31 Weeks

Now that the very long winded and photo heavy wedding posts are finished with, and memory lane has been thoroughly wandered, it's time to jump back into the present and talk some more about what's going on right this very minute. This minute being almost 1 o'clock in the morning, and that, my friends, is because pregnancy insomnia hath cometh.

I meant to write a 30 weeks post, and even took a 30 weeks photo for it. Braved the blizzardy cold snow and everything. But alas, life got extremely busy and I decided that since it was anniversary week, it was also wedding week, and pregnancy nonsense could wait. But no longer! Time to get you up to speed on my uterus! That's not weird, right?

So here I am in all of my pregnant glory. As you can see, I was brave. That's snow in my hair. And it was so very very cold out there, too. Matt was actually extremely opposed to me taking it - the jeans were the compromise. He insisted that I wear jeans. He actually wanted me in a parka, toque, and jeans, but I reminded him that it kind of ruined the whole point. So I dropped my jacket, he snapped the photo, and I threw it back on again before running for dear life back to the warmth of home.

I've been feeling generally good overall. I've still been able to shoot photo sessions without too much difficulty. I'm still guzzling ice water like there's no tomorrow. I've been experiencing some skin discomforts, like it feels like my skin is going to tear from being stretched so tightly. It's very itchy and uncomfortable. I've discovered new stretch marks which I didn't even think I'd be able to notice, except these ones criss cross with the other ones, which is a fun new surprise. I've also been having tremendous trouble sleeping at night, since it's next to impossible to find a comfortable position to lie in with my big belly. I need to constantly switch sides, and every time I do it takes as much energy as climbing a flight of stairs to hoist my belly up and over myself, and to my other side. I've also been experiencing a lot of discomfort in my hip joints and bones across that general latitude.

Matt's been a big help, basically getting up to retrieve whatever I need whenever I need it (although he doesn't always do it with a smile on his face - but who can blame him when he just sat down and I send him upstairs for something.) He also helps me up out of bed when he's home in the morning, and helps me get my pants, socks, and shoes on whenever necessary. It's not that I can't do it, I just can't do it and breathe at the same time.

I feel like I'm eating like an animal, though. All I think about the entire day is food, and when I'll get to eat it again. I crave toast with cinnamon and sugar on it, apples, and chocolate frequently. I also crave Coke (which I try not to give in to too often, but I'm no saint) and just basically eat almost whatever I want whenever I want it. I weighed myself the other day, and just squinted my eyes in fear for what it would say, since I feel like surely I should have really packed on the pounds in the last month, but to my pleasant surprise I've still only gained 6 pounds overall. Imagine my big, round, bulbous victory dance.

The baby moves like all the time. Like all. the. time. Rolls around constantly. I can literally watch my entire belly dance the whole day through. Sometimes it's quite uncomfortable, little feet get caught in my ribs, or kick me in the bladder, or just won't let me sleep, but I suppose he's just conditioning me for the days ahead. I don't think I fully remember how exhausting a newborn was, but sometimes I get these terrible flashes of those first few weeks with Oliver and it all comes flooding back... Something about knowing how wonderful and magical and at the same time horrifying and almost-life-ending an experience is about to be... it really stops you in your tracks for a moment.

And then I imagine how handsome he'll be. I try and picture how he'll look different from Oliver. How cozy and snuggly he'll be. How tiny and light he'll feel in my arms after hauling Oliver around for two years. How amazing he'll smell. How small his hands and feet will seem. And I realize that we can handle the hardships of newborndom, because he's going to be incredible, and so worth it. If he's anything like Oliver, he's going to be nothing short of perfect. And so loved.

I can't imagine a better life than a house full of adoring boys.

Pssst - You can check out previous pregnancy updates here, here, here, here, and here.