35 weeks (8 months/going into my 9th month) pregnant and feeling great!
So many new symptoms the past couple of weeks, so scroll down to read all about them and my two most recent prenatal appointments.
That’s right, I am to that point where I head to the doctor every 2 weeks rather than once a month. My last 2 appointments were at 32 and 34 weeks pregnant. After my 36 week appointment coming up on the 25th of February I’ll be heading for a checkup every week!
35 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms and Updates:
-Ryder is in the head down position which I figured out before heading to my most recent appointment. I knew this from the pains I was getting in my pelvic area and thighs (read below).
-Pressure in my pelvic area.
-Shooting pain into my right inner thigh and also in my crotch. This happens most when I am on my feet or walking for an extended period of time. Also when Ryder decides to move his little head around down there I can really feel the pressure and shooting pains. OUCH! Leaves me gasping and just about holding my crotch hoping it doesn’t happen again haha. Which it normally does if I don’t get off of my feet.
-I lost part of my mucus plug. TMI? Well, it’s part of pregnancy and I’m assuming you are reading this because you are also going through your first pregnancy. The mucus plug is what closes the opening of the uterus. It can all come out at once or in pieces and mine is coming out in pieces, which is totally fine at this point in my pregnancy. The first time I noticed was when I peed the evening of 34 weeks and 3 days pregnant.
-Extreme lower back pain. And the only reason it was extreme was because I went out on my birthday and walked Target, the mall, went to my 34 week appointment, headed home and then headed back out to do a couple more hours of shopping. Ya, kind of a bad idea, I know this now! By the end of the night I had to waddle my way out of the mall, stopping every 20 steps to lean over and stretch my lower back. There was so much tightness and pressure in my back, I had never quite felt it like that before. I rested the entire next day on the couch and took a nap, finally.
-Leaky boobs. Yep, at least I know I’ll have enough colostrum for the little guy to feed on until my milk comes in after he is born.
-Swollen feet and ankles after being on them a little too long. Nothing a little rest doesn’t fix.
-Swollen fingers if I eat too much salt. I have been eating healthy for the majority of my pregnancy and especially these past 2 months after the weight gain in the second trimester haha (with the exception of a sweet here and there). But if I do eat out, even if it’s soup and salad, I can see it almost instantly in my face and fingers. So what will I be doing the rest of my pregnancy? Home cooking! I won’t even eat at anyone else’s house from here on out. No offense to family cooking, but when I cook at home I know how much salt or oils are added and it’s slim to none.
-Speaking of weight gain, at my 32 week appointment I went up 5 lbs!! A little too much for only 2 weeks. So I made sure to cut some carbs (pasta, bread, potatoes) and sweets and went back to my 34 week appointment to find out I went up only 2 more lbs, relief! So I am at a total weight gain of 27 lbs. Not too bad. According to webMD, healthy/average weight gain for 35 weeks pregnant is between 24 and 29 lbs. So I am right on track and at a healthy weight which is also what my doctor told me. Yay! My goal was 30 lbs, so we shall see.
-No stretch marks as of yet! WOO!
-My uterus is measuring right on track for the size of my body and the doctor informed me, from the looks of things, he doesn’t think I’ll be having an 8 or 9 lb baby, haha. Kind of relieved. But all is healthy with baby boy and he has a strong heart beat.
-Tons of big movement. I feel as though I have to hide my belly in public sometimes because he’ll start kicking away causing my whole stomach to move from side to side.
-Tons of braxton hicks contractions. They happen every day and sometimes I don’t get a break unless I’m sitting down. So I have been resting as much as possible since having a super tight belly can be pretty uncomfortable.
-The urge to pee when I have contractions. Also peeing more frequent just from the little guy moving around in there and not leaving much room for fluids. I am up a couple of times a night to relieve some pressure and in the mean time hoping he doesn’t wake up.
-Sleep has been decent unless he decides to wake up and have a half hour karate session.
–Cravings! Bananas, fruit smoothies (see below for my favorite smoothie), milk shakes (I know, not so good), avocado, pineapple, some sweets which I won’t deprive myself of, but do eat in moderation. A big glass of milk if I do eat a sweet snack, turkey wraps loaded with lettuce, tomato and some mayo and provolone cheese for lunch (I know you’re not really supposed to eat lunch meats, but it’s either that or a can of chef boyardee for lunch, so you decide what’s healthier).
-Dermatitis has decided to stick around. Not horrible, but it’s enough to leave me having to put some concealer on it to hide any redness when I go out.
-Heartburn
-Restless legs at night if I start to get sleepy on the couch.
