A Purified Pregnancy | The Finale

A Purified Pregnancy | Weeks 32-36

Amanda Nicole SmithLifestyle, Pregnancy Leave a Comment

We’re in the home stretch now and getting more and more anxious to meet the little one. Even though we have accomplished so much, there is still so much left to do and learn. This will most likely be my last post until the birth story and includes weeks 32-36.

The biggest accomplishment I made these past weeks was creating the birth plan, meal plan, and comfort plan, as well as choosing a pediatrician that resinates with my values. We also did a nature maternity photoshoot along side a creek.

The Plan

Everyone says make a birth plan but don’t expect it to go perfectly as planned, so I wrote out my wishes and hope for the best. Something that I can control is how I deal with the pain and how my husband can help me. I think this will be very valuable in making labor a bit more comfortable. I have been researching orgasmic births, a bunch of different natural remedies that help ease the pain of contractions, relax muscles, and help with postpartum recovery, which I will share in detail.

Unfortunately at my last appointment I learned that somewhere between 33 and 34 weeks baby girl decided to turn breech and a c-section may be in my future. So now I’m adding to my research on how to turn her before time runs out and how to recover naturally from a c-section. I came across this great resource called spinningbabies.com and I’m really hoping the tips shared will get her to turn. 

Here is the rough draft of our birth plan; including the comfort plan, meal plan and packing list.

Birth-Plan.pdf

Sleep

All the mommas keep warning me that I should get as much sleep as possible. They all say “I wish I would have rested more” and I can see why they all say that, getting sleep is difficult during this time. I have had major insomnia, especially when I rest throughout the day or just have office days and don’t get in enough exercise. When I teach fitness classes for 3 hours straight, or when I go for long hikes, I sleep like a baby. But when I’m just running errands, driving to clients and not really exerting energy, I find myself awaking throughout the night and completely awake by 3am with baby girl moving all around. I would try to go back to sleep but with Dominick trying to finish up his work project before paternity leave, he’s been waking up at 3:45am and doesn’t leave until about 5am which keeps me awake.  

Before 32 weeks I was sleeping pretty good and baby girl was also sleeping well throughout the night. But as we grow closer to her arrival, I feel as though she is prepping me for what lays ahead. I figure it’s like preparing for an eating competition, if you were to starve yourself to make room for your upcoming competition, you wouldn’t do so well because your stomach would shrink, so you have to practice eating a lot to expand your stomach. I would love to stock up on sleep but maybe without practicing waking up every 2 hours and getting little sleep my body wouldn’t be prepared for what lays ahead.

Work

I plan to continue teaching up until the day I deliver and I’m hoping to get back to it by mid October-November, 1 month after giving birth, maybe more with a c-section. I will definitely have to play it by ear. I know I’m going to be totally in love with baby girl and never want to leave, but I really take pride in my work and I feel like if I were to stop I’d loose apart of myself and possibly fuel postpartum depression. With that being said, I also have the online version of my work, posting recipes and fitness routines for clients to work on in-between our sessions, so I can always work on that aspect until I am completely healed and ready to get back into the world. But still apart of me feels like if I stay at home too long, I’ll get a serious case of cabin fever, we shall see, maybe this new incredible addition to life will completely change my perspective. Or maybe I’ll be too tired to think of work. Thankfully Dominick is taking off 5 weeks to help, so maybe that extra help will keep me feeling alive and well. 

Food

This entire pregnancy I avoided processed foods like the plague and I made sure to eat an array of in-season local fruits and veggies from the farmers, as well as nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, and occasional meat and dairy. 

I kept things relatively simple and consistent, here is a list of my most common go to pregnancy meals for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and dessert.

Pre Breakfast: Fruits; peaches, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, kiwi, mango, pineapple, mangosteen, rambutan, young thai coconuts and more!

Breakfast: Chia Banana Nut Milkshake and Peaches & Cream Milkshake

Snacks: red bell peppers, carrot sticks, cucumbers, green beans, and cherry tomatoes, chia quinoa chips & salsa.

Lunch: Salad with many different kinds of greens; swiss chard, kale, watercress, purslane, parsley, holy basil, micro greens (broccoli, radish), basil, arugula, romaine, butter lettuce, red leaf, chervil, and more! Provided by Young Harvests of Central Farm Market

Dinner: Zoodles & Marinara Sauce, Vegan Chicken, Raw Vegan Tacos, and simple cooked veggies and a side of meat.

Dessert: Strawberry Rhubarb Crispy Cream Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ice Cream; Blueberry Vanilla, Chocolate & Vanilla, and soft served chocolate and vanilla twists from Rocky Point Creamery.

Fitness

Feeling good, still going strong. 💪😊#36weekspregnant #pregnantpoledancer

A post shared by Amanda Nicole Smith (@amandanicolesmith) on

I have been doing light stretching routines, light pole dancing and lyra hoop tricks, and lots of hiking. Chico and I love our daily nature hikes along the lake, river or just around the neighborhood. We also hiked up a mountain, and swam in the Chesapeake bay, which I want to do a couple more times before baby girl arrives. I’m definitely not as active as I was before, but doing things here and there help out a lot. 

Weight Gain

I started at 123 pounds and am now 150 pounds. I figure by the end I’ll have gained nearly 30 pounds.

Waist

I started with a 22 inch waist and now have a 29 inch waist. I figure by the end I’ll have gained 8 inches around, ending with a 30 inch waist.

Breasts

I started with a 32 C and am now comfortably wearing a 36 D or DD depending on the brand. I’m hoping I don’t get any larger when my milk comes in, as having large breasts really effects posture.

Discomforts

In my last post I documented all the discomforts I had and the remedies I used to keep myself feeling good, check it out. The only new problems I have been experiencing has been rib cage numbness. If I don’t exercise good posture, my bottom ribs start to get numb and tingly. I think because my uterus is now pushing up into my ribcage, my ribs are starting to expand and hit a nerve. So I have to be extra careful with how I sit and lay and make sure I am allowing space and not hunching over. It’s difficult because hunching almost feels relaxing, especially with increased breast and belly size, but posture is extremely important, so I continue to try and discipline myself as best as possible. My breathing, form & posture routine on the flexibility challenge has helped tremendously and whole heartedly recommend it.

A lot of times pregnancy symptoms or uncomfortableness can be cured with simple remedies, you just have to experiment and see what works best for you.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Dominick was able to capture some really good maternity photos! Throughout the years I’ve taught him how to use the camera and he learned so quickly, I’m very proud of him. He was so cute acting like a real photographer, “turn your head a little more towards the light, move your arm slightly, smile…” lol he’s the best!

Maternity Photoshoot in Nature

Nature Maternity Photoshoot

Nature Maternity Photoshoot

Outdoor Maternity Photoshoot

And so that about concludes my pregnancy journey, and now I look forward to the birthing process, and the adventures of parenthood. Thanks for taking the time to read my experiences, I hope to have inspired a few along the way, and I wish all you expecting mammas a joyous pregnancy journey!

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