Hi everyone, we were lucky enough to be able to capture my third-trimester baby bump and have the most beautiful family portraits taken by Marni Olivier who was 8 weeks postpartum at the time! I wanted a beautiful location so we headed to the citrus orchard at Almost Orange. It is such a stunning spot and always makes me feel like I’m back in Tuscany. It was freezing cold and windy on the day. Teddy was under the weather. I was exhausted and had been for weeks. Ryan wasn’t particularly interested in me dragging him to yet another family photo session. Be that as it may, I am SO glad that we pulled it together and took the opportunity to capture this phase in our family’s lives. The joy these photographs give me I cannot even begin to describe. I’ve already had them printed into a coffee table book and I can’t wait to have some prints framed for our walls.
My third trimester was quite eventful. I was under enormous stress at work and hadn’t been feeling great but I thought it was simply due to general pregnancy symptoms and lack of sleep. Lo and behold, my gestational diabetes test came back positive. Managing a second high risk factor during this pregnancy was not part of my plan. Anyways, in an attempt to find the solution, the first step was consulting with a dietician. I’ve always prided myself on being fit and having a clean diet so I was very interested to hear what advice the dietician had for me. As we went through my diet, it became apparent that I wasn’t eating enough protein, could add some more fibre and should avoid starchy vegetables. I put those measures into place straight away and had to check my glucose 6 times per day. Over a two-week period, nothing appeared to be changing so my OB decided it was time for medication. Over time, we increased the dosage 3 times and still weren’t seeing the results we wanted so I went to visit two physicians and it looked as though my caesar would be moved forward to 38 weeks to avoid complications. With the stress from work looming and the worry of diabetes affecting the baby and baby’s delivery, things were a bit hair-raising. I also happened to have Braxton Hicks contractions the night before a day full of meetings in the office in the middle of August. Ryan was convinced that this baby was going to arrive and I was slightly concerned too because the contractions felt completely genuine. Luckily, they went away but not before we sat by the washer/drier and did a full load of baby clothes and packed our bags in the event that things were going to progress during the night.
The highlight of my third trimester was most definitely the baby sprinkle that my book club hosted for our little boy. Gosh it was the sweetest thing! They completely spoilt our baby boy. They decorated so beautifully and organised such sweet games. It was just the loveliest afternoon with the most beautiful company and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by ladies who are so invested in my boys. I think that’s all a mother could ask for. Thank you ladies! I did share a Reel from the day on my Instagram (@arumlilea) if you’re interested in seeing how special the day was.
In other news, I’d been given lovely advice on how to introduce Teddy to the new baby so I started preparing a bag of gifts to give him from the baby at the hospital filled with wooden puzzles, a dancing crab, books, stuffed toys and a few bits and bobs I knew he’d love. I also started reading a “big brother” book to him in the evenings. Somehow, he knew that there was a baby on the way without us telling him because he would always lift my top and put his palm to my tummy and say “Baby.” Too precious! Little Teddy has been the centre of my universe since he arrived so I wanted to do everything I possibly could to incorporate him into this next chapter of our family’s story and not make him feel left out of the process. My exhaustion was starting to get the better of me but I was still trying to pack in as much one on one time as I could. We went to Harry Potter’s birthday party at Exclusive Books, spent time in the park, flew kites with Grandpa, watched the swans and had plenty of cuddles. I would hold him longer than necessary before bedtime and just watch him as he fell asleep in my arms and soak in the time left of him being an only child. I couldn’t cherish the child who taught me how to be a mom any more than I do. He is the most precious thing in the world to me.
Just like that, my third trimester was drawing to a close and my second pregnancy was coming to an end. I can’t believe how quickly it came and went. Just like that, we were anticipating our little boy’s arrival. His birth has a story of its own so I’ll share that and some beautiful pictures from the hospital in my next blog post.
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