52 Responses to “35 weeks: You look like you’re going to pop!”

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  1. i 100% agree with you on that. our friends were kind of anti-social the first few weeks after their babies are born, but then they bring them everywhere and i love it! a baby isn’t the center of the family, it’s part of the family (in my opinion) and i don’t want our entire lives to come to a stand-still once it arrives. i think you guys are right on track 🙂

  2. Yayyy! We took the peanut out right away and are working hard to make sure she is social!! I think this is so impOrtant for parents and baby. My braxton hicks got crazy near the end too. You look adorable

  3. kate plourde

    Sleep is the most important thing for a baby second to only food and love. As a true newborn they can sleep anywhere, but after a couple of weeks, they are going to need routine naps and it will be more difficult for them to sleep out and about…at least that is the case with my daughter. She also goes to bed really early around 7pm…which definitely cramps our social life….but her getting the right amount of rest is worth it.

  4. Waddle Waddle Waddle – LOL!! I can imagine myself chanting that when I walked too

  5. I want to bring Baby D everywhere with me, too! I saw a 4 week old baby at a restaurant last weekend for a whole football game and was a little angel the whole time.
    I’ve had friends that can bring their babies anywhere, and others that had realllly fussy babies and didn’t leave the house for months. I’m hoping for a good sleeper! 🙂

    You’re getting so close! I feel like my ‘labor symptoms’ (BH, etc) have slowed down 🙁 what a tedious wait! Maybe you’ll pop before me! 🙂

  6. You look beautiful! I have loved sharing in your journey and can’t wait for the rest 🙂

  7. May

    This is so true. After a few weeks, they need to get used to sleeping in their crib (and you will want him to). So, it becomes a game of what you can fit in between naps. Trust Kate and I, it is definitely worth it- I’m sure her well-rested baby is as happy and active as mine!

    • kate plourde

      @May, whenever we do go out people always say, “she’s so alert!” —those two hours of awake time are maximized due to the solid sleeps/naps she gets— we invite people to our house. She’s in bed by 7, so people over downstairs doesn’t wake her, especially with her white noise machine on! 🙂

      • May

        @kate plourde, Wow, same here. It’s amazing how many people comment on him looking around, smiling and taking everything in. I know it’s due to his sleep! He’s down no later than 7, white noise machine and all. I think you and I would get along great! Our happy, well-rested babies would too! 🙂 p.s. At times I’ve felt like a crazy-sleep-obsessed Mom, but it’s worth it!!

        • kate plourde

          @May, Please! I’ve read so many books about baby sleep…I’m obsessed. Sometimes people who don’t understand give us a hard time when we pass on a visit or a party that is too late. We have definitely made exceptions for special occasions…but there’s nothing worse than an overtired baby. Have you read, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child?” It is the root of my sleep obsession!

        • kate plourde

          @May, btw way how old is your baby? Sloane will be 11 weeks tomorrow.

  8. May

    Sorry, my comment was in response to Kate’s (above)!

  9. Wow, you are going to be great parents! I have no experience, but I think that you have such a good attitude about a new life with the baby.

    As for freezing chicken cutlets, etc.- you can probably just wrap them tightly in foil and they should be good to go!

  10. Tricia K

    That dress is super cute! I want one, too 🙂 And yes, bring the baby with you whenever you can. Your friends (your good friends that you want to keep) will want to see him and won’t mind that he’s there! Plus they want to see you, which means that will maximize the social outing for everyone.

  11. You look amazing Sabrina!! We are almost there. I just prepped a few freezer meals this weekend and I posted about them on my blog. Hope it helps you with some ideas. Enjoy!

  12. While I’m not a parent, I agree with you and I’ve noticed that too. I hope you two don’t become anti-social, and I’d still like to hang out with you and the kid! Especially because that’s probably as close as I am going to get to a baby for a few years, haha.

  13. I love that you want to take bambino everywhere with you! More power to you!! We have a 3 1/2 year old and were among the first of our group of friends (we live in a city as well) to have a baby so Ryan easily fell into the role of the mascot of our group. He was always welcomed at parties and gatherings and we tried to bring him as much as possible. He thinks our adult friends are his friends, and they treat him as one of the gang. He is just as comfortable around kids as adults and super good at entertaining himself and playing alone at these gatherings, because he is used to it! I think so many people compartmentalize their life with a baby but it is SO important to incporporate that baby into your life, like you said! Don’t get me wrong, there are many times we have gotten a sitter for a later dinner our or a nicer restaurant or just a night where we wanted to just be a couple…But Ryan has also been to countless happy hours and dinners with our friends. We’ve slept over friends’ houses with him (the pack and play is great for overnight slumber parties!) and done weekends away where he was the only kid. We’ve made it work and I think it’s part of the reason why he’s such an adaptable kid, he’s used to it! And he loves a good party 🙂 Good Luck for the rest of your pregnancy, not much longer now!!

