I can’t believe I’m already 32 weeks into this pregnancy! Dishing on everything 3rd trimester as we prepare to welcome our sweet baby girl so soon!

I’m going to dive right in with everything that’s going on with a this sweet baby and this pregnancy so far. I can’t believe I’m already into my 3rd trimester, and in the single-digits of weeks left until I get to hold my baby girl!

Baby essentials. 

I love being helpful to first-time moms when it comes to registering. Check out this post: Baby Registry Essentials List. This isn’t my first rodeo people. I have had 8 years and 4 kids (almost 5) to determine what baby items we love.

In this post I discuss why we chose certain items, and whether or not they might be right for you! I took an entire year to write it after we had Mara, and I just refreshed it during this pregnancy so it can be helpful to you!

Postpartum Talk. 

I’m already starting to think about the postpartum season. I’m feeling a little nervous about hitting the “reset” button (more on that later) and reading this post on thriving postpartum was really helpful!

Glucose Test

I just wanted to be a voice of calm and let you all know that the 1-hour glucose test really isn’t bat at all. Sure the drink tastes like flat orange soda, but that’s really not so terrible either! LOL!

My doctor has her patients take it right before the 28 week appointment. So I head to the lab, drink it, go to my appointment and then they do a blood draw. I always take it fasted (so I schedule my appointments as early as I can), although she always tells me that isn’t necessary.

I just can’t imagine that eating a big breakfast (which I usually do), wouldn’t effect my blood sugar. And I’ll do just about anything to avoid having to get poked with needles for 3 hours lol! My test came back great (as it always has)!

Symptoms

Sickness. 

Well well well, my nausea came back full-force at around 26 weeks. I throw up about every other morning, and, as Ritch would say, it’s delightful. (Sense the thick sarcasm lol)! This is a new thing for me, to be sick so late in pregnancy. But it really isn’t so bad.

Movement. 

This little girl is moving a lot, and the entire family has had the chance to feel her at this point. Honestly though, I usually get to dinnertime and have to think long and hard about whether or not I felt her move that day.

We don’t have a lot of “down time” in the day. With homeschool and feeding four kids, plus trying to keep the house clean, grocery shop, run a business, etc. it’s rare that we ever just sit down (which is when I feel the baby move the most). So I usually spend some time relaxing after Ritch gets home from work and focus on being aware of her movements.

Baby Belly 

With all of my pregnancies I feel like 30 weeks was when everything really popped. I look like I could have this baby any day! Naomi loves to remind me of it, and says, “I know why your belly is so fat mom, the baby is pushing and pushing on it.” I tell her she’s absolutely right, and that just means that she’s growing healthy and strong!

I do feel like I’m carrying this baby differently than my others. I notice my maternity tank tops creeping up on my belly a lot, which I guess means I’m carrying her lower? I don’t know I’m never a great judge of that! But it definitely feels different!

Swelling

I’m still not willing to risk putting on my normal wedding ring at this point. So I wear a fake one all the time (my finger feels naked without some sort of ring)! Other than my fingers, the only other part of me that is swollen is one that I don’t care to name here. LOL!

Aversions

With the return of the nausea, my general distaste for food also came back. It’s not as bad as it was in the beginning, but I never really “feel” like eating much of anything.

Cravings

I’m loving salty cheesy foods, and other non-sweet food items the most. I’ve also been craving these brownies, and am still crushing on tropical sour patch kids (who even am I)?

Exercise

I am still walking and doing workout videos. I can’t seem go get my booty to the gym even though it’s freezing, because that would mean I’d have to wake up even earlier and I just loveee my warm cozy bed so much. But I will probably go back soon since it’s supposed to snow a lot and get super cold!

My other kids

Having four sweet kids put their hands on my belly at the same time to try to feel this baby girl move might just be my favorite thing ever. I love how excited they all are (and Mara just does it to go along with the rest of the crew) about having another baby sister.

I literally teared up the other night while they were all trying to feel her move. It’s incredible to me how much she is loved already. I watch my kids dote over Mara, and this baby girl will get the same amount of affection +1 (if Mara gets on board with not being the baby any more…which we aren’t sure will happen).

Bethany is still the most excited. It will be fun having an 8 year old when this baby is born. She is so excited about helping and all the responsibility she will have as the oldest sibling.

My thoughts

In case you didn’t know, I am a bit of a worst-case-scenario person. And when I’m pregnant I have the craziest dreams and thoughts. The most common dream is that the world is ending and Ritch is trying to save all of us from wildly scary scenarios.

This pregnancy I have been so fearful of dying during or shortly after giving birth. My doctor reassures me at every visit that the best predictor of your health after giving birth is your past, and I have been blessed with four beautiful and healthy labors and deliveries.

However the struggle to trust the Lord and lay that fear down is REAL. It gets harder with each pregnancy because I have more kids at home who need their momma, and who I want to be around to raise and love.

I also struggle with believing my baby will be born healthy. I have had friends go through the pain of still births and I am not sure I am strong enough to get through something like that. So I have to lay all these fears down at the feet of the Lord daily, and rest in the fact that he brought this sweet baby girl into our lives for a reason, and embrace whatever it may be (all the while hoping and believing it will be wonderful). 

Hitting the “reset” button

Ritch often refers to having a newborn as “hitting the reset button.” We go from four fairly self-sufficient kids to adding one who needs me 24/7! I love it, but it’s also taxing and a huge shift for our family!

I’m feeling a little more nervous this time around to start at square one than I have been in the past. Thankfully there will be lots of little helping hands who will be eager to pitch in when their little sister is born.

I have been trying to get ahead in homeschool {read, no Christmas break in this house lol}, so that we can take a little break after she is born. I’ve also been trying to get ahead with content for the blog and many other things. I just have to remind myself that it’s ok to not get things done. When this baby is born life will pause and it will be wonderful and we will cherish every minute!

Do you want to have more kids? 

I don’t know is the real answer right now. I feel so grateful and blessed with our five healthy babies, that I don’t feel like we’re lacking in the kid department! 😉 However, if God were to appear to me in a vision and say, “Your 6th baby will be a boy” then I’d have another without hesitation. However, there are no guarantees, and Ritch and I both agree we would never have another baby unless we’d be excited about both genders, and really felt like it was what the Lord wanted for us.

So for now we’re going to assume we’ll be content with our 5 kids, but won’t take any permanent measures to ensure another doesn’t come along. Ritch jokes that if we did get pregnant again it’d likely be with twin girls….I’d laugh so hard if that actually happened!

Wearing

Not much has changed in this department. I basically live in big sweaters and leggings. But that’s not really any different than my winter attire when I am not pregnant! I did have to break down and order two new pairs of maternity leggings, because my only two pairs both had holes in them lol! I keep it pretty basic and just ordered these maternity leggings (because they’re the ones I had before).

Since it’s likely this will be my last pregnancy, I haven’t purchased any maternity clothes other than those leggings. And I see those as something I can pass on to my other mommy friends who are still having babies after this baby girl is born! Photo below, me every day, leggings and that sweater in like 5 different colors. 😉

Well that’s all she wrote (I think)! Please let me know below if you have any questions I didn’t address in this post!

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