Hi friends! It’s been a bit since I’ve showed my belly around here, so I figured it’s time to pop in with an update! I’m officially in my third trimester (hip hip!) and the realness of our new family member is definitely setting in. I can’t wait to meet him!!! It’s amazing feeling his movements, wondering what he’ll look like, what his personality will be like, WHO he is and who he will become! It’s a magical time in that way, there is so much anticipation and excitement. There’s so much goodness to look forward to, sometimes I wish time would just fly by! But then I try to remind myself of the sweetness that is in this time, and to just stay present and enjoy it. Inner battles commence.
I have friends who LOVE being pregnant, and I envy them. And I have friends who truly suffer through pregnancy, and I feel lucky that I’m not in the same boat. I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I was so exhausted for the first 5 months of my pregnancy, but for some reason I didn’t even realize that I was extra tired from the pregnancy, it just felt like my new (non-functional) normal. It wasn’t until the fog started to lift that I even realized I’d been in one. I also had a difficult time with my digestion, but that eventually sorted itself out with the help of the GAPS diet and more so my letting go of needing to eat perfectly for the baby (I think the stress of trying to eat perfectly was actually causing my digestion to go off kilter, which is a reminder of how powerful our minds can be!)
For the past couple of months I’ve had my energy back but a slew of other pregnancy side effects- allergies and leg cramps being the worst of them. Those are the worst because they keep me from sleeping through the night and have caused more bouts of insomnia than I’d care to think about, but in the big scheme of things I know it’s not even that bad. Women are my heroes for what we go through to keep humanity going!
It’s been an adjustment gaining weight and watching my body transform into one I barely recognize. There’s nothing that can prepare you for it. I feel enormous and since most days I can’t be bothered to put makeup on or do my hair, I feel frumpy on top of it. But Lou tells me how beautiful he thinks I look and I try my hardest to see myself through his eyes. I managed to do both hair and makeup for these photos, just for the record (VICTORY!) I realized in doing so how much better I felt about myself so I’m going to make my best effort to get myself together a bit more often. I see photos of glamorous pregnant women all over the media and I wonder if I’m missing something. It feels hard enough to take care of everything I need to (work, exercise, eating right, maintaining relationships, midwife appointments, getting much needed rest, etc), adding a glamour routine into the mix doesn’t seem possible. Pregnant mamas that appear to be doing it all, HOW???!? Tell me your secrets!!! I suppose this is a precursor for what’s to come once baby boy arrives and I start feeling like other moms have it more together than I do, which I imagine is a common feeling in this world where social media gives us these peeks into each other’s lives. There are so many moms I admire who seem to be juggling everything so well, I wonder if I will be able to do it too?
More random pregnancy musings and details below, if you’re interested! xx- Sarah
The strangest pregnancy side effect I’ve experienced is that I no longer need to wash my hair. Has anyone else experienced this? I can go for more days than I’ll even admit without so much as getting my bangs wet and still- no grease, so odor, no real difference from my 2 day old hair. IT’S CRAZY AWESOME!
I had cravings during my first trimester, but they stopped and food is just food again. I kind of miss the intensity of my passion for eats during the first trimester. HA!
Our midwife checks my weight at our monthly appointments but I haven’t looked the entire time- I thought it might cause undue stress to think about numbers on a scale EVEN THOUGH I totally believe those numbers are dumb. In spite of this I kind of can’t wait to see my records (after baby arrives). I have a feeling I’m gaining more than the recommended amount but I also think the recommended amount seems so arbitrary since we’re all so different and our babies are all so different. It will be interesting to look over everything after the fact and see how things went!
Speaking of size, Lou’s mom swears he was a 12 pound baby. This terrifies me.
I’ve been taking an at home hypnobabies course to prepare for the birth. The positive pregnancy affirmations are my favorite. Has anyone else done hypnobabies??
I didn’t wear nail polish for my entire first and second trimester in an effort to keep my system as free and clear from chemicals as possible (I also avoided almost all beauty products that aren’t 100% natural). When I painted my nails this past week, I felt like a new person!!!! Sometimes it really is the little things….
We’re telling our friends and family the name we picked out at our baby shower on Saturday! In the beginning we bounced name ideas around with friends but that proved to make things difficult for us, as opinions or random comments turned us against names we had formerly loved. At that point we started keeping quiet about potential names and when we landed on the one we ultimately chose I became very protective of it! Can’t wait to share soon!!! PS- did anyone else struggle with coming up with boy names? We were all set with a bunch of girl names but had such a hard time picking a name for our boy. If we had another I don’t know what we would do. I’m totally out of ideas and there was really only this one name that stuck with us!
I’ve felt a tremendous shift already in our priorities with the impending weight of parenthood and what that means for our family and future. It is crazy how big an impact on your life having a baby is- and he’s not even here yet. We are reevaluating everything- where we live, how we live, what our hopes and dreams for the future are. It’s a whole new world.
My hair was hair was the same way! Now I feel like it gets dirty instantly haha You look radiant!
OH NO!!!! So it’s not a permanent life change?! I have been praying it would be! Seems like it would be a semi-fair trade for the downsides of pregnancy. ha!
