Tuckernuck Dress

Our baby boy should certainly be here by the time you’re reading this. At least I hope he’s made his arrival by now!

I’m writing this exactly 39 weeks pregnant today on June 14th. Our baby’s expected due date is June 21st. So, he really he could come any moment! If I was a betting woman I’d guess he’s coming June 24th, but time will tell.

So while I’m in the newborn bubble I want to focus today’s blog post on recapping the trails and triumphs of my third trimester – along with sharing how Matt and I have been preparing for the baby’s arrival!

Let’s get straight into it!

Third Trimester Trials:

Let’s start off with the trails, shall we? If I’m being honest, I’d say that the third trimester was very easy up until week 36 of being pregnant. I was feeling pretty much like myself until I ended up with a very bad cold for about 2.5 weeks that I could not kick. I was under the weather while simultaneously working peak-season at Mr. Trophy.

Work wise May and June are extremely busy months at Mr. Trophy. The company found itself short one manufacturing employee, hiring two new employees, and breaking record sales – amazing! I’m very proud of all the work everyone at Mr. Trophy has been putting in.

But, oh boy! Not having any days off to regroup, being sick, and constantly being on my feet – caught up to me really quickly at 38 weeks pregnant.

Due to swelling, at 38 weeks my feet went from a size 8 shoe to a size 10 almost overnight. In fact, at this moment, the only pair of shoes I fit into are a pair of size 10 white Crocs that I purchased this weekend at Walmart. A true laugh out loud moment for me.

The good news is I’m healthy and the baby is healthy! So, while my legs are almost always asleep, have limited mobility, and look puffy at least it’s just situational and overall a humbling experience.

Besides the leg/feet debacle, the only other symptom I’ve had is feeling extremely hot all the time. Hot flashes; heartburn. You name it, I’m fiery.

Overall, I’m just grateful that I’ve had such an enjoyable first pregnancy.

Third Trimester Triumphs:

The first triumph during the third trimester is finishing the nursery – finally!

We finished it at 38 weeks pregnant, which is not something I recommend. It was stressful getting all the final touches together. And as I’m typing this we’re still waiting on one curtain to arrive.

If you’re a first-time parent, I’d recommend starting the nursery earlier than you think. I know most expecting parents don’t utilize the room right away, but our space housed all of our baby’s items. Plus, as his due date approaches and we continue to unbox more stuff it’s been nice having this room to place items throughout the pregnancy. Having the nursery completed feels so good.

We shared our nursery reveal last week – which you can view here.

Another triumph is that the baby boy is looking, sounding, and measuring great. He’s head down and ready to rumble which is a relief. At this moment, Matt and I are as ready as we can be to welcome this baby boy into our lives. The hospital bags are packed, work-out-of-office messages are up, and families are on stand-by. Everyone is so excited to meet our baby and finally discover his name!

Maternity Leave Plans:

This may be out-of-the-box, but I wanted to include my maternity leave details in this post as well.

As a business owner of two very unique businesses, conceptualizing a maternity leave is something I struggled with. Therefore, I want to share how I prepared in hopes it helps you if you’re in a similar situation.

The biggest thing I struggled with while planning for my maternity leave was guilt. Simply feeling bad for being ‘out-of-office’ for such a long chunk of time. The longest I’ve been away from my company is three weeks for my wedding this past fall. I debated between taking 4 – 12 weeks off, with providers recommending more time if possible.

I also made it a point to talk with new moms. Some had months-long fully paid maternity leaves and others had a few weeks off. I learned that how quickly you want to get back to work will likely depend on a variety of things. Such as, postpartum mental health, recovery, how you decided to feed your baby, sleep patterns and much more.

Ultimately, I decided on the full 12 weeks out-of-office at Mr. Trophy. However, by week four I plan to slowly integrate back into Mr. Trophy work. I will focus on our website, which is something I can work on from home. Knowing I could cut my leave short or pop-into manufacturing anytime puts less pressure on me.

For the blog, I have three weeks of preplanned content, that Lauren will set live for me. After that, I’ll be back with a fresh face to share – and a lot of New England summer content!

In fact, as I write this today, June 14th, I start my maternity leave at Mr. Trophy. I took half of this last week off. This allowed me time to prep blog posts to go live while on maternity leave from Aubrey Craig.

Plus, I can prep for the baby to arrive in a more comfortable position. My swollen feet are greatly appreciating the downtime!

Anyway, I want to thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. We can’t wait to share the news with you all hopefully soon!