A quick note…

This blog was started to document my journey through IVF and while I am passionate about continuing that mission I also wanted to write about my journey as a pregnant women who got pregnant through IVF.  I hope that we soon live in a world where IVF doesn’t exist without pregnancy. 

24 to 33 weeks…

Ahh blissful 24 weeks!  For some reason this was the time that I really started to feel good.  There is the honeymoon period that came and came at the perfect time.  It is at the point where you think you can’t take anymore and then sweet relief!  I felt so good that I started nesting.  We had a long list of things we wanted to get done before the baby came and quite frankly I was afraid that we would not get them finished if I kept feeling like I was.  And then this amazing energy hits me and off I go!  I got the nursery sorted out.  Painted my great grannies side cabinet.  Did so much laundry it is not even funny!  Went OCD and got all of the baby’s hand-me-down clothes sorted by size and stored away.  It was honestly the most enjoyable few weeks because I felt so accomplished! 

We also passed some really wonderful medical milestones during this time.  We had our anatomy scan where we did an hour and half ultrasound where the tech looks at and measures every part of our baby’s growing body.  It was magical!  We walked away in awe of the process of growing a baby!  We went back for another ultrasound scan at 28 weeks to check in and at 32 weeks baby girl and I graduated from the high risk doctor!  Why?!  Well because we were too normal to keep seeing them.  Honestly I never thought I would ever celebrate being called normal.  I am the type of person who wants to always be considered special but in this case we celebrated this normal diagnosis hard!    

33 until…

I knew at some point this blissful magicalness of the 2nd trimester would pass, and for me that was around 33 weeks. I started to feel tired again and the bursts of energy were gone. I regressed to feeling really hungry and having lots of pregnancy symptoms again. And then everyday was different. Some days I felt great and like I could take on the world and then others I could barely get out of bed. But get out of bed I did! I worked every single day until week 38 (delivering on week 39). I am pretty proud of that and I hope the fact that I was able to show up for my team buys me some grace on the back end.  

I wish I could tell you the last few weeks have been wonderful and I have loved every minute of it. There have been moments I have loved – feeling this baby kick in my tummy. Bonding with my husband. Being able to take the time to relax and hoard sleep. But there was definitely a switch in the last few weeks from “stay pregnant” mindset to “ready to have this baby” mindset. And as I sit here writing this just a few days away from being induced I hope that I have done enough to be able to look back on this pregnancy with the attention it deserves. Because it is a wonderful miracle. Not only did I grow another human with my body but that tiny human and I grew and extra organ (the placenta) that kept us both healthy and safe. Which I think is simply a superpower.  And while I still have labor and delivery to look forward to I hope that I can remember that my body has everything it needs to deliver this baby safely and that the baby has everything she needs to live outside of my body.