Week 34
My Baby is the size of a: Butternut Squash (and feeling like it)
My weight: 70kg – I was unlucky to be incredibly sick for the first 4 months but lucky to not have put any weight on so far… win win, lose win?? 
Cravings: Birth 
Symptoms: PGP, SPD, reflux, fatigue

I’ve been feeling: Increasingly desperate to give birth, I’ve come to appreciate and be grateful for the immense difference between not enjoying pregnancy and still being incredibly grateful and excited about meeting my new small human. I was feeling guilty for not appreciating and enjoying being pregnant the way I did the first time but have since realised that this pregnancy has been so far from easy and so far from enjoyable like my last, that I don’t need to enjoy something so difficult to still feel grateful for my baby and feel all the love towards her that I do. 

My partner has been: So great, really taking my share of the parenting for our toddler and encouraging me to rest, take care of myself and has been really empathetic towards pains and feelings that are foreign to him, ie hip pain and feeling HUGE.

I’m most nervous about: How to juggle a two year old and a newborn through everyday activities, who gets out of the car first? Who goes to bed first? How do you food shop with a toddler and a newborn?? 

This week I learned: Heart palpitations can be a normal side effect of pregnancy, they’re reasonably unsettling but normal because of the increased blood volume particularly in your third trimester.

Something I need to get done is: I’ve been Simone Anderson level organised this time so I think I have everything covered this week, besides packing the car. 

The most surprising thing about being pregnant: How different each pregnancy is for the same person, this pregnancy is absolutely nothing like my last, they’re both girls too. 

How I’m going with diet, exercise, sleep, stress and other health goals: Pregnancy insomnia is kicking in good. Exercise consists of running after a two year old and physio for pain management.

If I could say anything to my baby right now it would be: I absolutely love and adore you, I can’t wait to meet you, can’t wait for you to show us how much extra love we’re capable of and I can’t wait to see you and your sister together.

If after reading this you’d be happy to share your own experience of pregnancy, please email me at hello@shesaidyes.co.nz to send you one of these pages (or you can send a photo of your own pregnancy journal).