Well, look at me go with a pregnancy update only 3 short weeks after the last one.

27 weeks

(Can you tell that I’ve got pregnancy hair? Thick. and. bushy)

6 months (27 weeks) just seemed a little too momentous to pass up.

On the one hand, I think, “Holy wow! I’ll be snuggling this little guy in no time!” On the other, all I can think is: 3. More. Months.

I know it will go fast, especially considering that we have 4 birthdays, and multiple holiday celebrations between now and then. But still. 3. More. Months.

I could try to look on the bright side by reminding myself that–hey!–at least I don’t have to gestate my offspring in my body for 2 years like elephants do, but there’s really nothing about comparing myself to an elephant that makes me feel better, so I’ll pass.

So, here’s the lowdown on how things are going right now.

Cravings: These are still random and rare (I haven’t had an Icee in weeks). I usually eat eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, an apple with peanut butter for a morning snack, a salad (topped with yummy stuff like chicken, pecans, cheese, and croutons) for lunch, a kale smoothie for an afternoon snack, almonds + dried fruit for an even later afternoon snack, and whatever I’ve made for dinner in the evening. Throw in an occasional bowl of ice cream or other treat, and you have the rundown on the never-ending process that is getting (and keeping) me full. Usually, after dinner, I’m good to go and don’t get hungry again before bedtime, but up until then, I’m munching on something every two hours or getting hangrier by the second. (My kids are lined up behind me saying, AMEN!)

Weight gain: Pretty darn high. There’s a reason I’m trying not to think about elephants, y’all. I hadn’t weighed myself once during this pregnancy, but I made myself step on the scale the other day because of that whole being 6-months-pregnant business. And now I wish I hadn’t. It’s amazing what 3 little digital numbers can do to your morale. Still, I know it’s for my little guy’s good, and it will be totally worth the extra time it takes to come off after he’s here.

Exercise: Still teaching and taking classes…although it’s definitely harder than it was even three short weeks ago. I’m modifying more and skipping workouts here and there when my body feels particularly crabby. But for the most part, I still feel betterย after I make myself sweat and plan to keep going to the end, barring something unexpected. I’m hoping the feeling of lead in my legs subsides a little in the coming weeks (which probably sounds strange, but I actually felt better from months 6-8 with the twins than I did for several months before that…here’s hoping).

Pregnancy side effects: The wild and crazy dreams have amped up considerably over the last few weeks. Sometimes, I wake up with the entire plot for a very convoluted action movie in my head, feeling a little bit worn out from “experiencing it.” I’m convinced I’d be the next big hit director in Hollywood, except that the vividness of the details starts to fade just minutes after I really get my eyes open, and I’m left with just a general impression of sword fights and derring-do.

Also, as an update to the varicose veins complaint…they’re still there. I think they’re actually more prolific than ever. However, I’ve been faithfully taking a combination of an MK-2 supplement and Collinsonia Root, and I’m happy to say that, while it still looks like a colony of aliens is about to crawl out of my right leg, it no longer feels that way. The pain has diminished considerably, so for all of you “ME TOO-ers”…there’s my tip.

Energy: Some days, I feel as normal as a woman who’s been growing her 6th baby for the last 6 months can. Other days, I feel…a little like a Mack truck smacked me, backed up, then did it again. Okay, that might be a wee bit dramatic. I generally feel fine, but my initial nesting phase (which came earlier than it ever had before) has kind of petered out, and there are days (like yesterday, ahem) that my planned 25 minute nap turns into an hour, and I wake up wondering when bedtime’s coming.

Overall though, I have no complaints. And I was reminded how easy my pregnancies are just the other day when my midwife, Diane, said to her apprentice, “See? Abbie’s the perfect example of how you really can do a prenatal check-up in 15 minutes. Or, in her case, 5.”

It’s hard to get too upset over aches and pains and exhaustion when I really stop to think about the awesome and exclusive privilege I get of nourishing my childย  for 9 months until (after a healthy dose of pain and agony), he comes out, and I get to see his wrinkly little turtle face and feel his amazingly strong grip as his fingers curl instinctively around mine.

