How far along: 33 weeks completed 8/21/2012.

Weight gain: I saw the midwives on Tuesday, and have lost 2 lbs since my last visit. So back down to 147 it is (for a total pregnancy gain of 14 lbs). I’m chalking it up to the move and all the increased physical activity that has involved. They’ll only be concerned if I’ve lost weight again by my next appointment, which probably won’t happen considering I’m chowing down on an Almond Joy at this exact moment and have grand plans of following that up with a bagel spread to the heavens with cream cheese.

Clothes: Now that we’re unpacking boxes at our new place, I am again reminded of the pants and jeans that I love, can’t fit, but will soon resurrect! Provided breastfeeding sheds those pounds as much as I’ve heard . . .

Purchases: Nothing new for lil’ Alice this week.

Body: With the move, I’ve had a hard time not lifting things, and a hard time asking for help. Make that a really hard time. So I’ve lifted things probably more than I should (hence the 2 lb loss?). There have been no visible ill effects other than a backache one evening that went away after a good night’s sleep, but I know there can still be bad effects that can’t be seen right away (especially if I try to use my core muscles too much and cause them to tear), so I’ll try to be good about this.

Being physically limited makes me feel like my independence is being cramped, so I’m trying to teach myself to be okay with needing help.  It doesn’t mean I’m a weakling–it’s the smart thing to do to care for myself and my baby. I think I’ll give myself a mental prescription:

Repeat 5,000 times per day: Asking for help is smart, not weak.

Something about Americans–we really value our independence. Denyse, our Bradley Method instructor, was talking about this, and how we applaud the woman who’s out and about shopping 3 days after giving birth. But holding independence in such high esteem can also cause us to jump into things that maybe we shouldn’t. Not rest when we need to. Not respect our bodies’ need for recovery. And many times, we can end up isolating ourselves when we need to be asking for help instead.

I really took this to heart, because I see myself here. I’m the woman who wants to be out and about 3 days after birth. Whereas, maybe it’s a better idea for me to plan on 2 weeks of total down time resting, learning my new baby’s cues, wearing a robe, kicking around the house, and just focusing on Alice and my husband and myself instead of the world at large.

So that’s my plan–to take two weeks and label them “Hibernation Time” in my mind, so that I’m not tempted to try and leap about too quickly.

As for the disappearing act that I so carelessly forgot to mention last week, it works pretty darn well in the morning or on an empty stomach, but when I attempted it in this picture after eating a gigantic meal . . .

. . . not so much.

I also have a really obnoxious expression on my face in that picture. I don’t know what I was trying to convey, but please just gloss over it and move on with your day. At least that’s what I’m trying to do.

Sleep: Great! Can’t complain. Squats are still really helpful in overcoming that feeling of restlessness in my legs that hits when I lie down. I also think the physical exertion of moving has helped me sleep better. Sleep seems to be the sweetest when preceded by a day of really hard work.

Best moment(s) of the week: We did a final sweep of our old apartment Sunday evening. Before closing up shop for the last time and leaving our keys in the manager’s drop box, my husband and I both started getting tearful. We recollected with fondness what a mess the place was when we first moved in 3 years ago, and how we went about making it our home. We walked through each room and thanked God for all the blessings that we associated with it–guests, family and friends that had stayed on the futon in our 2nd bedroom, meals we shared together in the dining room, peaceful evenings on the couch resting and talking . . . Something about the ritual of thanking God for everything that came to mind for each room was really meaningful. We ended by praying for the next tenants, that God would bless them in a special way and that his Spirit would always be present and working in the space we were leaving.

And of course, there have been so many lovely moments in the new place this week–the first cup of coffee Thursday morning, the first load of laundry, the first meal I cooked (veeeery spicy stir fry), the first shower in our amazing bathroom . . . it’s all too lovely to be true.

Movement: She’s hiccuping, rolling about, and gave me such a hard punch the other day that it startled me. Any time I want, I can reach down, poke around my belly, and locate different body parts. I can’t quite identify the body parts yet, but the hard little lumps are fascinating to me. Is that her head? Or a butt? I love it.

Food cravings/aversions: I’ve really been enjoying Nescafe instant coffee! We bought some to survive on after packing up our coffee maker. And we still haven’t come across the coffee maker in our unpacking endeavors, but since I’ve grown quite friendly with this instant stuff (to my own surprise and I’m sure to the horror of any of my Spanish coffee-purist friends–sorry guys), it hasn’t bothered me that Mr. Coffee is still hiding out in a box somewhere.

Symptoms: I’m really trying to stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause some real complications with pregnancy–low amniotic fluid, labor that doesn’t progress, not to mention your digestion isn’t as great without it. So water, water, water! Gotta keep it flowing.

Emotions: Being in the new apartment, my baby-related emotions seem to have been ratcheted up 5 notches. I think that since I knew we wouldn’t be having Alice in our old place, as long as we were there, the reality of baby-time still felt distant. But now that we are physically in the place where we will bring her home, where she will learn to crawl and walk and say ‘ba,’ it’s all starting to feel imminent. Make that imminently imminent.

Other things that are making her arrival feel close are having nailed down a pediatrician and having scheduled ALL my prenatal appointments up to my due date. The end of this pregnancy business is truly in sight.

Hopes and dreams: I’ve set a deadline for myself: to be fully moved in as of September 10th. Though we’re moving things into their right places at a good clip and the house felt totally livable by Saturday evening, it’s going to take a while to finish 100%, figure out what furniture we need at Ikea, what’s needed to complete Alice’s room, where we want to hang pictures and little decorative details, etc.

In my mind, meeting this deadline will then give us about 1 month of routine, peace and time to fully delight in our surroundings before Alice joins us and things get a little . . . crazy. In a good, wonderful, but crazy way.

What I miss: Like I was talking about earlier, being able to lift anything I want! And even when I lift lightweight boxes, my belly gets in the way. How very odd that is. Sometimes I forget to account for that extra volume projecting from my front section.

What I’m looking forward to: The big Ikea trip next week! My mom, mother-in-law, husband and me are all going out there for a day of shopping. A big item we’re purchasing is a bedroom set, which I’m really excited about. As of now, we don’t have a bed frame or a dresser (our old dresser is now our linen closet in the new place), and our bedside tables are from our days as undergraduates (that pale-colored plywood that’s so . . . well . . . cheap!) and looking exactly like you would expect the remnants of dorm life to look. I always told myself that by the time we had kids, I would put some money into our bedroom to make it beautiful, for marital retreats and a restful non-child space. And whaddya know, that time has come! So by the end, I hope to have created a haven of delight where my husband and I can ‘get away’ and just rest in a peaceful and visually pleasing setting.

Husband update: He’s so happy about the new place.

In this picture he was expressing his excitement about the evening light filtering through our new porch door. Back to business! I cried. Get into profile for me!

We had our last Bradley class on Monday, and he said he’s going to miss those classes. I’m so happy we decided to do them, and so happy that he enjoyed them as much as he did! Technically we’re now, like, really prepared. Or something.

Technically.

Heh heh.

Have a great weekend everyone! We’ll be unpacking as much as possible over our weekend, and pictures are forthcoming on Monday.