The Big Three!

Today I am officially halfway-ish through my third trimester! It is crazy how fast these last few weeks have flown by. I feel like as soon as I hit 30 weeks, time has just been racing! It’s funny because during my first and second tri’s I was like “okay, lets just stay pregnant forever and never go through labor and birth”…but now I am like “okay, lets just get this over with asap”. I am so excited to meet baby Hadleigh Jean, although these recent ultrasound pictures have me feeling like I know her already. I am still getting frequent ultrasounds to measure her growth (because of that weird hormone level I talked about during the first trimester). So far she is measuring slightly small (30th percentile) but the doc said everything looks perfect! And honestly, I wouldn’t mind having a baby on the smaller side. Obviously judging by the size of Brendan and I, she wasn’t meant to be a 9-pounder.

There are a few things I wanted to talk about now that I am in the third trimester. By the way, I know you This Is Us fans appreciate my title choice 🙂 As time goes by, I am obviously getting more uncomfortable, and every day tasks are becoming more of a struggle. In my nurse residency class, we are always asked to write down the things that are “saving our lives right now” pertaining to being a new nurse. Well I thought it’d be a good idea to make a pregnancy version of this and share with you how I am getting through my last trimester!

Food. This sounds cliche coming from a pregnant person. Obviously I love having the excuse of eating donuts and pizza more than I should…(I deserve it right?!) But actually, more than eating carbs, I have been obsessed with cooking. I love having days off because I can dedicate time to prepping a unique gourmet meal that is good for me, baby and of course my husband. If you follow me on snapchat, then you know what I’m talking about. I have been saving a lot of my recipes and taking pictures so that I can post my favorites on here. I will probably post one tomorrow! Some of the recent favorites I have made are sweet potato lasagna, baked salmon over spaghetti and broccoli in a rose/cream sauce, stuffed acorn squash with apple chicken sausage, apples and caramelized onions, and of course my old favorite – baked Greek chicken. Now I usually don’t just wake up in the morning and come up with these random recipes. I get most of my inspiration from good ole’ Pinterest. BUT, I never repeat exact instructions or ingredients from a recipe. I always like to incorporate different ingredients to make it my own. Plus I’m more of a “lets wing it” type person and I don’t have the patience to sit there and read recipe directions word for word. Anyways, I dont know, I have just found that cooking helps me relax and during a time when you don’t feel that amazing, it’s nice doing the things that you love and are good at. Plus, who doesn’t love getting a million compliments on their cooking from their husbands? Guess I’m just old fashion that way 🙂
YouTube. This is so random lol. But I have recently discovered youtube “vlogging” and oh my gosh, I love it. Anywhere from beauty vloggers, exercise routines, pregnancy/lifestyle vloggers, mom vloggers. I just can’t get enough. I’m more of a visual person, so I love getting advice that I can see on how to exercise during pregnancy, food ideas, product reviews, make-up tutorials (thanks Lauren Delaney), etc. Since I don’t have many mommy friends, this has helped a lot. And I don’t get out that much these days, so I like to watch other people get glamed up!
Exercise. So, I started really exercising during my freshmen year of college. Ever since then, I have been working out and trying to stay in somewhat decent shape. I am by no means a gym guru. I don’t do crossfit, zumba or the orange theory, I barely lift weights (I prefer machines), and I definitely don’t workout everyday. Since being pregnant, I have tried to maintain a routine where I go at least 2-3 times a week, and it honestly ends up mostly being 2 times..it’s getting hard ya’ll! But I have read a lot about how exercise during pregnancy makes for an easier delivery and bounce-back after delivery and who wouldn’t want that?! My typical pregnancy gym routine consists of 30 minutes on the elliptical, and then 20 minutes on machines (focusing on either arms or legs), and then I call it a day. Recently, I have found some good youtube pregnancy workout videos, which I will post below. Going to the gym is nice when you want to get out of the house, but the constant pregnancy stares are starting to weird me out. So when I feel like sweating it up in my own house, I now have some great resources to do so. Also, during our birthing class, we got to sit on a stability ball and learn some stretches while our SO’s massaged our back with this 4-pronged massaging tool….needless to say I was obsessed. So guess what I got for my birthday? That lovely ball and massage thingy. There are some good stretches and simple exercises you can do while pregnant on the stability ball. As my pregnancy progresses, and since my job is physically demanding, I have gotten pretty awful sciatic pain and restless legs at night. Yoga and stretching definitely helps alleviate the tension I’ve gained while carrying around this growing baby!
Bubble sitz baths. Now if only my bathtub had some jets in it! 😉 I was taking baths a couple times a month during the first 2 trimesters. But since my pregnancy and stomach size has amp’d up quite a bit, I am trying to take at least 1/2 baths a week. I use the Dr. Teal’s Epsom Salt Soothe & Sleep with Lavender and also a lavender bubble bath soap I get from target. I find it really helps relax my muscles and any tension in my spine and hips. And also helps me get comfortable in bed before sleep, since this is a huge struggle these days. Pregnant mamas….try it!
Husband. Obviouslyyyyyyy. This is something I write every time I am in nurse residency. I’m really not trying to brag (but I am), and I know I go on and on about this…BUT…seriously guys. I don’t know what I would do without this dude. Lets just say my back pain would be a lot worse. He gives me a back massage just about every night for a solid 20-30 minutes. He cooks me dinner when I work. Cleans. Continues to change the kitty litter. Listens to me rant about work. Lets me complain about my aches and pains. And tells me I look beautiful when I’m convinced I am getting fat and ugly. Oh, and he encourages me to eat cookies. What else could a pregnant girl ask for? Now, this does NOT mean I don’t ever want to rip his face off, and usually for no good reason. Sometimes these hormones just take over and it can be scary, especially for him lol. Anyways, like I’ve already said a million times on this blog…I have the best hubs.
Kittens. Last, but not least, my precious and annoying kittens. I love them to death. They are super cuddly and friendly and they can be pretty hilarious. But they also know how to test my patience! We have been training them to be outdoor/indoor cats, and its definitely working…last weekend I had a mental breakdown when we couldn’t find Ash. We went to the movies one night and decided to let them stay outside while we were gone. When we got back, Knox was right at the porch waiting but Ash was nowhere to be found. This is unusual because Ash normally doesn’t like being outside as much as Knox. Anyway, we couldn’t find him all night and all through the next morning. I was convinced a coyote snatched him or someone let him inside their home. He had a collar on but not his tags. He finally decided to come back that afternoon. We are almost positive someone kept him overnight because it had been raining for hours and he was completely dry. I was so devastated when he was missing, not only because of hormones but because those of you who know me know that I have the WORST luck with cats. They always go missing, get sick or I have to give them away. I’m super glad he’s back though because these two kitty brothers need each other! And baby Hadleigh wants 2 kitty brothers too!

So, those are the main things keeping me sane during this trimester. We are getting super excited/anxious! The nursery is almost finished! We will be making a post about some DIY projects and nursery decor that we have been working on once it’s all complete. Probably after the baby shower next weekend! I will be trying to post more often in these next few weeks since life is starting to get a bit more exciting!