One of my favorite anticipatory activities for my babies is imagining how they’ll compare to their siblings. Each of my children has a distinct look (well, minus the twins, of course…although, even they are quite unique from each other, once you get to know them), but we do kind of have a Shaun + Abbie = THIS mold that they all loosely fit into.

So, the other day, when someone suggested that #6 might have brown eyes, I couldn’t even wrap my brain around it. All of my children have blue eyes. The thought of any other color just feels silly at this point. But that’s the fun of it. He could have brown eyes. Or green. He could be bald as an egg (all of my babies have had hair, thanks to their rather hirsute Mama). Who knows?!

Only God at this point. But I’ll tell you what: this Mama can’t wait to find out.

So, what about y’all? Any updates to share? I know lots of you are pregnant right now, so don’t leave me hanging! ๐Ÿ™‚ Anybody else not on speaking terms with their scales right now? I think we’re going to stay broken up until a good three months after I give birth.

Did I leave out anything you’re itching to know?
I thought about including a chart for how many times I pee a day, but something told me you’d be all right without it.

14 Comments

  1. I am a few weeks ahead of you. I am 32 weeks as of today. This pregnancy has been so different than the rest as I have gestational diabetes for the first time as well as different types of aches and pains that I haven’t had before. I try to stay focused on the blessing in my belly and not the daily struggles I am be having (which I admit is sometimes hard to do).

    The hubby and I are still wrestling with a name for her. We like traditional/older names as well. I am so nervous we will be in the hospital scrambling for a name!

    1. Ooooooh. I’m so sorry to hear about the gestational diabetes. That has to be so hard. Care to share your options? (I’m always up for stealing other people’s names :))

      1. Sure I can share…we were taking about names for over an hour last night but have no decisions made yet. Here are some of the names one of us has come up with and the other is “thinking” about:

        Catherine
        Sarah
        Elizabeth
        Abigail

        Any suggestions?

  2. First of all, THANKS!

    I love my kids names, but then…I would, wouldn’t I? ๐Ÿ™‚

    Oh, and I was going to say that there’s no process, but in some ways there is. Well, not a process so much as a consistency.

    I like old names that are beautiful, unusual, and yet still “real.” (No made up names for me, thank you very much).

    And, of course, I shy away from ones with really negative connotations, although I’m not HUGE on meaning (all of my kids’ names mean something lovely, but I found that out after all I already knew I liked them, so that worked out in my favor).

    My biggest name quirk is what I like to call “name parallelism.” In other words, I like all of the names in my family to “flow.” I know a lady who has a little girl named Mary Katherine, a little boy named…Jacob?…or something like that, and then a little boy named…QUINN. Now, I like all of those names, don’t get me wrong. But they wouldn’t work for me because I’m weird about wanting my names to go together. And Quinn is free-spirited and quirky and bohemian, whereas Mary Katherine is traditional and old-fashioned. Both are great. But they don’t “match.” In my weird mind, at least.

    Now, mind you, I haven’t had to try very hard to make mine match because I’m naturally drawn to the same type of name over and over.

    Fortunately, my husband’s pretty much on exactly the same page and sometimes even surprises me by going for the more unusual ones (like Magnolia) over something more “normal.”

    And…there you have it! Come to think of it, this might make kind of a fun blog post. Hmm…

  3. How long does it usually take you to get back to pre-pregnancy weight? I’m just curious ๐Ÿ™‚ my baby girl is 4 months, and I have about 8 lbs to go. Any tips for tightening belly back up? Thanks!

    1. You may hate me for this, but with my boys (first two), I was down to my pre-baby weight within a week. Not even sure how, since I definitely still had some “stuff” that needed to go. But with them, I was–well–not OVER-weight, but definitely had more extra on me that I have had going into the last 3 pregnancies. Della took about 4 months. And the twins took more like 6. I didn’t push myself very hard to lose with them at all, but it also came off much more slowly, so yeah. I have no idea what will happen this time. Or what the total tally will be at the end of the pregnancy. Trying not to worry about it too much. Easier some times than others.