You look super beautiful!
Thank you Lisa!!!! <3
I did hynobabies with my first baby and then just refreshed my memory with my second. I loooved listening to the affirmations while pregnant and often wished I could find the same type of thing for regular life! As for a big baby, my husband also was enormous at birth, but my first baby was 7lb 11oz (normal!) and second was 9lb 9 oz (big!!). I had them both naturally and thought I just didn’t remember the pushing process that well when going through it with the second. I was shocked when they weighed her as I really put no stock in the measurements as they called my first baby big in utero and she was not. Surprise! This one was, but it made no difference beyond some additional discomfort at the end of my pregnancy. Hope this helps you to feel a little better about it!
That does make me feel better, thank you Tiffany! I can imagine the “additional discomfort” could be a bit intense, I’m already struggling a bit given my size. Yikes!!! But it’s so temporary, I keep reminding myself of that!
Congrats on your two healthy births, so happy to hear that you liked hypnobabies!!! XX
You look amazing, Sarah! Congratulations and big hugs 🙂
xo Laura
Thank you Laura!!! XX
I am just a week ahead of you at 29 weeks and we are struggling so much with our second girl name. We had a long list of boys names we were fully ready to use. This will be our second girl and the first time around I knew what her name would right away and thankfully my husband agreed :). We went with Vivian Clementine. Care to share any of your girl names from your list? We are running out of time…
You look fabulous by the way and I whole heartedly feel you with the mental struggle that is the weight gain that should happen but feels oh so wrong. Good idea not to look at the numbers, I wish I had done that!
Oh fun Maritza we’re having babies so close together!!! I love the name Vivian Clementine!
Here are some of the girl names we had written down: Mirla, Maisie, Edie, Stevi, Piper, Paola.
Good luck with the naming, it’s not easy and I feel your struggle!!!! <3
Pregnancy hair is the BEST. Mine got so thick and luscious it was positively wonderful. Happy to hear all is well (you look wonderful!) and fear not, we had a short list of names and didn’t settle on one until he was born — the nurse asked his name and we were all, uhhhh. HA! Many congrats to you mama, this time is so so special.
Mable is my most favorite girl name…and since we’re having our second boy, and then that’s it, feel free to use it 🙂
Thanks!
Oh thank you so much Marcia! I love the idea of waiting with a short list and if we could have come up with more than one that’s probably what we would have done!
I’m 30 weeks pregnant right now (also with a boy!) and have really enjoyed reading your posts. I appreciate your honesty in sharing that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows (the backaches! the hormones!), but I ultimately feel very blessed and agree with you that feeling those baby moves are the BEST and make it all worth it.
I’ve really struggled with the body changes and the weight, too. At first I was religious about tracking everything I was eating and making sure my weight gain was in check…which led to an ultimate (hormone-induced) breakdown. I’ve since stopped thinking so much and looking at the scale and feel soooo much better. I figure as long as my midwives tell me my weight is healthy, I’ll be fine with that.
Also, super weird, but my leg hair has basically stopped growing! I think I’ve shaved my legs once in the past two months. A fortunate pregnancy side-effect (I’ll take it!). Anyway, keep up the great work growing that little boy of yours! Looking forward to hearing the name you chose. 🙂 xoxo, Kayla
I love it Kayla, how fun we’re going through this together!!! I think it’s so great that you stepped back and are trusting yourself, your body and your midwives. Horray for being a healthy pregnant mama and not having to shave your legs!!!! So happy for you!!!! <3
Sarah- you’re looking beautiful!
I tried the comparison game for a while with my first baby, but in the end I realised that when friends saw me and commented on how amazing I was looking, how I seemed to have it all together and when people commented on how I looked so great in photos (when I was feeling so far from beauftiful or hot myself) that they were feeling just the same about me as I was about images I’d seen of others and compared myself to. I didn’t see those other mums when they were changing their babies outfit for the 4th time that day after another poop explosion, which then somehow ended up in their hair and required the bathing of not only the baby but themselves… and all the other beautiful parenting moments- when all they can think is “How does everyone but me know how to do this?” You just see the edited life they choose to show you, shot from just the right angle, put through a million filters… Don’t buy into it. You’re already a great mum, we can tell by the food and lifestyle choices you’ve been making as you carry the precious little dude.
You got this.
Thank you Janette! Your comment made me tear up at the end, thank you so so much!!!! <3 Such great reminders and so needed. I really appreciate it!!! XX
I am 12 weeks, also with a boy, and it is so fun to get to read your posts! Thanks so much about being honest about the negative sides of pregnancy! I too feel in so much envy of women who seem to just beam through their pregnancy; like you, I have been having a tough time. I have really bad morning sickness, and oddly eating almost constantly is one of the few things that makes me feel better. So in addition to feeling sick all the time, I have gained a lot of weight, really fast, which makes me feel even weirder. Pregnancy is such a weird process, it feels way weirder than I had expected! Everyone talks about it being so natural, but honestly it just feels weird and foreign! Big hugs and love to you, and you do look beautiful!!
