As I slowly enter my third trimester I can’t help but to feel just that. Slow. The tiredness I felt in the first trimester has crept back in and I can’t help but to feel like I want to cook and bake everything under the sun. The past two weekends I’ve tried my hand at home made bread which has had some success and some failure – it’s not innately easy to me – but it is very therapeutic.

With this new trimester also comes an entire new sleeping pattern. Yes I’m pretty tired again, but vivid dreams, rolled up towels, and pregnancy pillows are taking over my nights. It’s challenging to find a place that feels comfortable for both me and the baby which also means lots of midnight bathroom breaks and early mornings if I can’t sleep. Hence the baking bread. This morning I was up at 6:30 kneading my heart out as I made a loaf of whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread. It’s a wild feeling – to feel like time is dwindling down until we get to finally meet this tiny person but at the same time to just feel like the days are longer and more stretched out. 

As I sit and think about what’s to come, I try to find balance. A balance of reading books and asking questions and sitting and thinking and dreaming about what I think it will be like and relishing in that goodness. Everyone says every pregnancy journey is different, everyone says every baby is different, so I think there is something to say for letting yourself daydream as to what kind of person is living inside you and what life will look like when they arrive. Appreciating that you have created this journey is as important as thinking about what’s to come.

 As we get closer to May, I find myself thinking more and more about whether or not this baby is a girl or a boy. A healthy and happy baby is all we’re asking for but I’m curious. Who’s nudging me? Who’s saying hi in the middle of the night? All I know is that there are two people ( and maybe just a few others ) who can hardly wait to meet you. Keep growing in there tiny person. 

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Making : home made bread

Drinking : so much pregnancy tea

Reading: “The Birth Partner” and “Sacred Pregnancy” 

Wanting: a back massage pretty much all the time

Looking: into a birthing tub

Playing: The Lumineers 

Eating: lots of home made bread and pineapple 

Wishing: it would get just a little bit warmer ( we’re sitting at -19 in Toronto ) 

Enjoying: the sunshine! I don’t think we’ve had a winter this sunny in forever

Waiting: for Spring to let us know it’s on its way 

Liking: coming home straight from work and having an entire night ahead of me

Wondering: how much more my belly can stretch to accommodate this growing babe

Loving: the fact that Valentine’s Day was on a Saturday and stretched all day long

Hoping: for a positive and healthy last trimester

Marveling: at all of the amazing new people that have joined the LFJ community

Needing: to stretch and move every 30 minutes

Smelling: hot chocolate 

Wearing: super stretchy leggings and big cozy sweaters

Following: even more dreamy fertility/pregnant ladies on Instagram

Opening: cozy organic bassinet sheets

Knowing: that my body can grow a happy and healthy baby

Noticing: that taking the time to breath every morning helps so much

Thinking: about whether or not there is a girl or a boy growing in me

Feeling: the tiredness creeping back in

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A Creamy Cashew Nut Hot Chocolate Recipe 

Ingredients

1 1/2 Organic Cashews
4 cups of water
4 Medjoul Dates ( pitted )
2 Tbs Raw Cacao Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon 
 

1. Soak cashews in double the amount of water overnight. 
2. Drain cashews thoroughly and place them in a blender with 4 cups of water
3. Add dates and blend until smooth
4. Use a nut bag ( or a very thin mesh strainer ) to squeeze all liquid out of cashew date mixture 
5. Transfer to a pot on the stove, add cocoa powder and cinnamon and stir continuously over heat ( if mixture seems too thick add more water ) 

*Altered recipe from Renee Kemps*