Let’s just jump right on in, shall we?
- Pain in hips- When I was pregnant with Nate I had terrible pain in my hips, especially when I was sleeping, and that pain has now fully set in this time around. When you’re pregnant you are supposed to sleep on your sides, but for some reason I get this terrible aching pain in both hips, and laying on them is very painful. It got so bad with Nate that the last few weeks of my pregnancy with him I had to sleep in our La-Z-Boy recliner every night. It was awful. And the pain sticks around during the day, too, which sometimes makes it uncomfortable to walk. And that is why I now waddle when I walk.
- Trouble sleeping – Please see above, pain in hips.
- Fatigue- I was really tired during the first trimester, then I had about 2 weeks where I felt great, and now I’m back to being exhausted again. On Sunday I was so tired that I felt like I had been drugged. I know a lot of it just has to do with being pregnant, but I know a big reason is that I’m not sleeping well at night because of the pain in my hips and just my general uncomfortableness. I usually try to nap during the day when Nate naps, but that really doesn’t help much. Like Matt said, “Well, once the baby comes you’ll be able to get a good night’s….oh, wait, never mind.”
- Hungry, hungry, hungry – I am a bottomless pit these days. Matt asked me the other day what I wanted for dinner, and I told him that it didn’t matter, that I was only concerned about volume. And that’s pretty much the truth. I want food, a lot of it, and all the time. When I was pregnant with Nate and I complained about how hungry I was people would tell me that once I got towards the end of my pregnancy that I wouldn’t be so hungry because he would be pushing against my stomach and I just wouldn’t be able to eat as much as I used to. That turned out to be a big, fat lie. The hunger and the ability to put away vast quantities of food stayed with me right up until the very end. Really, the very end. I had a C-section with Nate, which was scheduled for 2:00 pm on a Thursday. But I couldn’t eat for 8 or 10 hours before my surgery, so the morning that I had Nate Matt woke up at 4:00 am and cooked me a huge breakfast. I’m pretty sure that was the best breakfast I’ve ever had.
- Wedding ring- Again, this happened with Nate, too. My wedding ring no longer fits. It hasn’t fit for the past few weeks. And because I don’t want people to judge me (“What kind of woman has a toddler, then gets pregnant again, and she’s not even married?!!!”) I’m wearing this cheap, costume jewelry ring that kind of looks like a wedding ring. Never mind that it’s not very comfortable…I need strangers to know that my children aren’t illegitimate!
- Weight gain- I am 29 weeks along (only 10 more to go!), and I have gained 35 pounds. Holy moley. I gained 55 pounds with Nate, and I very well may beat that this time around. I went in for an appointment with my OB last week, and as he was reading over my chart he said, “The baby’s heartbeat sounds good, your blood pressure looks good, your weight looks good…”, and I just breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I need right now is my doctor telling me I’m gaining too much weight. Especially since just the other day as I was changing clothes in our closet, I pulled down the shorts I was wearing, and Nate slapped me on the butt and then giggled. Matt (yes, we are all three frequently in the closet together) then also slapped me on the butt and the two of them just stood there, staring at my butt and laughing. I’m quite sure they were laughing at the crazy amount of jiggling that was going on back there, but really, I didn’t want to know.
- Belly button- This is something that did not happen with Nate. My belly button isn’t becoming an outie, like sometimes happens to pregnant ladies. No, it’s more like my belly is being pulled and stretched from the sides so that the edges of my belly button kind of roll out. Does that sound kind of freaky? Well, that’s because it kind of is. I still have 10 more weeks, so an outie belly button may very well still be in my future.
