Preparing for Baby Number Six
With each pregnancy it takes me longer and longer to start actually doing “pregnant” things. There’s a million reasons any one could think of — and honestly it doesn’t really matter, but as we are within weeks of that beautiful third trimester I’ve started to finally act like I’m really pregnant.
I’m not one who does a lot in general to get ready for birth, in part because labor is so unpredictable, and I don’t care what miracle course you bought, there’s no magic formula to bringing that beautiful babe into this world. I think there’s a lot that can help, but ultimately we are all human and unexpected things- both good and bad— can happen.
I remember being pregnant with our first and I had recently put in my two weeks notice at my Job. I suddenly found myself a newlywed stay at home House wife, and and I went down the rabbit hole. When I look back it was a really sweet and special season, prepping for the baby, learning how to be a wife, and making our sweet little apartment feel like home. I laugh with Cameron sometimes about what I would Do with all that time back then. I remember having individual baggies of prepped smoothies that I would make for the week, I remember the spotless apartment, never even a mug left in the sink 😅 and I remember setting up our little bedside nursery about 5,000 times over the span of the pregnancy. It was fun and it was special, it was our first time and I cherish it in a way that’s a bit different than the now. Pregnancy now looks more like sweet babies to snuggle the bump, and sweet littles who dream about what they will get to do with their baby sister on the way. Both are special but very different. I had the time and space to obsess over every detail the first go around. To dream about what being a mom will be like, what labor will Be like, what do I want to get for this babe. I don’t have the time and space for that anymore, and I’m not sad about it. I’m more confident in who I am as a mother, and what really matters to me. This is a journey, and it’s not a shameful One. I’ve never appreciated the polarizing comments about “first time moms” vs, “seasoned moms”. We are all moms and we all are in each role at some point. I don’t make my recommendations to tell you “this is right”, and everything the last seven years was wrong, or I’m Right because I have five babes already. I say what I say to let you all know, this is who I am and what I am doing now. It’s ok if you want every baby product and trinket that exists, I hope you know you don’t NEED them all, but there’s nothing wrong with it. I hope this season of preparation and ushering in your miracle is one of joy, that focuses on what matters, which can be different for each person, and that you know you aren’t messing anything up or missing out because you didn’t buy a $1,200 snoo. with that being said, here’s a peak into what the last bit and next bit of time has looked like for me this go around.
One thing that I swear by, (mainly because I’ve had a diastasis recti since baby number two, that I’ve never quite been able to get back to normal) is belly taping. There’s a million YouTube videos out there to do it yourself, and some physical therapists may even tape you up for free if you walk in with your own tape. I’ve found that the extra support up my ever growing tummy helps me not feel like I’m going to burst open at any second. It also helps me to feel more able to do the day to day things that require the slightest effort from my body. This is the tape I usually use, although I’ve been trying out the equate wal mart brand and am happy so far!
Vitamins and herbs
Here’s the thing, I’m really bad at doing the pregnant things. Drinking half your weight in water (ounces), taking that whole food prenatal, hitting 80+ grams of protein every day! It’s hard, but I try, and it isn’t until this point that I start really doing it most every day. I’ve tried so many vitamins over the years, and while this one isn’t my most fav it ticks the important boxes, and fits within our budget. I don’t think you need to go into debt and spend money you don’t have so that you have every single supplement under the sun, (in all the right brands that your favorite crunchy influencer tells you that you need if you REALLY love your baby). Kirkland’s organic whole food based multivitamin has been working great this time around. It’s the right price, it’s got folate, and it’s usually under $20. It’s probably not the best, if I had all the money in the world I’m sure I’d do something different, but it’s not nothing people!
Other supplements I take are magnesium, I know the whole world is supposedly deficient, and it’s difficult to absorb so sometimes I’ll do it in lotion form, and Cameron and I both have been supplementing with this particular one. I usually like to take a supplement specifically for my teeth because, well, I’ve been nursing and pregnant non stop for the last seven years and I’m scared my teeth and bones are just going to give up if I’m not intentional to care for them. 😅I’ve been happy over the years with this supplement, but it can be costly to maintain. I’ve been using this living bones supplement so far this pregnancy instead and am very pleased, it’s a much more economical option!
