30 Weeks!!

We are in the home stretch!! We have officially hit 30 weeks! This baby human is growing like crazy and loves to wiggle.

Thirty weeks is a big deal. This is the point in pregnancy when I can actually start to see the finish line. I know I still have a couple months left to go, but it seems like such a huge milestone for my mental state to see that “3” in the front of whatever number is in the second position. I think I have to mentally work myself through pregnancy even more than physically. At least at times that’s the way it is. There are plenty of times where I have to work myself through things physically, but most of the time, it’s a mental thing with me. If my brain is on the right track, my body doesn’t seem to mind so much.

I will say, exercise has helped me so much during my pregnancies. With my last baby, I was still training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at this point in my pregnancy. Not so much this time. This time, I had to stop training at 22 weeks. I couldn’t stop the morning sickness! I felt so bad going to training and doing the warmups then having to sit on the sidelines because I thought I was going to puke on someone. That was not helping anyone. I was definitely not being a good training partner. So, I stopped training at that point. And I can’t wait to go back once this little one is born! Exercise has helped my body feel better, but it has also helped me mentally to relax and destress.

On the other hand, exercise is somewhat discouraging at the moment. This is, obviously, part of the game with pregnancy, but it doesn’t matter how hard I try or how well I eat, the number on the scale just keeps going up. I know. I’m being pretty stupid with that one, but, again, it’s part of the brain game for me. I was doing so well at the beginning of my pregnancy. I actually lost weight at the beginning and, by 28 weeks, I had only gained sixteen pounds. For me, that is amazing! I usually gain close to thirty pounds by thirty weeks along. So, I should be super happy. And I am. It just always makes me a tiny bit sad when I lose sight of my feet. I have long since said goodbye to those for a while!

But, guess what?! It is completely worth it! This little baby growing inside me is such a miracle! God has blessed us with a beautiful family, and He saw fit to add another member to our family. I am beyond excited and can’t wait to finally hold this little one in my arms.

Thirty weeks also holds some pretty big milestones. At least for us it does. We are technically considered high risk due to a couple different things, but so far, nothing has come up that we have to take any extreme action with. That alone is a huge miracle to me. I have heard so many horror stories about women who have dealt with the issues that I have, and I am so thankful that God has spared us from those extremes so far. Now that we have passed the thirty-week mark, we have more options for treatment if something does decide to go wrong. I’m still hoping we can make it the full forty weeks, but, for right now, I’m taking it one day and one week at a time. As my doctor likes to say, “With high risk, every day on the inside is a good day!”

On a little side note, do any of you moms ever have issues with your glucose tests? I don’t know what it is, but I can’t seem to pass the stupid thing! I technically passed this time, but was right on the edge of the “normal” limits. But, for the last baby and now this one, instead of re-taking the nasty sugar drink tests, we have decided to just do daily finger pricks and test my blood at home. I have not had any issue with those! I don’t understand. I have not changed my eating habits at all. I still eat carbs and some sugar. I have even tried to eat badly and then take my test after that meal to see what it looks like. Nothing. Maybe it’s because that sugar drink stuff is so full of sugar that I never come close to ingesting that much with my normal eating habits?? I have no idea, but at least the doctor is happy with the at-home numbers. Anyway, sorry for the rabbit trail. I was just curious if any of you have ever had this happen to you.

Back to the actual topic. Thirty weeks. That means ten weeks to go. That means only a couple months and we will be holding our little one in our arms. The other kids are so unbelievably excited now. Maybe that has something to do with being out of school now too, but I’m just going to take it that they are excited for the baby to come.

Our two-year-old was so cute this morning. We dug out some baby stuff over the weekend. One of the things we brought to the house was the bassinet. Well, the bottom is made so that it can either be locked in place or it can rock back and forth. This morning it was set so that it could rock. I was taking it apart so that I could wash the fabric and wipe down the metal parts. Gabriel walked up and grabbed the side of it to peek in and see what I was doing. He asked if that was the baby’s bed. I told him it was. He then proceeded to rock the bassinet and start singing “Rock-a-bye baby on the treetop…” I can’t get over how cute he is! He can be such a terror, but then turn around and be the sweetest kid ever.

I was (and still am) a tiny bit nervous about how he would react to the new baby, but so far, I think it may be ok. He likes to feel my belly when the baby is kicking and he likes to talk to the baby. I’m hoping that’s a good sign! I’m hoping he’s ready to be a big brother and not hate the poor kid! I still remember when we had Abigail. Laiyla had been dead-set that we were having a boy. We didn’t know the gender before we had Abigail. Once she was born, we called Grandma to let Laiyla know that she had another sister. She was not impressed and told us to “Take it back.” The first few days were a little hairy, but we made it! I’m just hoping for a smooth transition with Gabriel. He makes me nervous!

I think most moms can relate to the fact that pregnancy (and mothering in general) is, overall, an amazing experience. And for a while, we think it can’t get any better. We love the feeling of the little (or sometimes not so little) kicks and flutters. We love knowing that we are nurturing and growing a baby human inside us. We love knowing that our lives are never going to be the same. In an instant, we go from only thinking about how to take care of ourselves to constantly thinking about another person who will be fully dependent on us. We all of a sudden become consumed with how the baby is doing and caring only for their well-being. This is another God-given instinct that He gave to mothers. God knows what moms and their babies need. God knows that a mother will always have those instincts no matter what happens.

God has blessed us beyond what we could ever deserve. And for that I am eternally grateful. God is so good!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!