Well, I suppose that since I'll be the beached whale in a little less than 5 months, I should give blogging about being pregnant a whirl. Here are some facts about the situation and some thoughts I've had over the last 16 weeks... (Sort of akin to that "25 things" for you facebookers)
1) A friend of mine made a good point on the phone the other day - everyone who isn't currently pregnant thinks that pregnant women and their hugeness is cute and nothing to try and hide. I myself have been guilty of this...My sister was 7 months pregnant at my wedding and was a little concerned on her positioning in pictures. I thought it was silly to be concerned with such things, she was pregnant for goodness sakes - I'm beginning to understand that feeling as pants begin to get tighter and more uncomfortable and I see visions of myself in North Carolina in a bathing suit in June...eek.
2) I don't know why (and I didn't think that I would be this way) but I was really hesitant to tell people that I was pregnant at first. Like I wasn't supposed to be (even though I had every intention of being) or that because I didn't have the stomach to prove it no one would believe me. Actually, my mom thought I was kidding when I told her but that has more to do with how I told her than her. It's just weird. My sum up thought on this is that I think we always have an idea of how we think we're going to be as a pregnant woman and then when we're not that way, it feels funny. I don't know. Does anyone know what I mean??
3) I thought I would like an excuse to eat every two hours without fear of "What does she think she's DOING?" comments but really, it's become more of a pain than anything else! I get bothered by it and sometimes if I'm being my stubborn self and want to finish something before I eat, I end up getting really sick because of low sugar and it takes me 30 minutes to recover...I should know better than to try and finish something when my body is speaking to me. Let's just say I peed my pants once or twice as a young child determined to finish coloring a picture...
4) Even though I'm close to halfway through, I still don't feel like it's real. I'm just barely starting to show a little and we've heard the heartbeat twice but it's still unreal. I hoping that just means I've been given less time to freak out about a lot of things.
5) I no longer own my own body. Someone else is calling the shots.
6) I never knew how lucky I was to be able to sleep through the night every night. Being able to sleep 3 hours without having to get up is now a blessing. I used to consider myself a champion "holder" (not being one of those people who has to go to the bathroom immediately upon entering a mall or beginning an activity) and I can no longer say that - it's a hit to my personal pride. I, without shame, will now go to the bathroom anywhere no matter how recently I just went. Josh, thank you for putting up with my frequent stops.
7) I can no longer leave the house without food in my purse.
8) I can no longer come up with any good excuse not to go to the gym.
9) I'm always uncomfortable. That would be a good form of torture. Make sure that someone is always uncomfortable and I'm sure, sooner or later they will crack (or just go to bed, like me).
10) I feel like my joints are aging 1 year for every week I'm pregnant. I know it's hormones loosening everything up, but it still makes me feel old and decrepit.
11) I'm lucky to have not encountered any weird "pregnancy ailments" like bleeding gums, hot hands, rashes and the such. Again, I realize that I still have quite a ways to go - so more on that as time goes on:)
12) Josh gives me way too much credit, no matter how hard I try to convince him I'm a big baby. So moral of the story - I got a keeper:)
13) July seems both so close and so far away.
14) I have no idea where Josh and I will be living when I actually deliver.
15) As much as I try to deny it, I am slightly more forgetful than before. That's not saying much since I've inherited the need to write everything down on sticky notes from my father.
16) I'm still waiting for that "feel good" feeling in the second trimester...
17) I sleep with a fortress of pillows on both sides propping me up in just the right position. Yes I know there are body pillows for that, and yes I am getting one. It's like my own little nest (the cute birdie kind, not the nasty rat kind).
18) I miss my job, my co-workers and my students terribly. Working hard at something I love (and that takes a lot of work) took my mind off of all the aches and pains I feel during the day. It also made me feel productive even though I would still forget things all the time (like a simple vocabulary word...in front of my students...as an English teacher...not cool).
19) I LOVE being in water. It's the only sure fire thing that ALWAYS makes my body feel better (thank you YMCA).
20) As much as I will soon need to, I'm not looking forward to buying maternity clothes. And to go along with that - this "in between" stage of I-still-look-like-my-normal-self-and-actually-lost-weight-at-first-but-now-I-just-look-chubby is not fun at all. Why can't it just be all or nothing?
21) I am trying to be vigilant about good food and not gaining too much weight at a time for several reasons. First and most importantly, because it's GOOD, but also because I'm in a wedding 2 months after I'm due (YAY Meggie!) and I know myself and I won't be one of those crazy people that can start a crazy workout 6 weeks after having a baby:) What can I say, I'm honest with myself.
22) I'm glad I have two sisters who have already had babies. Between them and my mom I feel like I'm getting the best advice I could:)
23) I no longer have those "Super Woman" moments where I have a really good work-out or go for an extra long run, or move furniture, or whatever. Those have been and will be put on hold for at least another 6 months. I miss them...
24) I am much more sensitive to "annoying" kids or crying babies or overly stressed mothers who seem to be ignoring the tugging child at their side now - partly because I hope that someone will feel the same way when they see me (or my kids) that way.
25) We want to find out if it's a girl or a boy and hopefully by the end of the month we'll be able to let you all know.
26) Being pregnant and living with your husband is much better than being pregnant and living away from your husband. (Those of you who don't know, I've been teaching at my old high school since Jan '08 - my high school is 3 hours away from Albany...)
27) Amidst it all, I'm happy. I know Josh and I made the right decision and for all the aches and pains, I know it's just for a season and that the coming benefit FAR outweighs anything that could discourage me!
Josh and I will both try to be more vigilant about updating you on our lives since we now have something worth reporting on! And can anyone say...bring on SPRING! I'm tired of this snow and dreary weather!
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