The next few weeks of my pregnancy were somehow the busiest. I way overbooked myself the month of July and although I got through it, I should have rested a little more. Time flew by and it’s almost the end. I can’t believe there is a human growing inside of me. Each week it gets more real that one day this baby is going to come out!

35 Weeks

My mom came into town and will be here for the next couple of months. I am so excited to have her here! We stayed up all night talking after she flew in. We left the next morning on a road trip to visit my aunts. The nine and a half hour drive went by surprisingly fast. I only had to stop and pee two times!! I swear doing pelvic floor therapy has helped my bladder so much. We arrived in Sisseton, SD at dinner time. I have so many memories in this town. My Aunt June made us dinner while we all caught up. As a kid, I would visit her every summer and now it has been three years!

I had to do some work before bed and was exhausted! With my insomnia lately and the long drive, I could barely keep my eyes open. I was nervous to sleep in another bed without my pregnancy pillow. On Vito’s and my baby moon, I didn’t sleep well at all. I passed out a little after midnight and slept almost nine hours! I didn’t even wake up to pee. I didn’t toss or turn at all and I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. I must have needed it!

It was so nice spending time with my aunt and mom. We made pie, canned pickles and visited the farm where they grew up. We also visited my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ graves. I never knew my grandfather, and my grandmother passed when I was eight years old. As we were sitting at their grave site, I thought about how my grandma carried me in her womb. All my mom’s eggs were developed at four months in utero. If I am having a girl, I am carrying my grandchildren. Our bodies are such miracles.

After South Dakota, we headed to Minnesota to visit my other aunt and uncle. I also used to visit them every summer and I have fond memories of picking wild raspberries and running around outside on their ten acres of wooded land. It was so nice visiting with them and feeling disconnected from the chaos in the world. I felt there was something healing about getting back to my roots before having this baby.

My mom and I swung by my other aunt’s house in Wisconsin on the way home. Every place we stopped, I was fed pie or cake. Everything was homemade and so delicious. I knew the Group B Strep test was coming up soon and I was so worried about eating too much sugar, so I had stocked up on some healthy treats for the trip. I didn’t want to mess up my gut. I know this may sound crazy, but I am just letting you in on my thought process.

Although I had such a great time visiting family, I missed Vito so much and began to stress about everything we needed to get done at home in the coming weeks.

36 Weeks

I thought that the road trip was easy but it really took a toll on my body. Before the trip, I was walking three miles a day and my back wasn’t bothering me. I have to take two short walks a day this whole week to start to work my way back up. This was also the busiest week of my pregnancy. Monday, my sister, Nikki, got into town to help with baby stuff. I tried to make a plan for the week but felt so overwhelmed. My baby shower was at he end of the week and I was in a wedding this week as well. I tried to break things down into doable jobs for everyone to help with.

Tuesday, I had a midwife appointment and Vito was allowed to come with me this time! Our midwife went over all the information for what to do when I go into labor. Since we are denying the erythromycin eye ointment, I had to take another STD test. The eye ointment has become a standard practice but is really only necessary if you have chlamydia or gonorrhea. You can read about the research behind this here. After this test, I only need to do blood work one more time and my GBS test… I think!

Wednesday, Vito and I got ready for our friend’s wedding. We were so excited to be a part of Nav and Kiran’s wedding. With COVID, they didn’t get the wedding they envisioned but made the most of it. I had been looking forward to this for months. I was so excited to dance and eat all of the Indian food. I did eat all of the food but my back was bothering me so much that I could barely dance. I still enjoyed the festivities and was excited for the next two days of the wedding.

When we got home that night, my other sister Koryn and her husband and kids had made it from Texas. It was nice to fill our home with family. They would all be here for the next week to help us prepare for baby. The next day, my brother-in-law and great niece got into town! We now had twelve people staying in our house and I wouldn’t have it any other way. They put furniture together, painted and cleaned for us. What a blessing family is!

Come Saturday, we had one day to get everything done for my shower. We made a backdrop, picked up all the desserts, and the dress I ordered arrived just in time. I tend to procrastinate and hope everything will fall into place and it always does. I had my shower at a golf course with about forty women. Everyone had to remain masked unless at their table eating. Although it wasn’t what I had originally pictured, it was truly amazing and we are so blessed by our family and friends. We had pink and blue masks and had everyone pick one based on what they think the sex of the baby is! Blue masks slightly outnumbered pink masks and we can’t wait to see what our baby is!

