32 Weeks

32 week belly

Probably as many have seen me around the store as have not, but in case you haven’t, here is what I’m looking like these days – in the last weeks of my third pregnancy.

I had planned to chronicle this, my last pregnancy, week by week, detail by detail, but life has literally passed before me with a lot of decisions to be made and a lot of preparations to make in order to accommodate a new baby into our lives.

The first trimester was the longest, with persistent nausea, fatigue and hunger. I can’t really complain, Smith’s Bakery and Fred’s Whet Cafe probably experienced higher than average sales as a result of my hunger. Have you ever eaten a slice of Smith’s Bakery Pizza? Do you realize how large they are? Now, I was eating two of these per day. HUNGRY. Nausea for me is never that bad, and in fact has lessened with each pregnancy, but there were days that it just wouldn’t leave me, which made those particular days long, especially with two other children to care for.

With the thirteenth week came energy – I was super woman, able to take on just about anything, and made good use of the time and energy I had. And just like that, the twenty-eighth week rolled around, and Scotian shook his head, lamenting I needed to ‘hang up my cape and crown’. I’m slowing down appreciably, wanting to be asleep by 7:30 pm. All in all, I feel good, this pregnancy has been easy…and when it’s easy, it is also easy to focus on other things, which is why I haven’t documented this pregnancy at all.

As per usual I’ve gained a significant amount of weight – 40 pounds and counting – everywhere. I’m not too concerned, but just before I found out I was pregnant I had began running, lost ten pounds and really enjoying it. In fact, I ran right up until about the third month, when it just got the better of me.

I’ve been taking better care of myself – just look at this team of professionals:

• a doula
• a naturopathic doctor
• an osteopath
• a family doctor
• an obstetrician
• a chiropractor

Which also perhaps helps to explain my lack of pregnancy-related complaints, of which I had FAR more last time(s). I also discovered the Tres Tria co-sleeping pillow, which has worked wonders to relieve the aching pain in my hips at night. This pillow is so comfortable and will come in very handy when the baby comes – we will be co-sleeping if for no other reason that there is no space left in our current home for a crib, and we’re not ready to move just yet! Good to have a barrier so the baby doesn’t roll out of bed, and our son likes to crawl in with us in the middle of the night, so it will help create a barrier between siblings.

I have been on the search for a good nursing bra for the store, and on Melissa’s recommendation I’m trying out some bras that have enough support for pregnancy and room to grow for breastfeeding. So far, I’m very impressed and hope to have them in the store very soon!

I’ve also been devouring books at an alarming rate. I have read lots of pregnancy books, so this time I am moving on to parenting books. I just re-read You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, which has reminded me of the calm, Waldorf approach to parenting that I try to incorporate into our daily lives. It’s a fantastic book that begins at conception and birth to age 6, perfect for the spread of my children!

I’ve been working on Christiane Northrup’s Mother Daughter Wisdom since the store opened in 2009. It’s a long one, and I’m still not finished, but it is truly fascinating and has helped me understand my own mother, our relationship, and my daughter. It’s a great read!

There are several more books still to come, though my time is starting to run out.

I also feel a burst of creative energy while I’m pregnant – part of me knows it will be a while before I get back to my own creative pursuits and part of me feels propelled by the energy of creating a new person. It’s a fantastic time.

You’re probably wondering about diapers? This baby will be cloth diapered from birth, I have a bag of newborn diapers packed for the hospital. After three children my stash varies considerably, but I’ve got:

• Sugar Peas Size 1
• Prefolds
• AMP Duo diapers with hemp flats (to be used with a bikini twist fold and a Snappi)
• FuzziBunz
• bumGenius
• Mother Ease Air Flow Covers
• Super Whisper Wraps
• Aristocrats Wool Covers

All in all I’ve probably got about 36-40 diapers. While I normally recommend a minimum of 24 for a newborn, given that I have two other children and have collected a lot of these over the years (I have bought a lot of new though, who can resist?), I’m happy to be able to stretch my diaper laundry a little further!

Don’t even get me started on baby carriers, that’s another post for another day, but I am really, really looking forward to a new ring sling, which is my personal favourite newborn carrier!