  14. Jess

    I am the mother of a 4 month old little boy and I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen to our social lives after he arrived. I am happy to say we cart our little dude around with us everywhere we go. He goes to restaurants, friends houses, baseball games and he is even an international traveler already. (We got his passport picture taken at 2 weeks and he looks so different already!) He seems to enjoy the change of scenery and has learned to fall asleep anywhere. The key is to be prepared, a well packed diaper bag is important.

    We don’t exactly close down bars anymore but we certainly still socialize. Congratulations and enjoy your last few weeks with your husband!

  15. You look beautiful!! I think it’s funny to see you 35 weeks along getting emails from BabyCenter b/c my baby is 35 weeks OLD and I’m getting those emails still. She’s almost been out of the womb as long as she was baking in the womb — crazy! Time flies. Enjoy the start of your maternity leave and let me just say, people SUCK.

    I carried low and small and people would say, “You’re not really X mths along, are you?” NO, I’m lying! I mean, really! Just let it roll off. Soon that little snookums will be here and your world will be blown away. It’s the most amazing thing. Our daughter is 8 mths old and we just can’t remember life before her! And we take her everywhere — when appropriate, of course. She’s happy and adaptable and has traveled plenty already (two trips to NJ/one to El Sal — starting at 6 weeks of age). It’s important to still live your life … and make couple time, too, which we need to get better at. For now, she’s been an easy travel-mate and I hope your bambino will be, too 🙂

  16. I love your blog, but I don’t think I have ever commented. My husband and I have always taken our son, who is now 4, almost everywhere with us. He has traveled overseas, gone to restaurants since he was an infant and attended get-togethers with friends and family. I think it is important to know when it’s time to leave. We may want to stay and socialize but sometimes our son has other ideas. I look for behavioral cues so that we can make a graceful exit rather than wait until he is cranky, whiny and miserable.

    All the best in the final weeks of your pregnancy. Enjoy every moment of your baby!

  17. Not naive at all! We had Lu out with us 4 days after she was born and haven’t stopped. Once she got on an established schedule (which didn’t happen until 3 months or so, we just worked around it. Her schedule is important but so is getting her out! She’s now almost 3 and a champion sleeper. We hit the jackpot with her 🙂

  18. You look gorgeous! I think I’ve been carrying low all along, because my stomach basically hangs out on my lap when I sit. Such an awkward feeling. I’m actually worried that being home all day will be bad for the baby and his stimulation, so I’m going to make a point to get him out for lots of walks and around people as much as I can!

  19. Hey we are having the same thoughts. There is no way I want to be antisocial once the baby comes our way. We want to be able togo out without a problem. My husband tells me that his parents just took the pack n’ play everywhere they went and still had great social lives. I find I have the BH contractions when I walk. exercise and stand for long periods of time so I would not doubt that is what is going on with you. You look awesome!!

  20. Congrats on being so far along. It’s funny how pregnancy is one of those things where complete strangers feel they have the right to comment. I think the question of what kind of parent one becomes is an interesting one. Because I’ve always been on the fence about whether I want kids, it isn’t something I can say I have thought about in-depth. But I can say the challenge for me, from an abstract point of view would be how to make a kid a part of my life while still leaving some room for independence, me-time, and keeping up the romance in a relationship. I’ve seen so many new parents (understandably) completely neglect their relationship with their spouse and I would definitely not want that to be me! I’ll be curious to hear your perspective on how you manage it all once the baby comes.

    I think the other thing I would personally think about is being courteous to those around me if I’m bringing the baby to a public place. I’m all for parents getting to have a life but there are some places that don’t feel appropriate. I think most parents are respectful, but there are always those bad apples who spoil the bunch, unfortunately. I think a similar issue goes on with pet owners. I love my dog and I want to take him out and about so he’s not home alone all day, but some places I know I can’t bring him without him being noisy or annoying or bothering other people. Maybe it’s just be me but I’m always overly sensitive about not trying to be rude to others.

    • Jaime

      @Kelly, I completely agree that as much as you might want to take the baby everywhere, it is not always appropriate and it is important to be considerate of others. Of course, many places and people are baby-friendly so it is not that big of a deal but I still think it is important to be courteous.

  21. Staying social isn’t naive. You will just be entertaining in more and a slave to nap times. We are still super fun even though we have a baby (and another on the way).