37 Weeks

Since last week was so crazy, I was thankful to still have my family in town. I was hoping we could relax and hang, but there was so much to do before the baby comes that the week flew by. Everyone was busy cleaning, painting the nursery and cooking and cleaning for twelve people. I felt like they were here and then left in a couple of days, even though they were all here for at least ten days. My sisters are coming back after I have the baby and it will be so helpful to have them around. My mom stayed with us and will be here until after baby. I don’t remember the last time I did laundry because she does it all the time! It is such a blessing to have family around. Vito’s mom has been over painting, steaming our basement floors and cleaning our baseboards! I did have some deep cleaning spurts myself. I scrubbed our master bathroom, organized our room and baby room, and got ideas of doing more but energetically can’t do it.

This week at my midwife appointment, I took my GBS test. I have been so nervous about this and It doesn’t help that I have been eating more sugar than normal. I have also been eating fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi to help build my good gut bacteria. After my appointment, I went downstairs to do my final bloodwork before baby. I didn’t eat breakfast and was feeling a little faint. I asked if they had crackers or juice and they said they didn’t but asked me to lay down. I used to cry every time I got bloodwork done. I have a weird thing with my veins and needles. I have been so grown up about it though! I know they will do bloodwork when I go into labor and am at the hospital. Being poked and prodded while in labor sounds like so much fun…..not! A few days after my appointment, I got my test results and I am GBS negative! I really wanted to avoid antibiotics in labor because of the affect it has on the baby’s gut microbiome. I will include some research here. If you do have to be on antibiotics, there is plenty you can do to help restore baby’s gut. Breastfeeding is a big one. Your breastmilk has tons of immune boosting properties in it. Getting an infant safe probiotic that you can sprinkle on your nipples before breastfeeding also helps!

My sisters and I went to get pedicures on Wednesday and got a little down time together. It is hard living in three different states. They are my best friends and I love them so much! I am not sure if it is because family was in town or what, but I slept amazingly well this week. I would pass out almost immediately and sleep through the night. It’s amazing what good rest can do for you.

Thirty-seven weeks is considered “early term,” so I am technically out of the preterm phase. I feel like I am in an in-between zone of not quite full term but ok if I have the baby. Since the day is getting closer, I decided it was time to pack our bags. Here is our packing list. We also included thank you gift bags for those in our hospital room and a snack basket for the nurses station. For the nurses station, we included: individually wrapped chips, emergen-C packs, and granola bars. We know with COVID going on, we couldn’t bring in anything that wasn’t wrapped and sealed.

I feel so close to being ready. I need another week to get organized and then I will feel like the baby can come. I know the baby will come on his/her own time but I hope not this week!!

38 Weeks

Since I am allowed to have a plus one at my midwife appointments now, my mom has been coming with me. It is nice to have her there since she isn’t able to come to the birth. They are still only allowing one person plus a doula at the hospital I am birthing at. My last couple of appointments, the midwives have commented on how much amniotic fluid I have. It makes me feel good because I am always worried that I am not drinking enough water. I also haven’t gained any weight in almost six weeks. Remember when I had gained “more than recommended” during my second trimester? Well it all balanced out. Our bodies are so different. I gained most of my weight in the first two trimesters. I feel like I am gaining weight now but I haven’t. I have gained somewhere between 35-40 pounds. I don’t believe in the weight guidelines doctors say. Every body is different and every baby is different. As long you are taking care of yourself, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

I started food prepping this week even though I know people will bring food over. I wanted to have some healthy meals on hand and stuff that Vito can make after the meals stop coming. I started a pinterest board of my postpartum meals and will continue to add to it. The First Forty Days is also a great resource for some nourishing, yummy recipes for mama after birth. There are some weird recipes in there too but I am a big fan of the rice bowls! I am learning a lot about how important it is to let your body heal in those first few weeks. Setting yourself up for success before you hit postpartum is huge!

This week, I feel like I am getting a little pregnancy carpal tunnel. In the mornings, my hands are very stiff and tender. This can be a common pregnancy symptom so I haven’t worried too much about it. It is just more of an annoyance than anything. Once I get moving for the day, I don’t notice it anymore. This week, my mother-in-law put together our nursery closet and I got clothes and books put away in it. All of the last touches are coming together!

