Pregnancy: 35 Weeks

I am so happy to have already made it to 35 weeks! It's been a long 7 weeks of hospital stay, bedrest and taking it easy but for a good reason! We are thrilled this baby has stayed put this long and hope it will wait another week or 2 more before arriving.

Thankfully the doctor told me a couple weeks ago that I can go run quick errands, go to dinners/movies and don't need to be sitting/laying down all the time anymore. I am still supposed to take it easy but it is so nice to be able to get out of the house, play with Jackson, have dinner dates with my hubby, etc. Those first couple of weeks of bedrest I had such pity parties for myself about how I couldn't do anything or help Jackson. Now I might do too much with him on occasion but I do my best to take it easy!

We are so grateful for my mom who has come into town for the past 7 weeks and helped with Jackson, cooked, cleaned, done laundry, grocery shopped, etc for us! My dad has come and been extremely helpful too but she has been here the majority of the time. I will really miss her help and company when she gets back to her life! I know they will still come visit and help often but it won't be like it is now.

I have really enjoyed reading so many books these past 7 weeks. I have read 3 Tana French books and 2 Kristin Hannah books. Normally, I tend to put reading on the back burner and always spend my time being "productive" during Jackson's nap. It's nice to have actually taken time to do something enjoyable for me! I hope I can keep it up and continue reading some once the baby comes.

At 34 weeks I was slightly dilated. I have been having some contractions but not labor contractions - mostly just feeling tightness and pressure. I am up from my pre-pregnancy weight a total of almost 20 lbs. I have been eating healthy but also have my sweet treats all the time! I have been craving pumpkin everything lately! Most of the pregnancy shorts and pants are getting uncomfortable because the band presses into my belly so much. This baby is very low already and fortunately has been head down for a couple of weeks now. The baby has been measuring right on track. Sleep is not so good. I tend to wake up every night and stay awake for a couple of hours sometimes.  

We still have no idea of the gender and are trying to finalize a top boy and girl name so that this baby isn't nameless like Jackson was for a week! :) The nursery is a blank slate right now. We are waiting to see if its a boy or a girl and then I will find some new crib bedding and wall decor to order for that room. We have all the same furniture in there - crib, tall bookcase, changing table, glider and another small bookcase.

 35 Weeks

Ups and Downs

Slowly I am adjusting to my new ways. I still feel somewhat useless sometimes and lazy even though I know I'm not being lazy by choice. It's hard for me to just put my dishes in the sink and walk away waiting for someone else to clean up or to know I can't unload the dishwasher full of clean dishes. We are managing.

I am so thankful for my incredible hubby who has changed his name to Mr Mom lately. He cooks, cleans, does laundry, takes Jackson here and there, does bath time and bedtime every night, etc! Jimmy has never minded doing all the daily activities with Jackson. He loves spending time with his son. I just know it must be hard working all day and then doing everything at home too. We also would not have survived these past 2 weeks without Nana and Papa! They have been so helpful with Jackson and with cooking, grocery shopping and taking care of me!

I'm not into daytime TV so I have been reading a lot, which I love. I always love a good book but normally never spent enough time actually reading. I have also gone in phases where I want to be on my computer a bunch and then I don't touch it for days. The Dr. said I can sit in my office for a little bit in order to catch up on some of the paperwork and bills. It's nice to know that I can somewhat keep up with that. I have other random projects that I seem to never have time for normally so hopefully I can at least do some of those during my downtime.

The other evening it was amazing outside - low humidity and the temp was probably in the 70s. After dinner Jimmy and Jackson went outside to play and I decided to go out too and just parked myself in a chair and watched Jackson have lots of fun playing. And we had yummy popsicles :) Such a great night! It was so fun that all of a sudden we realized it was 8:45! Jackson was up way past his bedtime.

p.s. Yes, he is wearing just a diaper... he got red popsicle all over his shorts so I just took them off.

Jackson headed to the lake with Nana yesterday for the rest of the week. I was a whole mix of emotions. In the end I was so upset that I could hardly say goodbye because I didn't want to get him all upset and I was already tearing up. He was so excited to be going to see Papa and to go to the pool. I didn't want to ruin it for him. So I've been sad. But he is having a blast and I have had lots of rest time and finished another book :)

Bedrest

So, I'm only on day 4 of being on bedrest at home and it's been really hard! I'll take being home with my family over being in the hospital any day but its still been tough. I'm not exactly a type A person but I do like things neat and tidy and I always find something to be doing. Whether its cleaning up, crafting, blogging, catching up on accounting work for the business, etc I rarely ever just sit around and completely relax. Now, there are the occasional nap times when I do just sit and watch a tv show or read a little but those are pretty infrequent. It's just not my nature.

So to be told I have to be on bedrest and can only get up to go to the bathroom or get something to eat and/or drink is super hard. I can't stand to look around and see clutter and piles of things that need to be put away. I want to be able to sit in my office and catch up on work stuff because I hate to be behind on it. I have crafts and things I was going to start working on for Jackson's big boy room. I had been really into finding new recipes and cooking and baking recently.  And there is always laundry to be done and folded and put away.

Let's not even get into how useless I feel knowing I can't hardly care for Jackson by myself. He can come sit on the sofa with me but that's about it! I can't sit on the floor and play with him, can't pick him up or carry him, can't take him outside to play, can't go upstairs to do bath and bedtime with him.

Of course I want to do everything in my power to keep this baby growing in my belly for as long as possible. 28 weeks is much much too early to meet this baby. We have had a baby born premature and there is nothing worse than leaving the hospital while your baby is still there in the NICU. So I will do what the doctors say but its going to be tough and I'm just hoping it doesn't get me down and depressed.

I am trying to come up with projects I can do while sitting on the sofa and I am sure I will spend a lot of time reading. It's hard to think I have at least 6 more weeks of this. The doctor says I will be on bedrest until at least 34 or 35 weeks. Its a good thing Jimmy and I already had a getaway and we had our beach trip week before last!