I must admit these final weeks of pregnancy are incredibly challenging. Not only the discomforts but the waiting. I remember feeling this way with each child, the first being the most difficult, and if you are in those final weeks as well, my heart goes out to you, mama.
It helps to remember that these final weeks are oh so important for baby. She’s packing on some extra weight, continuing to develop healthy lungs, and strengthening her little heart. While you are waiting, here are my best tips to keep you busy:
- Pack the hospital bag: I’ll be living in this cute labor and delivery gown for the duration of my hospital stay. If you need a more detailed list of what to pack check on Pinterest!
- Order final baby items: we just need a sound machine and video camera. Oh, and diapers…
- Continue to plan outings and play dates: I’ve been bad about this but it’s so important not to prematurely clear the calendar.
- Plan for the newborn photos: hopefully you have already found a photographer by 38 weeks, but now you can start to plan all the family outfits – I really enjoy this! Here are a few of the items I picked out for my crew:
- Enjoy this time with your other kids: This is harder than you might think when you are 38+ weeks pregnant and just want to be left alone in your misery, ha! But soon your other kiddos will be fighting a newborn for your attention and you will feel maxed out very quickly.
- Schedule a date night, a haircut, and a mani/pedi: pamper yourself while you have a chance!
Finally, it’s nice to feel like you are doing *something* to move labor along and that’s where drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea and eating Dates comes in. These are two things that people say strengthen your uterus, put you into labor, and/or make your labor shorter. Whether that’s true or not is not exactly proven, but it doesn’t hurt to try!
- Raspberry Leaf Tea – some do this their entire pregnancy, others wait till about 36 weeks. Do what is best for you. I wait till 36+ weeks because I don’t necessarily enjoy the taste. That being said, this time around I found a recipe that I am loving. The recipe called for fresh orange juice, but I’ve been loving it with orange juice that has a splash of pineapple juice in it – so good!
- Dates – I really dislike the texture of these but have been tolerating them by cutting them in half and smothering them in peanut butter. Some of my friends came through with other recommendations that you might find tasty.
The last thing I am doing, and probably the most important, is trying to remain faithful to our daily habits. Make the bed, get dressed, keep up with the laundry and dishes and cleaning bathrooms. All these small and seemingly insignificant tasks are a lifeline amongst seasons of waiting and change. There is still work to be done and life to be lived!
I hope you find something here to be helpful. If you have any tips to add, let us know in the comments! Next week, I am hopeful to have a birth announcement for you all 🙂
Waiting, it is a joyful edge for all of us who long to meet our new addition and be the lovingly helpful hands through the trials of motherhood. I am struck by the awe and wonder if it all – the great miracle of life which we get to experience all over again, both from the sidelines as well as through the eyes and words of baby’s siblings.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us Mads and reminding us of God’s hand in it, and call to faith through it.
I love your description of waiting as a “joyful edge” so true!