24 Weeks

Yes, I have been told that I look "full term." But not to worry - I promptly remind people that "full term" for me has a very different meaning when it comes to belly size. Big ol' fat babies run in my family, so it's pretty safe to say that I've got quite a bit of growing left to do. That's not to say that I don't FEEL enormous - of course I do - but I also know the road ahead... and quite frankly, it squares the be-jeezus out of me.

As for how I'm feeling, I honestly thought for SURE that I was feeling all of the crummy pregnancy symptoms earlier than the last time. Those include sore knees, killing-me-softly lower back pains, headaches, hard time sleeping, crazy fatigue, a general feeling of not being able to move properly, the appetite of a lioness, and extreme tightness in my ribs (kind of like the feeling of wearing a corset.) But as it turns out, I went back to the records, and I felt EXACTLY like this with my last pregnancy, at this same time!

I guess it's true what they say about romanticizing pregnancy once it's over. It must be because the end of pregnancy is so awful that you remember the middle trimester as being a dream-come-true.

Which quite frankly, it is not.

Don't get me wrong, I thank God every day for the blessing of the ability to create human life within myself. Healthy, perfect, God-given human life. And it is magical and wonderful. But it is also very uncomfortable a lot of the time. And exhausting.

I can't really walk a fast anymore, I've got very sharp pains at the base of my spine and in my right hip joint, driving is a bit uncomfortable, and eating always makes me feel full, no matter how much I chow down on. I'm also craving ice water more than ever before (which I remember from the third trimester of my last pregnancy.) I drink that stuff constantly throughout the day, with the added bonus of getting to munch on the ice at the end, which I think is my favourite part. Mmmm, just thinking about it is getting my mouth watering... Crunchy delicious ice chips...

Size-wise, I also did some comparing. Here's how my growth thi stime around is shaping up.

No wonder I'm so uncomfortable! That's a lot of growth in 13 weeks! It's kinda' neat to see the seasons changing in the photos, too. I wonder how I'll fare once the snow starts to fall...

As for comparing to my last pregnancy, I silhouetted my maternity photos from the last time around, and this time, and made a little comparison chart, if you will.

So I am carrying a bit bigger than the last time. Maybe it's got something to do with all of these chocolate cravings... Hmmm... Regardless, as you can see from my previous pregnancy, I've clearly got a lot of growing to go.

And like I said before, I am pretty scared of the symptoms yet to come. Sleepless nights, aching joints, complete inability to function as a normal human being... It's terrifying. But I'm just hoping and praying that maybe this ride will be a bit smoother than the last one.

Fingers crossed!