This weekend was my brother’s wedding and also the weekend my Grandpa passed away. Talk about a weird and confusing string of events. But, remembering all the excitement and pressure of my own wedding, I did everything I could to refocus my energy from mourning to celebrating.

Grandma, Gramps & I at the rehearsal dinner. Grams was doing so well! It was really nice to see… especially since I felt like I had been neglecting the two of them lately with all my focus being on my other gramps.

The family took a shot of scotch in Grandpa’s honor. My cousin Amy did not enjoy it. I enjoyed her disgusted face… and my Sprite 🙂

The bride and her mother.

The bride & groom during their photo sesh. My brother, Mr. Photogenic 🙂

Signing the Ketubah (Jewish marriage license).

The flower arrangement.

Hubs & I… 9 months prego makes it hard to look good.

Close up. He’s SO cute.

Happy Tobes.

Kitty/Puppy time.

All in all, the weekend went very well. My Aunt and Uncle were in town and stayed with us, which is always my favorite. I just love them. And yesterday, we all got together for brunch and my cousin and I were able to hang out.

But now, Tuesday morning, I’m sitting at work as my parents and sister are in Florida at Grandpa’s funeral. To say it’s a little difficult is a bit of an understatement. Because I’m so far along in the pregnancy, I’m unable to fly, which meant I couldn’t attend the funeral. We’re going to have a memorial service this week when my family gets back, but still. It’s hard to find focus through everything. Not to mention, I feel like I spent the whole weekend ignoring reality and I find that it kind of shows its face randomly and without warning.

Anyway, I know Grandpa would be happy to be reunited with my Grams.

Symptoms

Physically, I’ve been feeling pretty good lately. My back has REALLY improved, which is amazing. The biggest issue is my hands and feet… they are swollen sausages. In fact, this weekend, I had to go out and buy a new pair of shoes for the wedding because I couldn’t jam my feet in ANY of my shoes. I had to get a FULL size bigger than I usually wear. Sheesh.

Other than that, I’ve been doing all of my exercises to try and get baby to drop. I’ve worked out, taken a few walks with hubs & pup, done my squats and pelvic tilts, sat and rolled out my hips on the birthing ball… the whole nine yards. I don’t think she’s budged an inch, but regardless, I’m sure it’s all good stuff.

The other thing we tried this weekend – WARNING, this might be too much info for the mommas – was the perineum massage. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been 100% avoiding this. Not that my husband hasn’t been acquainted with my lady parts (hence me being pregnant), but it just seemed like such an awkward activity. In fact, while it was awkward preparing for it, the actual act was not a big deal. We used almond oil, as I’ve read that it helps to prep your parts, and honestly, seemed like it could be beneficial. The whole gist is that he makes the area uncomfortable – almost a burning sensation – by applying pressure on the muscle and I have to use breathing or whatever to relax. And then it continues. We followed the instructions in the book, The Birth Partner.  All in all, it can’t hurt, so might as well give it a whirl.