Morgan I was the same way during the beginning and I just ate constantly. I made sure that most of the time WHAT I was eating was at least healthy, even if it felt like more than I would normally think would be a “normal” amount. Trust your body, and don’t worry about the weight. Your body knows what to do, and it’s working very hard to grow you a healthy beautiful baby!!! It’s totally weird and totally amazing and everything in between. Hang in there mama, it will be so worth it in the end and you will feel like yourself again one day! Hugs and love right back at you.xx
Pregnancy hair is the best! Mine got so thick and gorgeous, but then around three months postpartum when my hormones started re-balancing, it started to fall out by the handful, which I found out it totally normal. Now I have these random baby hairs all around my face which is super (not) cute. Also, it’s amazing how getting dressed up and putting on makeup makes you feel like a completely different person. I remember right after my daughter was born, taking showers was the most luxurious thing ever, not only because I got some relaxing alone time, but because it just made me feel so much better afterward. You look amazing and I look forward to more updates. Enjoy your baby shower!
Thank you so much Christina!!! Oh I’m secretly excited for the hair falling out part! Is that weird?! ha! I just feel like I’m a bit weighed down with all of mine at the moment so a thinning out sounds kind of lovely! But maybe it’s the heat…. 😉 AND, I love the baby hairs!!!!
I have a feeling I will feel exactly the same about showers, that they’re a coveted luxury. 🙂
More soon!! xx
no need to worry, you are totally a glamours pregnant woman! congratulations on your little bundle!
Thank you Jana!!! You are so sweet to write that. 🙂 xx
Preach! I’m 28 weeks too, having our second boy. Yes to the hair and mine has stayed this way since my first was born (I wash it every third day…usually). I did go through the loosing mass amounts of hair post birth (you honestly wonder how you have any left at some point) but the need to not wash it so often is the perk.
And I too have to will myself to see my body image through my husband’s eyes. I wish I felt like that sexy pregnant woman but it’s difficult. I just keep to some basic dresses I know look good. And having been through it once before, I keep reminding myself that all is fleeting and temporary and I will feel myself and fit into my pre-preggers clothes before I know it. We just have to be kind to ourselves- which I know is difficult at times (my last dressing room lighting/mirror experience was a depressing one). Prenatal yoga has helped me so much during both pregnancies, equally physically and mentally.
Good luck in the home stretch! (We actually met at margaux’s shower years ago. Wishing you all the best and know you are a beautiful, chic pregnant woman!) xo
OMG that is great news that there’s hope that I can stay on this infrequent washing train forever!!! How fun that we met at Margs’ shower! She’ll be here on Saturday for mine and I can’t wait to give her a squeeze. 🙂
And oh gawd dressing rooms and that lighting that shows every spot of cellulite and DO WE REALLY NEED TO SEE OURSELVES FROM BEHIND EVER?! hahaha!
Thank you so much for the sweet note!!! Hang in there mama, we’re almost to the finish line!!! 🙂
You look adorable and you DO NOT look like your gaining more weight than your suppose to!I know what you mean though! I’m 31 weeks today with our first boy too 🙂 Stepping on that scale is the WORST! I feel like my butt it getting huge! But we’re suppose to have child bearing hips right 😉 I feel the same about how big the impact of this little guy and he’s not even here yet! But it’s the most exciting (and scary) thing I’ve ever been through and I can’t wait! I can’t wait to see your little guy too, congratulations!!
You look great! I wish you all the best in the remainder of your pregnancy <3
Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
I think we are due about the same time, my little boy is coming 5th November. I know what you mean about being in the middle, I have peaks and troughs of loving being pregnant and then just seeing it as my job to look after this little thing. I am starting to get super uncomfortable (and it’s going to get so much worse) and am now really excited to meet my little bean!
You are looking amazing though, really rocking pregnancy!
Georgina Clarke – UK Pregnancy Blog
hi Sarah – YES! I totally get the hair thing! I’m down to twice a week now from every other day.. and it really feels so much healthier for it! Hopefully we’ll be the lucky ones and hang onto this trait! xx
Shit. I hadn’t realised that the not having to wash your hair thing was related to pregnancy. I just thought I’d had a really good cut. Haha. I read about thicker hair, but was a little bummed since I haven’t really experienced that. But, apparently I am having hair benefits! Yay! 26 weeks here and also having a, really active, boy. Boys names are the hardest! We’ve settled on one, but feeling kind of guilty that it isn’t particularly special, and the fact it was ‘just a name from the list’ that stuck, but we didn’t really have a ‘ooh this would be good’ feeling when we put it on the list… Good luck with the last trimester!!
Used Hypnobabies with my third! It was wonderful…kept me so relaxed and focused! You look gorgeous, and these last weeks will go by faster than you think. Best of luck!
Thanks for being so honest. You look amazing, Sarah! I loved pregnancy hair too. Thick and clean 🙂 Mine fell out a lot after…which is sorta weird! It’s all normal though. I’m so excited for all that is to come for you! Babies change everything…it’s a rollercoaster of emotions, but you and Lou will be great parents. My son is 2.5 now — and all the changes these last few years have been incredible. Now he says, “Mama, I love you too.” My HEART melts!!!