-Cramping in my lower abdomen when trying to sleep, like a charlie horse, which is quite scary! If I don’t change positions real fast when I start to feel the cramping I am so scared of what it may feel like.
-So thirsty! I have been drinking so much water.
-Light menstrual cramps in my lower back and lower abdomen.
I believe that may be it. So many feelings, but then again, there is a 5lb baby in there so it only makes sense to have so many symptoms happening. Only 5 weeks to go (if he decides to stay in there that long)!
Here is my favorite smoothie recipe at the moment:
1/2 cup frozen sliced strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
1 medium ripe (spotted) banana
1/2 to 1 cup fresh spinach
Orange juice to blend into liquid (about 1 cup, depends on the blender)
As far as how I have been preparing for baby Ryder’s arrival read below:
My hospital bag is packed (blog post of what I packed will be up soon!).
Diaper bag is packed.
Car seat is ready to be installed, I won’t do it in 2 degree weather. It’s on my to do list for this week.
Bassinet, changing table, pack n play are all set up and ready to be used.
Stroller is assembled.
All his clothes are washed and organized.
I’ve been reading What to Expect the First Year and marking pages I think would be great for my husband to read as well.
Bathroom/Bedroom master suite remodel is full swing ahead with hopes that Ryder will stay in there at least a couple more weeks so we can finish it up and relax when he arrives.
Breast pump and bottles are sanitized just in case I get the go ahead to bottle feed him some breast milk, other wise I’ll be pumping and storing breast milk in the freezer if my supply is high enough.
House will be deep cleaned over the next two weeks.
The nursery will be painted and set up by 37 weeks so I don’t have to worry about that in a few months when we decide it’s a good time for him to sleep in his crib. (Already have the paint, rug, crib, changing table, clothes hangers, curtains along with some decor, etc. to set up.) It will be simple and minimal.
I have a few packages of newborn diapers ready to be used and I’ll buy the rest when I know how big he’ll be.
I am hoping to throw together some freezer meals for when he arrives because I won’t want to cook and I won’t want to be spending a ton of money on or eating a ton of takeout. So if you have any healthy recommendations on good freezer meals leave them below please!! Thanks!
Next post may be pictures of our little guy, so keep an eye out and follow me on instagram @simplymaggieblog to know when I am headed to the hospital to deliver Ryder.
4 comments
You look great, well done for looking after yourself so well. Each time I’ve had a baby (three times now) our friends have hooked up to organise a fortnight of meals for us. They get delivered daily. Which is simply amazing! I found after my first I just couldn’t make any decisions about anything so this was great. Perhaps you have a friend you could ask to organise this for you? If I lived close I would.
Failing that, how about bagging up some slow cooker meals for the freezer. Then all you have to do is defrost and throw in the slow cooker. I like meals that are packed with veg and the husband loves meat so I do all the chopping and prepping, write any tinned ingredients I need to add (chickpeas/tinned tomatoes) on the bag with permanent pen and hey presto. It’s super quick and is a great fall back. There’s loads of recipe ideas online.
Hope the birth goes well. The hope I had during labour is that, it will end. It may last quite a few hours but it will then end. And then you forget it anyway. Well, enough to do it again at least.
God Bless you, your man and your little one inside.
Thank you for the kind words, Hannah! I’ll be looking for some freezer recipes online this week. 36 weeks today! Woo!
You look amazing! I had my first baby last year (born in July) and had a great pregnancy. One advise (though, there is nothing you can really do…): be super extra careful about stretch marks at the very end. Mine appeared two weeks before the delivery just when I thought I had won the battle against them… So, whatever your ritual is to fight them, keep doing it at least twice a day till the very end (and even after)!
Take care 😉
Ps: I love your blog!
Hi Amanda!
I just wanted to leave a message for you and tell you how grate your blogg,youtube channel and instagram are! 🙂 I’ve been following you for a while and im so inpressed abbout your energy and all the beautiful things you make, food, knitting and house projects! 🙂 Im so jelous of your house, it’s mazing! Ive been really inspired by the arm knitting and i have tried for so long to get a hold on some really chunky yarn so I could try these things my self. BUT since I live in Finland and the arm knitting here is so unusual and people arent just aware of it, i havent bein able to find it ANYWERE here and it’s so sad. Now i acctually found some on ebay just yesterday and i think im gonna order some from the states instead:)
Im a mother my self and my son is now 14 months, so i eaven want to say congradulation to your’e little boy that you guys just are having! To be a parrent for the first time is just magical! 🙂 Enjoy every minute with the baby and remember to not forget eachother! 🙂
Best of luck to you!<3
Greatings, Eva from Finland 🙂