This is random, but I just have to comment on it. No one has really done this to me, but I have noticed so many incidents of other people’s unsolicited advice regarding pregnancy. I’ll see Instagram posts, Facebook pictures, or just status updates from my pregnant friends, and almost every time, someone has to leave a comment like “Are you sure you should be doing/eating/wearing/talking about that?” Or even “You better stop doing that because of this, this and this.” It’s usually an innocent post, and mostly subject matter that a lot of people are ignorant about and have misconceptions regarding. I think it’s inappropriate to expect anyone to have to explain themselves to you or your opinions, but that’s just me. Believe me, most pregnant women do a ton of research and ask their doctors before deciding on anything, so please give them the benefit of the doubt that they’re not trying to harm themselves or their baby. Now on to your regularly scheduled programming…

The idea of planning a baby shower is overwhelming to me. I know it’s basically just a party, you have help, and you’re getting a ton of gifts so I should be excited. I’ve always been a very organized person, but that usually only pertains to things that are in my control–i.e. myself. When it comes to social gatherings, I’d rather just show up. My idea of throwing a party when I was younger was to text my friends and tell them they could come to my place for New Year’s as long as they brought food. I didn’t expect them to expect too much else and everything usually worked out really well and we had a great time. Nowadays, if I have to gather a list, pick and theme, shop different venues, and try to please everyone’s taste palette it’s just a little too much for my brain to handle. I want everyone to have a good time, and I tend to put that responsibility on myself, so it makes it less of an exciting venture and more of a “How is everyone going to get along? What if we start late? What if no one likes the food? What if we don’t have enough space for everyone who comes? What if no one comes? What if the venue is unavailable last-minute.”

Fortunately for me, I’ve got a gaggle of pregnant girls who have already had showers or are planning theirs. I get to witness first-hand the guests’ reactions to the activities, decor, food, socializing, etc. It makes things seem so much easier because I’ve realized that no one’s really coming for the food, party favors, or decor. They’re coming to celebrate me and my growing family. I’m so glad for that “epiphany” and it’ll help me when I actually make time to sit down with my friends who have already committed to helping me throw this shindig. I’m actually looking forward to it now. This is a party favor we got at the last baby shower we went to. How cool to have an artist doing caricatures of the guests!

Another reason I haven’t planned things out or made a registry yet–which I don’t believe needs to be rushed, I still have over three months until my due date–is because we just moved. Since January, we have been quietly plotting our escape from our old place and searching high and low for a place we can call home when our baby arrives. It was a search that led to us finding a home that has the space, layout, and community we were looking for. One main thing I still can’t get over sometimes is the color of the walls. I’ve always loved the celery/avocado shade of green, and we even painted our walls that color in our old place. I was prepared to get out the old paint buckets and customize this place too, but we didn’t have to because our new walls are all that exact color. And we got the “wooden” floors we wanted. Not real wood, but they look great. God answers prayers, you can’t tell me He doesn’t.

It’s only been about a week since we’ve finally gotten every box into our new place, so that’s taken major priority over deciding what color cupcakes I want everyone to eat or which type of bottles I’ll be using to feed our newborn. I can finally breathe and it feels good to have one less major thing to focus on. How was moving while I was pregnant? Well, I’m glad you asked because it was pretty much a miracle. Looking back on it, I really don’t know how we made this happen so fast. From the time we got our keys to our new place and turned in the keys to our old place, it took us a little over a week for everything. And that includes packing. Thank God for the organized mind I had at the time, the physical strength of my husband, and the support that came from family and friends to physically get things from one location to the other.

I’m sure our little girl was wondering what all the hub-bub, driving, and constant pizza was about for the past week or so during this transition. She’s been really interactive lately and my belly is almost always wobbling. I noticed on my pregnancy app that these next three weeks of her life in there will be her most active weeks of the whole pregnancy. They didn’t explain why, but now I understand what all this rocking and rolling is all about. I just wish I knew what body part I was feeling at the time. Sometimes it’s tiny jabs and other times it feels more like a rolling motion, but I don’t know if it’s a butt, and head, or a back making it’s way around. We’ve been having fun playing with her and it’s even cute when she hears a loud noise like the car door slam or I sneeze and gets startled. It feels like she’s trying to run track even though she can’t get anywhere.

Something I’ve noticed since moving is that my overall health has been improving. So much so that while we were in the middle of it all, I had to remind myself sometimes that I was pregnant. I still have those days where baby girl is going through a growth spurt that has me laid out for a day, but other than that I’m almost as physically able as I was pre-pregnancy. I say almost because this back pain just won’t quit sometimes. It’s wonderful to feel great, but also to get a good health report from the doctor. In my last appointment, our daughter had her usual strong heartbeat, she’s growing at the right rate, and my glucose test results came back normal. No gestational diabetes for me, yay! Speaking of growth rate, I guess I’ll share those stats now:

Age and size of baby:

25 weeks old, 9 inches long, 1.7 lbs in weight.

Cravings:

Food in general. Lots of things, but mostly vegetables and salty foods.

Morning sickness:

Morning sickness has been at bay for the most part. I did have an incident after gargling apple cider vinegar to help my sore throat. I also got major motion sickness in the car on the way to my prenatal appointment. Other than that, it hasn’t been bad.

Stretch marks:

Nothing new.

Crazy hormones:

I’ve still been a bit weepy lately. I don’t like it because it makes me feel like something’s wrong with me. I know it’s a “perk” of pregnancy, but sometimes I’m like “Am I depressed? Is this what depression feels like?” It’s weird.

Sleeping habits:

I can sleep more normal now, and I don’t necessarily need a pile of pillows in order to feel comfortable. I still have a tendency to want to sleep in my stomach, but alas it is impossible.

So, that’s that for now.  Be blessed and take time to make your dreams into your reality.

-Kytia L’amour