s not maternity but accommodates the bump well. I ordered a size up from my pre-pregnancy size.)
- Lululemon Align Pant (I will sing the praises of these pants for eternity! I now have two pairs and wash them immediately after wearing because I don’t want to ever be without a clean pair right now. I have them in my pre-pregnancy size and they are stretchy enough to work well over my belly!)
- ASOS Maternity Romper (I wasn’t sure this purchase would be a hit but I love it! Great for dressing up with a funky bralette – you can see it here on a recent date night – or throwing on over a bathing suit for a comfy cover-up.)
- Victoria’s Secret V-Neck Tee (A pregnancy fav from my first pregnancy! I have this tee in FIVE colors. I just sized up two sizes from my pre-pregnancy size and it works great with the belly and postpartum for a relaxed fit v-neck tee!)
- ASOS Maternity Cold Shoulder Top (Love the feminine look of this top that doesn’t scream “maaaternity!!!”)
Belly Button In or Out?
My belly button is definitely out right now but not overly noticeable through clothing.
Boy or Girl Thoughts and Name Ideas
We’re all beginning to get hone in on whether we think we’re having a boy or a girl right now and it’s SO much fun! I am seriously loving every second of not knowing and this truly shocks me because I never thought I’d want to be surprised in a million years. Right now, Chase and I are pretty much the only two people who think I’m having a boy. Ryan, the vast majority of our friends and our families are all convinced we’re having a girl. I will just have to laugh if we end up having a girl and Chase and I are the only two people who thought boy. And no, Chase hasn’t wavered on his thoughts on the baby’s sex even one time. He tells everyone I’m having a boy with such certainty and I’m pretty sure that if we end up having a girl we’ll just tell him “the baby is here!” and break the news that it’s a girl slooowly… Haha!
As far as names go, we’re still pretty clueless. Ah! There is one boy name Ryan and I both love and agree on but there are a few things holding us back from committing to it, namely because it makes us think of a certain television show character. (I’ll definitely fill you in on the name later whether we use it or not!) When it comes to a girl name, we have a couple we like but nothing finite just yet. And, truthfully, I could see us veering from our current list of frontrunners completely… Clearly we are ALL over the place with names right now.
Feeling…
I’m beginning to find myself spending more and more time thinking about birth. I was almost always measuring behind with Chase and he was such a little peanut when he was born, so I’m curious what it will be like to birth a bigger baby since my labor with Chase was so fast and relatively easy. I’m hoping the fact that this will be my second delivery will work in my favor and really hope my body remembers what to do because the whole childbirth part of having a baby still admittedly freaks me out a bit! I’m 10,000 times better with needles and medical things than I was before I became pregnant with Chase but I still get queasy relatively easy and feel like a bit of a baby myself about the whole thing. Thankfully there’s no better motivation going into labor than knowing I’ll finally be able to meet the baby I already love so much! I am SO ridiculously excited for that moment!!
Another thing I’m feeling is a lot of mixed emotions surrounding my final few weeks of one-on-one time with Chase.
I wrote a lot more about these feelings on this Instagram post and it was so, so helpful to hear from so many of you who have been there and experienced the same rollercoaster of emotions before welcoming your second baby into the world. I’m hoping to plan a few special Mom and Chase dates where we do something unique and fun together before our baby arrives and hope to continue to really focus on soaking up every moment of special time with my firstborn before it becomes more challenging to give him undivided attention.
Also, I cannot help but wonder how my relationship with Ryan will change once a second child enters the picture.
With Chase, it was relatively easy for both of us to hang out with our tiny baby and spend time together when Chase was sleeping on the weekends but I know that won’t be possible when when we have a baby and an energetic toddler in the mix who needs attention and activity. I LOVE our family time and know things will evolve naturally but it’s hard not to picture chaotic bed times and one of us handling one child while the other handles the other child and limited time to really be together in an intentional way. I’d absolutely LOVE to hear thoughts from those of you who have been through this before… How did your relationship change with two kids in the mix? Was there anything you did to make the transition easier? I remember communication becoming even more pivotal after Chase was born and telling Ryan what I need from him rather than just hoping he’ll know or figure it out was crucial.
The post PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 32-34 appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.
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