    Julie
    ilikebeerandbabies.com

  22. It is totally possible to be social and have a baby 🙂 It just takes a little extra planning sometimes.

    (I have two kids now, and it is harder with 2, but still do-able)

    It also depends on the temperment of the baby too…I’d say the best advice is to go with the flow 🙂 Do what feels right for your baby and family!

  23. Tania

    Sabrina, i think you look fantastic for 35 weeks! you have such a great glow about you, and your baby posts are fantastic, i look forward to hopefully one day very soon, joining the baby bump group 🙂

    For the cutlets, i dredge them in the egg mix, then the breadcrumbs, then repeat- then i flash freeze them on a baking tray in the freezer, once frozen, i transfer to a ziploc.

    At the same time, i will do the same thing with zucchini or eggplants, to have a stash ready for when i make a parmigiana.

    I also make big batches of sauce to freeze and have on hand.

    can you tell im italian? lol

    goodluck in the final weeks!! 🙂

  24. “what i miss: …feeling pretty”

    Umm lady you are beautifuuuuul. And glowing. Please feel how amazing you look!

  25. I think you look beautiful! Such a glowing mama!

  26. We could be twins! (triplets??) Emmaline is 9 months and people still get on me about not wanting to miss nap time or bedtime! We’re really active during the day and people are always commenting about how well behaved she is but I know it’s because I’m dedicated to her getting the right amount of sleep during the day most days and being in bed by 7pm at the latest! As far as being social, it was easier when she was small and could sleep through anything in the carseat… now, if we’re out and about, she doesn’t want to miss anything so she won’t nap. It limits what we can do and when but it’s only temporary. : )

  27. Eeash… sorry, I was trying to be on Kate and May’s thread above ; )

  28. You are adorable 🙂
    We take Bronwen a lot of places, but you have to know when to say “when” too. Sometimes it’s tempting to stay out longer or even go at all when you know it’s not the best idea. We have definitely cut nights shorter or declined more invitations since B’s arrival. And we’ve only had to leave a function once – otherwise, we’ve been lucky and B has been very agreeable when we do go out.

  29. I am so excited for you. I can’t hardly believe your time is almost here.

    Re: taking a baby everywhere – two thoughts on that. One: I, like many of the above commenters, am pretty die-had about nap time, most of the time, so our schedule is somewhat set by that – but I’m ok with it if it means I have a chipper baby 🙂 And two: it took me a while to get comfortable taking Lucy out because she was really unpredictable. You know how some babies just sleep, sleep, sleep in their carseats/strollers? Yeah. Not so much for my baby. She had a particular affinity for screaming her head off in Target 🙂 That stressed me out a bit. It may take a while to see what works for your babe.

  30. May

    He is 8 months old. I know what you mean- we’re totally on the same page. It’s not that we miss out; things are just different! I read (and re-read) the same book!!!! Now it all makes sense. 🙂

  31. sandy

    At first, you arent going to want to leave the house. You will want to master breastfeeding, pumping, etc. Then, you will get the urge to leave your house after a while, like, “If I dont leave I am going to loose my mind” and sorry to say, you will probably want to do it without baby boy. Not that you wont think about him every second that you are away, and cut your night short so you can come back and stare at him, but to be the best mom you can be for your baby, you have to nuture your relationship with your husband and yourself.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      @sandy, Thanks for your comment. I completely agree with you about nurturing my relationship with my husband. I was referring more to the fact that many of our friends never go ANYWHERE anymore- unless they have their baby… even at a very baby friendly event. I don’t want to be like that!

  32. People tell you that you look like you’re going to pop? Some people are so funny with their reactions to pregnant bodies. Some people tell me I’m “so tiny,” but I’ve also been asked if I’m having twins (nope, I’m not).

  33. Well…I’m not gonna lie. It’s tricky with an infant. Mine’s 3 months today, and it does largely have to revolve around him. What does that mean? Going out to dinner is hard. He’s just fussy in the evenings. So we have people over, go to their houses, or we go out for lunch, but have only done a few dinner restaurant trips with baby. He’s been fine, but it involves MANY concessions (i.e. someone entertaining him, breastfeeding standing up in a bathroom stall b/c I’m uncomfortable in public, etc…). He has gone to parties and done fantastically, though, b/c there are plenty of people that want to hold him.

    On the flip side? Often he’s better behaved outside of the house. He’s more entertained, and loves interacting with people, so there’s the positive. Sometimes it calms him down! So, really, I’m just saying it’s hard to plan ahead, and we just go with the flow.