Update: this year when cam gets his buck (just over here naming and claiming people 😅) we are planning on dehydrating and encapsulating some of the organs that people usually eat for these benefits. We tried to eat them last year and we both about died, we were not fans!
The last two things I’ll Share are this: pregnancy tea, I use this one, and towards the last month I switch to raspberry leaf only, and a truly insane amount at that! The last thing is collagen, or gelatin. I’ll add it into my morning protein shakes, got to hit those 80 grams people! It’s pricey as well, (are we noticing a theme here??!) so I’m not consistent about it when I’m not pregnant but I do honestly feel better and stronger when I take it, not to mention what it does for the skin and nails!
update: in this last year I’ve really done a deep dive into the benefits of herbal tea. Outside of pregnancy I’ve really enjoyed using herbal teas daily to help replenish certain vitamins and minerals lacking in my diet. Nettle, dandelion, and chamomile are what I’m reaching for the most these days.
Phew! That was a lot! I’m thankful I’ve let go of a lot over the years, and also seen the value of putting my physical health as a priority as we do the hard work of growing and birthing a baby over and over again. This time around more than any other I’ve really felt the strain in my body. I’m longing for those third trimester chiropractor adjustments, and also realizing how hard it is to just carry on and do what I normally do every day in and out. It’s been a challenge to move every day, but I know it’s really important especially for our family, we literally can’t afford for me to lay out on the couch and “take it easy” we’ve got a household to run. Because of this we got a cheap little exercise bike with some birthday money on Amazon. We got this one for under $60 at the time and it’s a far cry from a peloton but it gets the job done! I find myself using it while I do busy work on my phone, paying bills, grocery orders etc. as well as in the evenings when the kids are in bed and cam and I are just hanging out. It’s really helping my energy and motivation this time around, and honestly I wish I would have thought to try this out years ago. I’m not telling you to go out and buy an exercise bike, but I do think it’s worthwhile to find a way you actually enjoy moving your body and stick with it, especially if this isn’t your first time around, or you’re in a particularly busy season. Sometimes we need more than “it’s good for you” to prioritize physical health, sometimes it actually needs to be enjoyable for us to do it, even if it’s still hard work— and I 100% think that’s ok!
Update: I mentioned earlier chiropractic care in third trimester. I did this with most pregnancies but this time around I actually chose not to. I think it works and it feels great that’s for sure, but after learning more about the origins of chiropractic care I felt I needed to cut ties with it.
Ok this next one may seem a bit strange if you maybe haven’t had a lot of babes, or at least multiple back to back, but this time around I’m really focusing on hair care. Every time I hit that 12 week postpartum mark I start losing hair. Lots of hair, like clumps and clumps for weeks. I tried the encapsulated placenta in the past, I didn’t notice a difference so I never did it again. Typically I have thick, long hair, but when it falls out it’s drastic, I feel like I’m balding, for months! I know there’s not much to do to prevent this. I’ve tried all the supplements, but I figured if I can get my hair to the healthiest state possible maybe it won’t seem as drastic. If you know me in real life you may know that I’ve been doing the “ no poo” for about 5 years now. If you aren’t familiar with that it just means I am using water only to wash my hair and mainly use a boar bristle brush for cleaning/ distributing oils to my hair. I’ve really loved it but I have noticed my scalp and hair can have a hard time maintaining moisture. In this pregnancy I’m doing my best to get some needed life back into my scalp and hair by doing hair masks, mainly with a combo of caster, argon and rosemary oil, as well as sleeping with a satin bonnet like this — where have these been all my life?! My hair does seems like it’s getting longer and I’m seeing tons of new growth, my hope is that this gives me a good safety net for all the thickness I may loose postpartum! Fingers crossed, I’ll keep y’all posted!
