The final month of pregnancy was a busy one. I was in a sense of “nesting overload.” I felt like I had to get lots done before our baby arrived. At the same time, it felt like a huge deadline. It was a bizarre feeling. I knew my life would change after our baby arrived and was thrilled to meet her, but I also had a sense of ending. I had to stop and reflect on my feelings. My life wasn’t ending, but my life as I knew it was ending and would never be the same. It is hard to describe how I was feeling, perhaps other first time moms can relate. I am very independent, have an active lifestyle, a busy social life, and good career. I am used to coming and going as I please, and knew this would change…at least for a while, maybe a long while. Perhaps that is what I felt would be ending or at least slow down a bit. My hubby and I decided to have our baby later in life, neither of us is 20 anymore. I postponed pregnancy five years because of my career, travel plans, and life commitments. So, here we were, at our age becoming first time parents. I don’t regret the decision and feel very fortunate to be able to have our baby at this point of our lives. I am also fortunate to have made some career changes in the last year which allow me to work from home, and will allow me to take care of our baby at home when she is born.

Much of the last month of pregnancy was spent making the final purchases for baby. Things for her nursery and basic needs. We already had lots of stuff and the furniture for the nursery, it was just some small stuff that was missing. At this point, I was tired of going to the stores to buy more things and of researching reviews on items on-line. About three weeks prior to the due date, hubby decided he wanted to buy a glider chair for the nursery. I agreed, but left that purchase up to him. He ended up buying a large, lazy-boy style, glider – electric recliner chair in brown leather. I went with him to the furniture store to make the final decision. This style chair would have not been my selection, but since hubby let me decorate the nursery and we purchased all the furniture I selected, I compromised on the chair. I have used it a few times and must admit it is very comfortable. I also spent lots of time preparing for baby’s arrival, from sterilizing bottles, to finalizing the items in my hospital bag.

In addition to the due date deadline of March 24, on which I was scheduled to be induced, I had set a deadline for myself to make all the final purchases and preparations prior to the beginning of the San Diego Latino Film Festival on March 10. I was the host of the Festival this year and knew the events would entail long days. I made sure to get a haircut, color touch up, facial, manicure, and pedicure a few days before the Festival. It was in preparation to host the Festival, and also for labor and baby’s arrival. I knew I’d have limited time after baby arrived to continue with my regularly scheduled manicures and pedicures. I am glad I got all the things on my “to do” list done prior to the Festival, this was I was able to enjoy hosting the multiple events and a few after parties as well. I was pleased to continue feeling very good during the final weeks of pregnancy.

As they say, somethings gotta give and in my case, what gave was my blog posts. In addition to hosting the Festival, I also helped with the Silent Auction which took lots of my time. The week leading to the Festival involved picking up items for the Silent Auction, preparing the signage and bid sheets, and wrapping the items. It required many hours of work. It was worth it, we raised additional funds for the San Diego Media Arts Center, the non-profit organization which runs the Festival every year. It gave me a sense of satisfaction to help this community organization which has programs for youth, the community, and promotes Latino films and media.

Even though I am writing this post in the first week of April and our baby has already been born, I want to share pictures from the last month of our pregnancy. I was able to maintain my weight, maybe gained one or two more pounds, but our baby continued to grow and so did my belly.

Here’s my ninth month update:

• Baby’s Health: I had doctor’s appointments every week in the final month. Two of those appointments included ultrasounds, which were my favorite type of appointment because we got to see our baby. Baby continued to be healthy, as did my pregnancy.
• Baby Size & My Weight Gain:  She continued to grow and was estimated to weigh between six and a half, and seven pounds at birth. I started the final month with a weight gain of 25 pounds and remained at this weight the rest of the pregnancy. On some days, I’d weigh a pound or two more, but always seemed to go back to the 25 pounds. I did try to eat healthy, but still had a few treats occasionally.
• How I’m Feeling: I continued to have a good pregnancy without complications and feel fine! For the Festival, I would arrive wearing flat shoes or my mary jane style wedges and change into heels when I would go on stage. When I would arrive at home, I would elevate my feet to help with some occasional swelling due to the heels. Most people were shocked when they asked me how far along I was in my pregnancy and I would reply, nine months or 39 weeks. I was feeling good and was happy to be participating as host of the Festival! It was such fun! It was the last huge event I would host prior to baby’s arrival. It was eleven days of spending time with friends while hosting events, moderating multiple press conferences, organizing the silent auction, and attending receptions, concerts, and parties!
• Cravings: I have tried to continue on a healthy diet, and enjoy a few treats here and there. The craving which continued from the previous month was for potato chips with chile and lime. I also got my pancake fix on a late night dinner outing with hubby. The last few weeks, I was also craving desserts, mostly ice-cream or cake, which my hubby would buy for me on his way home from the office. I’d eat healthy all day long, then when he’s call to say he’d be coming home, I’d get the urge for some dessert.
• Exercise: When my belly started to grow, I could feel the pressure of the weight. My goal was to exercise my entire pregnancy, but I wasn’t certain I’d be able to accomplish it. Well. we did! I say we because Lorena became my exercise buddy and we walked two to three times per week all the way until the end of week forty! I think continuing to exercise was one of the reasons why I felt good through my entire pregnancy.
• Favorite Part of the Day: Feeling our baby move throughout the day. She was bigger now, but still managed to give me a nudge here and there!
• Family Favorite Moments: Spending time with my sister and nephews. The boys would hug my belly every time they saw me. I would share my pregnancy symptoms with my sister and she would tell me how she would feel towards the end of her pregnancy. I also appreciate that my sister-in-law and good friend Lizeth were in constant contact with me, inquiring how I felt and sending me tips or links to pregnancy or labor articles.

I’ll post pictures from my labor and our baby soon, as well as pictures of the nursery.

How was our last month of pregnancy?

Hugs,

Paola

PS – My Pregnancy Update & Baby Bump Pictures at 8 Months.