  34. Danielle

    I agree that you can still be somewhat social with a new baby, but I also agree that a social life depends on the temperament and needs of the baby. We have taken our 2 month old many places, but you always have to plan for ordering your food and getting a box as soon as it arrives. This happened to us, and it was very frustrating as we were out with another (childless) couple! I have also realized that people without children just have no clue. Sure we can go to dinner with a baby (at certain restaurants) but unless we have notice about a movie, um, we can’t hop up and go! We’re not going to bring our child to a movie! Also, I don’t know if you are breastfeeding, but some days it is a little difficult to feed baby every three hours, feed myself, shower, do housework and still have enough time to pump milk to be able to go somewhere! So sometimes our social time gets cut because it is baby’s feeding time! I wish you the best of luck, I have really enjoyed reading your blog; it’s been interesting to see how someone else’s pregnancy has progressed!

  35. I think whether or not your baby is “portable” all depends on the baby. I had high hopes of bringing baby everywhere and it worked at first – dinner? No problem – baby would sleep through everything. But at about 2 weeks she decided she was picky about where she slept and a tired baby is not a fun baby for anyone. I think once she gets older again we’ll include her in more things but it’s also tough because you have to get home to get them to nap. Yes, most babies sleep in the car but then it’s a short nap which isn’t very recuperative. Hopefully you’ll have the kind of baby that either sleeps everywhere or doesn’t need too much sleep.

    And don’t worry too much about the weight because the most important thing is that your breastmilk is nutritious for bambino!

  36. I meant 2 months…not 2 weeks. 🙂

  37. I think it is great that you don’t want to stay home too much and be able to bring the baby with you places.
    I’m not a parent myself, but we have friends who have a 1 year old daughter. She goes everywhere they go, and they are very active and social. I think it has helped their daughter be very social and not afraid to try new things.
    It isn’t always easy for them, sometimes they have to leave early or cut things short when it is bed time or nap time, but they really make the most of their time. We love hanging out with them, playing with their daughter, and helping take care of her when we can.

  38. I love, loved, LOVED Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and absolutely recommend it! Wish I had read it from day one though. I didn’t pick it up until my son was about 7 weeks. He’s been going to bed between 6 and 6:30 since he was 3 months and is also a very alert and curious boy. I agree that it is very important to have a well rested baby, which also makes for a sane mommy. My husband and I occasionally took him with us when we went over to friends houses or restaurants in the early months.Some times it went well, other times it didn’t. I ended up completely stressing out every time he wasn’t an angel though!

    • kate plourde

      @Meg @ Notes to Hunter, I don’t know what I would do without that book!! That book and Happiest Baby on the Block saved me!! I refer to the sleep book all of the time and I love how it goes far beyond baby sleep….. 🙂

  39. Oops! Also meant to reply to May and Kate’s thread!

  40. I love that you want to get out with the new baby! Friends of mine have a son that’s almost a year old and still almost never come out because they don’t like to leave him with a babysitter. All of our friends love it when the little one is around and are totally willing to arrange our plans around their needs, but they seem to think we’re not serious. Don’t feel you have to neglect your life! Take plenty of you time but I’m sure your friends will want to spend time with you AND the baby!

  41. How cute are you??!! I completely agree and definitely would want to baby-wear, and take my baby along with us as much as possible. Of course date nights would be needed, but we’re really adventurous + always on the go. I wouldn’t want that to stop at all!

  42. I love your “have fun” optimistic attitude about weight loss, I need to readjust my attitude to be like yours!!

  43. Staying social is difficult at first but I have to say after the first month it got easier. It’s all about timing. We have found out that that if we keep Ella up too late, she is a bear to get down for bed and she doesn’t sleep nearly as long. Same thing goes for missing naps.

  44. Melissa

    I’m 31 weeks and starting to freak a bit about not having time to cook once baby comes. Can you please share your freezer food that you prepared or will be preparing? Or, where you got your info/tips from. Please help!

  45. Ellen

    One thing no one mentioned here is that your baby will be born just as flu season/rsv season is gearing up. So I would not bring the baby around everywhere until after the winter is over, or at the very least, until the baby hits 2 months old and gets the first set of immunizations. It’s definitely important to stay social, but the way you get out is different. You do playdates, early dinners, go to the park, etc. Finding a good moms group is essential in keeping yourself from feeling isolated. We took our oldest out to restaurants (not just kid/chain restaurants either- real ones) and he has always been really good, and I think it’s because we started when he was a baby, and he knew what we expected of him behavior-wise. Just don’t expect much the first few months, and definitely don’t be one of those parents who keeps their kid out til 9 at night just so you can continue your old social schedule. You will be more interested in getting sleep anyway at first. And then you will want some adult time- that first time you get to go out to dinner alone is amazing!

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