Update: at four months PP now I can tell you that I am in fact very bald again! I’m doing lots of scalp massages and using black seed oil and rosemary regularly, and I do see some regrowth. Those postpartum wings (IYKYK) are a badge of honor mamas 😅
House projects/organizing purging :
I know the end of pregnancy is notoriously saved for that sweet little nesting season, (and tossing a three thousand item long honey-do list at our super hero husbands) but I feel really motivated to get organized and set up for success early this time around. Maybe it’s because we are a month past Christmas and our oldest has a birthday in a couple of weeks, but I just can’t stop purging. If we don’t use it and won’t use it I’m really trying to toss it. I know this is tricky for large families, hello hand me downs — in both clothing and toys! But I do try to be thoughtful about what we really need and want to keep. Naturally this has come with some organizing, rearranging and trying to find the best way to fit the 8 of us in our quirky 1,500 square foot home. We’ve also started tackling some of those small projects that seem to make a big impact on the environment— patching that small hole, painting over those sharpie drawings, replacing that broken sink sprayer. You all know how that stuff can add up. I’m not sure why but us tackling these things seems to be bringing back little bits of peace into our home, which is very much the motivation we have to do them— as we know we will be entering into another busy season when baby arrives!
Update: I can confirm that sink sprayer is in fact still broken, I have more items to purge, and no I’m still not organized. We are still working at it though, and I’m thankful for the bits we were able to get don’t before sweet sister got here 🙈
Did I mention that abdomen separation? Oh yeah it’s a pain in the everything! We don’t realize how many parts of our body effect each other and I’m really trying to be diligent with doing some pelvic floor exercises to prevent this bad boy from getting any worse! I also try to always sit in the birth ball or on the floor to keep my core engaged — or at least sit in a better position. I’m not perfect because I love to lounge as much as the next person but I am trying!
The final but most important thing I’m doing to prepare for this baby is of course, prayer. Ever since our first babe seven years ago I remember Cam and I asking the Lord to show us what the name was for our son. With each pregnancy we have known the names so quickly and from there the Lord seems to speak sweet little tidbits about who they will be that we are able to pray over them and bless them with. When we were pregnant with our third (well third and fourth but we didn’t know that until halfway through) the Lord almost instantly gave us a name for a girl and a boy. We loved the names so much, a week before we found out the gender I was telling a few friends at church how I wished we were having twins because I want to use both of these names. I knew these names were for now, and probably wouldn’t be on the table again in the future. If you know our story you know the irony because the next week we found out that we were in fact having twins, and boy girl twins at that. In the whirlwind of the surprise I started laughing and looked at cam, who was a bit woozy at that point and I said, “we get to use both of the names!” God is so sweet to us, I’m so thankful for the ways we have continued to invite Him into this miraculous process that often times feels very ordinary. It was during this pregnancy we also got a teaching by Arthur Burk, blessing babies in the womb. If you go buy this, be warned the audio quality is no where near the quality of the content, but we love it! The main portion of this teaching is specific prayers and blessings being prayed over your baby’s spirit. I would play it throughout the day while I do housework or sometimes at night while I’m getting ready for bed. There’s also a book by the same teacher with written out spirit blessings. We found ourselves using this more and taking turns reading blessings over our baby. We like this because we are more involved in it and we love it. So this time around specific prayers and blessings are a main way we are preparing to meet our sweet girl. We still don’t have a name for this babe yet, so we are specifically asking the Lord, “what do you call her?” And are waiting for our name.
Update: we did get a name for our sweet girl. We were scratching our heads a bit because we both felt like the Lord wasn’t speaking to us, and then cam reminded me of our last pregnancy. The Lord had spoke to him (before we knew we were pregnant) and told him that he would have a daughter named Hadassah. Well we ended up having a boy— named Ephriam and the completely forgot about this moment. When Cam brought this up it was a sweet aha moment and we knew that the Lord had already given us her name, and ever since our little Haddie, dassah girl has had a name 💕
Pregnancy is such a quick (and slow!) season, and each one is different. I’ve had times where I’m counting down the days and I just want my babe in my arms, and times where I can gratefully acknowledge the gift of the season that pregnancy is. The preparation for the gift. Wherever you’re at, whichever pregnancy this is for you, whatever you’ve walked through, fought through, prayed for to get to this point, what a gift and miracle it is to be here, and carrying the life you are. I pray that you see Jesus and His miraculous power and nearness with you every step of the way. 💕