34 WEEKS

Just like that, I have arrived at the 34 week mark. The journey is so close to being over, and I am really beginning to appreciate being pregnant. Most of the harder aspects of pregnancy being over with, I am now left with a big belly full of a completely developed and quickly fattening wonderful baby. At this point during the pregnancy everything becomes bittersweet; I can not wait to have my daughter in my arms, smell that sweet baby smell and touch her beautifully soft brand new skin, but I will also miss having her all to myself and protecting her from the entire world with the shelter of my body. I believe this is the very first step mothers go through in a very long life of having to "let go".

As I mentioned earlier, my pregnancy is quite simple and straightforward at this point. My skin has somehow become miraculously soft and clear, all over my entire body and face (don't believe the rumour that girls ruin a mother's beauty!). This is a really really wonderful part of my pregnancy I must say. Along with my skin, I have noticed my nails growing at a rapid rate, faster than they ever have. 

Emotionally, I am somehow incredibly stable these days. I went through a lot of stress earlier on with my baby shower since I planned and executed 90% of it myself, and all the extra stress and hormones caused me to have a complete meltdown.  Luckily after that episode everything balanced itself out and I have felt great ever since. On a physical level, I have to say I feel very tired most of the day. Moving around, walking, sitting to standing position and any other physical activity is becoming increasingly difficult especially as the baby moves down further and further. I am ecstatic that I have not experienced much of the coughing/laughing and peeing myself that most women talk about.. but then again I do have 6 more weeks to go so I shouldn't talk too soon!

The most difficult part of my day has to be night time. You would think that as tired as I am all day, I would be out like a light every night. Quite the contrary. I can not fall asleep at night to save my life. And the worst part is that when I don't have my boyfriend here with me it becomes 10x harder to sleep (he's a great distraction and usually stays up much later than I do anyways) and he just went back to Dubai for 2 weeks. All the pregnancy pillows - which he usually steals anyways - can not replace him. My best guess is that having him around makes me feel safe and secure, thus more relaxed and it becomes much easier to both fall asleep and stay asleep. Even with him here I will wake up numerous times, but without him brings everything to a much worse degree. Many women experience pregnancy insomnia which is completely normal. Some ways to help this are: trying to avoid long or late naps, not having any caffeine, minimal sugar intake especially late at night, a warm bath or shower right before bed, meditating, stretching, reading, or a light comforting snack before bed. I personally like lighting a candle and dimming all the lights so my brain has time to shut down before I actually get into bed. 

My main project these days is beginning to prepare my hospital bag. I think any time after 34 weeks is a good time to start packing up. Some might say that is too early and some might say the opposite, but I feel for myself this is the right time to prepare especially since it can take me a little while to come up with everything I need. I will be posting later on in the week about everything that I will be putting into my hospital bag pertaining to the type of birth I am hoping to have.. which is as natural as possible. I will be touching slightly on the topic of my delivery preference and how I came to making this decision.

Side note: the picture above is part of a collection of photos taken by the lovely Natalie Paivo, who shot my maternity session. She was amazing to work with, made me feel comfortable and from what I have seen so far, has done an amazing job overall with the final product. Can not wait to see the rest of my photos, I am so excited! If you are in Toronto I highly recommend her, and will be working with her in the future. Her instagram is: nataliepaivo_photographer.

xo