      Oh, and in answer to your belly-tightening question, the first thing to do is to make sure you don’t have diastasis recti (ab separation), which…you probably do since it’s very unusual for a woman not to have a least a little after giving birth.

      The way to tell is to lie down flat on your back and then put your feet flat on the ground with your knees bent. Then, line your fingers up horizontally (across your belly, not up and down from head to toe) and see how many you can fit in your belly button, gently pressing down toward your spine. If you can fit two or more, you have some level of ab separation that needs to be healed before you can really work on rebuilding all of the muscles in there (with traditional ab exercises like crunches and planks). If you google “exercises to heal diastasis recti,” you should come up with all kinds of legit routines to help stabilize your core.

  4. Thanks for the update. You are looking so beautiful and I know many women wishes they looked as great and healthy as you with their first pregnancy, much less their 6th. My baby will be 3 months tomorrow and I hear you on the scale thing. I still have 10lbs to go until my prepregnancy weight and it is slow going. Every time I lose a pound, my milk supply dips, so I have to take a break from weight loss to build it back up again. That same cycle repeated over and over….. but as you know, it’s worth it!
    By the way, I’m sure you’ve heard this, but I’ve heard drinkin 100+ ounces of water per day really helps with varicose veins.

  5. I can 100% appreciate couples saving the baby name until the baby arrives (in fact, I plan on doing that too), but I would love to know a bit more about your naming process. All of your children have FABULOUS names (especially the girls with their proper first names & sweet and sassy nicknames). I’d love to know how you go about naming your kids! P.S. Simon and Ezra have both been on my “boy list” for years.

    1. First of all, THANKS!

      I love my kids names, but then…I would, wouldn’t I? ๐Ÿ™‚

      Oh, and I was going to say that there’s no process, but in some ways there is. Well, not a process so much as a consistency.

      I like old names that are beautiful, unusual, and yet still “real.” (No made up names for me, thank you very much).

      And, of course, I shy away from ones with really negative connotations, although I’m not HUGE on meaning (all of my kids’ names mean something lovely, but I found that out after all I already knew I liked them, so that worked out in my favor).

      My biggest name quirk is what I like to call “name parallelism.” In other words, I like all of the names in my family to “flow.” I know a lady who has a little girl named Mary Katherine, a little boy named…Jacob?…or something like that, and then a little boy named…QUINN. Now, I like all of those names, don’t get me wrong. But they wouldn’t work for me because I’m weird about wanting my names to go together. And Quinn is free-spirited and quirky and bohemian, whereas Mary Katherine is traditional and old-fashioned. Both are great. But they don’t “match.” In my weird mind, at least.

      Now, mind you, I haven’t had to try very hard to make mine match because I’m naturally drawn to the same type of name over and over.

      Fortunately, my husband’s pretty much on exactly the same page and sometimes even surprises me by going for the more unusual ones (like Magnolia) over something more “normal.”

      And…there you have it! Come to think of it, this might make kind of a fun blog post. Hmm…

  6. I’m 39 weeks with my first baby and I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing or waiting for lol. I’ve gained 25 lbs, which the doctors say is perfect but I can’t help but wonder how much I’ll be left with to lose after the baby is born. I also think that I’ve saved all those “crazy pregnancy hormones” until the last week.

    I have no idea what I’m doing and I’ve run out of coconut popsicles. ..

    1. You’ll be FINE! : ) Fortunately, even when we don’t know what we’re doing, our bodies usually do, and you’re soooooooo close (jealous). And saving the crazy pregnancy hormones til the last week sounds awesome. Way better than spreading them out the whole time. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. All those birthdays and holidays will definitely help the time go faster! My last baby was a Christmas baby, and all the holiday distractions were so nice! Today I am 39 1/2 weeks with #3 and I swear time is not passing at ALL. lol

    1. So, when you say your last was a “Christmas baby,” what day was he actually born? And how old is he? And how much money have you saved for his therapy bills because he “never got a real birthday?” ๐Ÿ™‚

      Also, yes, time does freeze in those last several days (or, in my case, weeks). Not sure how/why, but it DOES!

I love hearing from you guys!