- The Bump and Beyond
- Posts
- ✨ New Series 🤰 This Time Last Year
✨ New Series 🤰 This Time Last Year
I Couldn’t Sleep, Eat, or Breathe
Naomi Knight
June 23, 2025
Hi Mama,
For the next few Mondays, I’m sharing something special with you.
It’s called “This Time Last Year,” and it’s a series of short reflections from real moms who now have 3-month-old babies, sharing what life looked like when they were pregnant at this exact time last year.
Today’s note is for those of you who are very pregnant right now.
Swollen.
Stretched.
Waking up every hour just to roll over or pee.
Somehow starving and full at the same time.
If that’s you, this one’s for you.
This Time Last Year: I Couldn’t Sleep, Eat, or Breathe
(shared with permission from Tara)
This time last year, I was 34 weeks pregnant, and I felt like my body was a science experiment.
My skin itched from stretch marks that popped up overnight.
My hips ached so much at night that I’d cry quietly into my pillow, then cry again in the morning when I saw how puffy my face looked in the mirror.
I had to take breaks while brushing my teeth because I’d get out of breath.
And don’t even get me started on the heartburn. Or the fact that I was basically living on cereal and watermelon because I couldn’t fit a real meal in my stomach.
I kept thinking, “How am I going to survive the next six weeks?”
But I did.
One day at a time.
And now, I’m holding this squishy, wide-eyed baby boy who makes tiny snorting noises when he dreams.
The third trimester felt like forever. But now that I’m on the other side, I can tell you: the hardest days didn’t last — but my strength from getting through them did.
So if you’re propped up with pillows, reapplying belly butter, and wondering how it’s possible to be both exhausted and nesting at 2am… you’re doing it right.
You’re almost there.
And you’re doing so, so beautifully.
With love,
Tara
Sending you rest, snacks, and extra pillows this week.
You got this momma,
Naomi
P.S. I know you’re not in labor yet — but can I tell you something?
Your body already knows what to do.
Your baby already knows how to be born.
That’s why I created something really special — a brand new Labor Visualization Audio Series — to help you prepare your mind and body for birth in the gentlest, most grounded way.
I shared it on Friday as my freebie and just wanted to make sure you got it:
Part 1: “The Safe Place.”
In this short audio, I’ll guide you into a peaceful mental space you can return to anytime — during pregnancy, early labor, or even just when you need a moment to breathe and reconnect.
It’s less than five minutes long, and it’s a quiet, loving reminder that:
You are safe.
You are powerful.
You are not alone.
In the chats section of the Facebook group, July babies and August babies, you are getting so close!! If the thought of labor is super scary for you, make sure to take a listen.