Since the day is getting closer to meeting baby, we decided to email our doula our birth plan. I have included ours below. One of my biggest tips for creating a birth plan is to keep it on one page and to keep it simple with bullet points. No one wants to read paragraphs of information. Bring one for your doula, one for your partner, and one for the nurses. It is your partner’s job to remind the staff of your preferences. Don’t feel nervous or scared to speak up and/or ask questions. This is your body, your baby, and your birth! Here is exactly what ours looks like. Note: our hospital already routinely practices skin to skin and delayed cord clamping but I included it anyways.

Elizabeth Presta’s Birth Plan

Do not offer me pain medication. I will ask for it if I need it.
No heplock unless needed
Intermittent monitoring with a Doppler
No IV fluids unless needed
Eat and drink freely
Dim lighting
Water birth option available
Husband to be able to catch baby and announce gender

After Baby is Born

Let the cord pulse until it is finished
Place baby immediately on my chest for first hour
Pitocin shot for after birth if recommended
Do not rub vernix off
Partner to cut cord
Save placenta
Delay newborn exams for first hour
No baby bath
No eye ointment
No Hep B shot - decision to be made with our Pediatrician
Preservative free vitamin K
I would like to be nursing for vitamin K shot or have baby skin to skin with dad
No circumcision

In Case of Induction

Breast pump use made available
Prefer to not use pitocin
Time alone with partner

In Case of Cesarean

Clear surgical drape
Vaginal swab to be wiped on baby’s skin
Partner to hold baby skin to skin as soon as possible
No talking - music playing
Prefer to not be strapped down
Skin to skin and breastfeeding as soon as possible
Partner to stay with baby, doula to stay with me

This is it!!

I want to clarify a few things about our birth plan. The pitocin shot for after labor is to help with hemorrhages. I prefer not to get one but I trust our midwife’s judgement on whether or not she thinks I need one. I also will not need an IV or saline lock (heplock) unless there is a medical reason. Eating and drinking during labor has been proven to be beneficial and the practice of not allowing women to do so is very outdated and lacks good evidence to support it. We are encapsulating the placenta so we want them to save it for us and are packing our cooler. In case of

39 Weeks

I am officially considered full term! I always hear of people being “over it” and ready to get the baby out. I feel surprisingly comfortable and not in a hurry at all. I know in a couple of weeks, I may feel very differently. At my midwife appointment today we discussed scheduling an induction for 42 weeks. That is really the only reason I want to get the baby out. I really do not want to be induced. Inductions tend to lead to more interventions and the missed benefits of the unmedicated labor I am planning on doing. You can read the research here. When labor is induced, the natural hormonal receptors that help you through labor can be missed out on. I know my birth will not go perfectly planned the way I have it in my head, but I REALLY do not want to be induced.

I walked three miles yesterday with Hutch and felt pretty good about it. Today, my back is killing me. I took Hutch for a mile walk this morning and then had Vito take him out tonight. I was still able to cook and do a little cleaning today but I am currently sitting with a heating pad on hoping it goes away. I also feel like I am officially getting uncomfortable. I know I just said “I feel surprisingly comfortable.” Well, that was a couple of days ago and things change quickly at the end. For the first time, sex is much more difficult. It’s just hard for me to move, my belly is in the way and I don’t want to do any of the work. However, we are going to keep having sex because the prostaglandins can help ripen my cervix and after the baby comes we will have to take a long break.

The pattern this week tends to be that I will walk one day and be productive and the next day feel like I got hit by a truck. I went from being comfortable to being uncomfortable in any position. It hurts to sit, stand or lay down. My hips ache and I feel like the bones in my back are separating. The baby has been very active, but I still have no signs of labor starting any time soon. I continue to get bursts of energy and clean the house and then need to sit and rest. I also had my first birth dream. I had a dream that I had a boy and he looked like Vito. I haven’t had any birth dreams at all! I also kind of think it’s a girl, but I guess we will find out soon!

This last week, I turned in the next few weeks of podcasts early just so I don’t have to worry about it. It will take me to 42 weeks so I feel like I need to record one more. It is hard to schedule and prepare if I have no idea when I will go into labor. It is important for me to have content out but also be able to relax and not worry about working when the baby is born for a couple of weeks. I have no idea how I am going to feel and it can be hard having a job that you don’t really get maternity leave from.

As I am nearing week 40, I will keep this blog updated every couples of days. If you like to read my previous pregnancy blogs, click here.

The Beginning of the End (Weeks 35 - 39)

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