I have a LONG overdue blog post. Life’s been so blissfully crazy the past 3 months becoming a mom and learning how to juggle so many things. I shared the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy in this post so today I wanted to share my thoughts on the last 20 weeks of pregnancy and also what these last 3 months have been like.
I LOVED being pregnant. I embraced all of my body changes, I loved my belly, feeling our baby move, and how NICE everyone is to you when you’re pregnant haha. It’s such a sweet phase of life. Second trimester was my favorite too. I had a cute little bump, I felt amazing, had a ton of energy, etc. I had awful back pain from the moment I conceived but it got better during second trimester.
Third trimester started out amazing even though a lot of aches and pains had begun. Plus that’s usually when you have your showers and finishing nursery so I was so busy and excited. Around 33 weeks I started getting awful pelvic floor pain and my back pain came back stronger than ever. That was a huge struggle for me because I’m a busy bee and all of a sudden I was hurting so bad. But I still continued my schedule and worked out about 3-4x a week.
Last trimester my workouts were mainly strength training and incline walking. I stopped pilates around 32 weeks because I couldn’t maneuver myself as much lol.
At 36 weeks I was pretty done not gonna lie haha. I tell everyone who asks if I liked being pregnant that I LOVED it until 36 weeks. From there, I was in so much pain daily, my belly was massive, and I was so ready to meet our baby!
I ended up having Ezra at 39 weeks and I had a really amazing birth. I have a highlight on my IG called ‘birth’ that describes it more in detail but it was fairly quick and once I got an epidural after laboring myself for hours, it made things so much easier. I’ll never forget how crazy/ a whirlwind of a night it was but it was hands down my favorite memory in life thus far. Women’s bodies are truly incredible and I feel so honored to have carried and birthed life. Something I hope to do again!
Check out my pregnancy must haves too.
The first 24 hours after birth are kind of crazy but I just surrendered to the nurses haha. Lots of blood, and people seeing you in your most vulnerable state but it goes fast!
The TWO things I would change about my birth/postpartum stay… One: I regret not sending Ezra to the nursery for a few hours after I gave birth or for the first night. I was ADAMANT about full rooming in, so basically he didn’t leave my sight, but I was up 48 hours straight from birth and then another 24 hours with him and I wish I would’ve trusted the staff to take him for 4-6 hours so I could’ve truly rested and worked on healing. I think it would’ve set me up better going home and some of the huge emotions I had. I was so delirious. Two: I wish I would’ve talked with my doctor about going home the second night. I stayed two nights in the postpartum unit and I really hated it. I like my own space and my bed and I could’ve gone home after 24 hours so I wish I would’ve advocated for myself and set that up.
I bled and used all postpartum things for about 3 weeks. Everyone is so different though so do not compare! At 4 weeks I was cleared to get back to working out and I was SO ready. I had a second degree tear too and by 4 weeks my stitches were healed and gone. Physically by then I felt pretty normal and ready to get back to an active life.
Even though I loved pregnancy, I KNEW I would struggle postpartum with different things and sure enough I have. The little sleep you get, the body changes, baby blues, figuring out your new life, etc. It’s HARD- yet incredible. So many people told me babies are hard but I couldn’t fully grasp it until we went home with our precious baby.
He’s hands down the best gift of all time but I think all moms can relate that that gift also comes with hard nights and struggles. The first week we came home I was in awe of Ezra, yet mentally and physically exhausted and sad. It was the strangest thing feeling on top of the world yet so incredibly sad at the same time. AKA- Baby blues. Look it up if you haven’t heard but it’s a real thing I cried non stop for a couple of days.
As we settled into having our newborn and I got used to breastfeeding, my baby blues turned into postpartum rage which was a big thing in our household for about a month. Currently in a much better place and really feel like that “fourth” trimester was a little rough on me but now I feel extremely comfortable and happy with our new life.
Becoming a mom has hands down been the most incredible role I’ve ever stepped into. He’s truly my greatest gift and I know the hard moments will be so small in a couple of years.
All items can be found here.
Thank you so much for being here and loving on me through this amazing life shift. I can’t wait to see where my content takes me in this new stage and always appreciate y’all!
P.S. My blog will be shifting to basically be a ‘once in a while’ online diary now. I have daily content on IG and Tiktok with more fashion and family based content if you’re interested and want to keep up with us! xo
2024 Audrey Martinez | Brand and Website by Embolden
The Blog
The Site
Join the List
Sign up for my monthly catchup of life events,
product roundups, exclusive content and more!