I adore babies. I adore my own babies, I adore other people's babies. I do not adore pregnancy.
Pregnancy for me is a means to an end... I do not relate to those who manage to sail through pregnancy with beaming smiles and vibrant attitudes, though goodness knows- I wish I did! My body is prone to nausea, even as deep as 30 weeks into the pregnancy (I'm still having to be extra careful about what I eat to prevent getting ill, and yes I was sick this weekend). My heartburn arrives around week 22, and brings me down for the count from about noon until bedtime well into the third trimester. I'm actually anemic this time around, and was getting bouts of dizziness leading to increased nausea, until I found out and began iron supplements. Add these factors to the higher risk factors of an xl hematoma, polyp, and placenta previa issues that have now ALL resolved (praise the LORD, so thankful!), and you have yourself one physically/emotionally drained pregnant girl!
BUT hey, there's GOOD NEWS. I'm 30 weeks pregnant. 30! In seven short weeks, I will have safely reached full term. This sweet baby is kicking his little heart out, and I am adhering to a summer break schedule: I.E. do whatever we want whenever we want. I work better under this non-restraining-schedule. ;) It's looking like we're out of the woods, and now we can nest and enjoy the last ten weeks of sleeping through the night and getting out on dates consistently.
Speaking of nesting, it's been the theme of this pregnancy. I love cleaning. Literally love it. I scrub my surfaces with multipurpose spray until they sparkle. I've been going through every nook of my home and purging every unnecessary. I've taken apart my closet and re-organized, and have been making trip after trip to goodwill to donate. It feels amazing to have less. I have used vacuum bags to store all of my pre-pregnancy clothing, and I have to be honest: I'm not really missing all the extra options! Granted, if you have seen me in the last four months, you can pretty much predict what I'm wearing... I'm really just cycling through four outfits (It's been so much better to have less-is-more strategy this time around than the "buy a lot of cheap" strategy I used the other two pregnancies!).
In the craving department: wow, I'm the weirdo that you've read about on the internet. I mean, I'm not thankfully wanting to eat dirt (pica), but I am only a tiny step above on strange cravings: My favorite thing in the world right now is the moment I get to start the dishwasher with the scent of the soap filling the pantry. I have to resist smelling all cleaning supplies, actually... it's a seriously difficult feat. (Brian is like, Kate you shouldn't be telling people this! You're so nuts, haha) BUT I've read about it, and it's attributed to iron deficiency, which I mentioned I have, so it all makes sense now, and I feel far less weird, and totally okay with admitting it.
So the grand totals in numbers:
- Ten ultrasounds (during which my emotional state took some incredibly high highs and low lows!),
- 30 or so days on bedrest (weeks 15.5-19.5 give or take).
- About 100 doctor appointments, (exaggerating, but it sure has felt like it!)
- About 1,000 random cravings (the girls did NOT do this to me!), and
- Fewer than 68 days until my due date! PHEW!!
All in all, the state of the pregnancy is good, but ahh, it's still pregnancy. ;) Speaking of... have you ever read this? It's the best writing about pregnancy ever. I was laughing so hard at the airplane analogy because it's spot-on.
PS. Here was my first / only other pregnancy update, in case you like reading about pregnancy.
xoxo.