Well, one thing is certain. I sure am pregnant.I like going through the album on Facebook that shows the progression 19 weeks, 23 weeks, 27 weeks...sometimes when I click through them I'm sure that Grant has made my pregnant pictures his newest photo-editing project and expanded the same picture several times. But my hair is different in each one, so that really is my body. There are a few things about that bump--it makes one heckuva a convenient rest for a cup when sitting back and lounging. But...I don't think my black coat is going to make it through the winter. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the ski jacket will. I have also officially started waddling. My arms swing out at weird angles to adjust to the new center of gravity our growing baby girl is giving me.
Grant likes the phrase "great with child" and he's often used it, especially when we first found out we were pregnant and it seemed so far away before an actual baby was going to show up. "When you're great with child..." Well. I'm getting a bit great, I'll tell you. There's a grocery store down the street from us and there are these metal gate things that go up about three or four feet with a small space in between. I used to avoid the vendors always selling something on the other side by sneaking through the gates...but that's been impossible for a while now.
Oh, but at least my weight gain is in check. Remember how I freaked out because the difference between my 4th and 5th month's appointments was 15 pounds? WELL, I showed that snippy little nurse (who, not to be rude, could stand to lose a few pounds herself)! ONE pound. Triumph! Which, by the way means that I did not gain any weight because a pound is what the baby gains in between the 5th and 6th months.
But wait! There's other fun besides my size. Water retention, anyone? I was just thinking to myself, "Wow, I really haven't had any problems with that..." after processing the story of my birth where my mother literally left the hospital 40 pounds lighter than when she went in--and I was only 7 of them. But about a day later I started to get some sweet, sweet cankles at night, I'll tell you what. Yesterday I wore some long socks that have some tight elastic at the top and I was horrified to see what happened after a day--the part of my leg below the socks was normal, but there was literally a 3/4 inch indention AT the sock line and my legs looked like elephant trunks above it. EW!! I guess it's still not too bad...I still have no problem with my wedding ring. I'm scared though, I still have three months to go.
Braxton-hicks. AWESOME. I didn't know what to expect or what was going on when it started (so far it's only happened twice but again, I still have 3 whole months of FUN left). The last time it happened I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend and she asked me to describe it. "Picture cramps on your period. Now, expand your uterus from the size of your fist to the size of a regulation men's basketball. Same intensity of pain, now spread over the whole dang basketball." Nobody tell my daughter I'm scared witless of delivering her. I think I won't be as nervous about the next ones...but I'm having some INTENSE fear of the unknown and the reality that I'm going to have to push a whole dang baby out of me. I was a nice, normal 7 pounds 6 ounces, but Grant was pretty close to 10 pounds and he came two weeks early. Gulp.
I was telling another friend of mine that pregnancy was awesome for about a month. I wasn't sick or uncomfortable or anything really negative and I had a cute little bump and I could feel my baby move and so could Grant finally. But then she started getting bigger and she's in the stage right now where she's packing on fat and baby's getting back and boy can Mommy tell. Sometimes it outright hurts when she moves. Especially when she kicks towards my guts instead of towards the outside world. OUCH. And fetal hiccups--that's interesting. But that kinda makes me giggle, I find it cute and it doesn't hurt so that doesn't bother me. And it is still pretty dang cool to sit around with my shirt up and watch waves roll under my skin.
You always hear about frequent urination with pregnant women, so I've been expecting it. What I never calculated was that it means your bladder is smaller, so there's less urine but more often. That drives me crazy! I burst in the door from being out positive that I'm absolutely about to wet myself and instead of 2 minutes worth of an intense GUSH with more pressure behind it than the water that comes out of our shower, it's this pathetic little dribble that is over before it begins. What?! I get THAT uncomfortable over a couple of tablespoons of liquid?! It throws me off so much...and it irritates me.
And seriously, my brain leaks out of my ears. If I don't write something down or do it IMMEDIATELY, it's anyone's guess when it'll get done. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy. I'm afraid that later when this little one needs me to get her ready for school and I'm pregnant with one of siblings that I'm going to dress her for the wrong season or without a lunch or something.
You'd think I could at least get some relief at night when it's time to sleep right? Well, you'd think wrong. Everything is uncomfortable. I end up spending a lot of time whimpering and it takes forevER to find a suitable position that doesn't just end up making me more uncomfortable. Oy. So rough.
But even with all my whining...I know I do have it pretty easy. My symptoms are normal though uncomfortable, and not exceptional or life-threatening. And I also have it pretty easy because Grant is so awesome in the let-me-do-something-to-make-you-feel-better department. He's a doting, wonderful husband and I'm so, so, so grateful for and to him. He makes this whole miserable pregnancy thing so much less miserable than it could be. Even though I don't hesitate to remind him, "YOU did this to me!"
He's pretty grateful that I let him and he takes such exceptional care of me, it's easy to let him off the hook for it. Usually.
2 comments:
Oh Ashley! You make me so glad I'm not pregnant anymore. :)
Happy 3rd trimester!! It'll all be worth it, I promise. And for what it's worth, delivery my 5 lb 13 oz baby wasn't any easier than delivering my 9 lb 7 oz baby. Get a couple really good books on birth. You'll be amazed at what your body does during labor to make delivery possible! IMO, knowing and understanding your body makes it all less scary and much more doable. :)
Oh the joys of the 3rd trimester. Ya I retained some water throughout pregnancy but not a lot, until the 3rd trimester. Seriously, in those last three months my face turned into a balloon. And actually I had the most water retention AFTER Simeon was born. My calves and feet turned into the size of a 400 lb woman's! Anyway, you're more than halfway there! Just 1/3 to go. You can do it!
And BTW I gained way more weight than I was supposed to. I lost like 10 lbs after Simeon was born. It was very discouraging. But it still came off so don't get too discouraged by whatever weight you end up being :P I'm no super exerciser and you are way better at being healthy than me so you will be fine :)
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