Yesterday marked the beginning of my third trimester (boy, that sounds so strange to say!! Baby Ben will literally be here before we know it!). I've been thinking about all the surprises pregnancy has held so far....some of them probably sound silly to those of you who have been pregnant, and I'm surprised by how many surprises I've had...after all, I watched my mom go through this several times! Anyway, I thought it would be fun to put them down for posterity (hah! Yeah right...by the time our kids are old enough to read these kind of things, blogs will have probably evolved or become outdated).
1. Maternity clothes are the most comfortable things ever. Seriously. I used to wonder why all clothes couldn't be as comfy as pajamas...maternity clothes are. Which is great, because if I had to describe pregnancy using a single word, I would probably choose "uncomfortable."
2. I can interact with my baby already. He responds to several different things...me pressing on him, me rubbing him (pressing elicits a kick, rubbing elicits what I call "pushing" where he presses himself against my hand...which feels odd on the inside of my belly!). He becomes more active if he hears Josh's "reading voice." One of my favorite things right now is being still and feeling or watching him do flips. I can tell he is getting bigger and stronger!
3. Ben shows distinct preferences already. He doesn't like pressure (he kicks madly at the seat belt the whole time I'm in the car)...he much prefers the right side of my belly to the left (to the point where I am somewhat lopsided...weird!)...he tends to sleep when I walk and wake up when I sit or lie down.
4. Not sleeping through the night starts during pregnancy. Which is sort of nice, I guess...in the sense that hopefully I will be kind of used to it by the time I have to do midnight feedings/changing. On the other hand, these last few months probably represent my last opportunity to sleep all night for several years to come, so it would be nice to take advantage of that! Oh well...I'm becoming used to being tired.
5. I really, really like being pregnant. Even though it has led to nausea, fatigue, sleepless nights, and forced me to confront/continue to confront some fears and sorrows that I could otherwise shove to a back burner, it has been a wonderful experience so far. I hope that my experiences with my "outside baby" are similar...joyful and enjoyable even with the inevitable discomforts, fatigue, and struggles that being a mommy (especially a working mommy) entails.
I like #5! I loved feeling Sophia move around and miss that, even though I love being able to see and hold her! I don't someone can fully get used to the sleepless nights. God's grace is sufficient to get us through that--That is the only way one survives. It is amazing to feel his strength when only hours of broken sleep come. I'm looking forward to meeting him!
ReplyDeleteHey, you sound pregnant! :) Great list. Well said. :) Uncomfortable is a good one-word prego summary that I would second. If I were to say a two-word prego summary after reading your #5, I would say, "uncomfortable joy." :) Love you and miss you friend! I look forward to the first weekend of May!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
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