*I went to the dentist yesterday and was looking at my feet. . . I am happy to report that I still have ankles! I'm sure the swelling every woman complains about will set in in a few weeks or so, but I secretly wonder if my feet (which are abnormally wide as is) will stubbornly stay at their normal size. If they do you won't hear me complaining.
*As of this week I have gained a total of 45 pounds during the pregnancy. . . more than is "recommended" but I am my mother's daughter, and she never gained less than 40 pounds in all six of her pregnancies. I'm just hoping I get a chubby baby out of this.
*I have had heartburn like nobody's business which has been a pregnancy-specific condition that I'm not a huge fan of and am looking forward to leaving behind. I'm praying that the old wive's tale has truth to it and baby girl comes out with loads of hair. My doctor did tell me to go on Prilosec, though, and that is a wonderful thing. I almost hugged her when she told me that because it will be so nice not to have a flamethrower in my chest almost 24/7. Today was the first day I took it and I'm already feeling much better. Modern medicine is the greatest.
*Speaking of modern medicine, I am still taking diclegis to counteract morning sickness. I tried going off of it again a few weeks ago and was sick enough that I decided I don't even want to try going off again. I'm going to be taking those little pills until I deliver. And that's okay. It's safe for baby and keeps me sane and functional enough to go to work.
*Our little girl is funny. I am 90% sure that I have never felt her hiccup, but she looooves to stretch out in there. Whenever Cameron sings she starts to kick and move and it looks like my belly is doing the wave. She does the same things when she hears Beethoven on the radio. She'll move for other composers, too, but I've noticed it specifically with Beethoven. She has good taste. Something she has started doing recently is stretch out her leg (usually on my right side) and leave her foot there for a couple of minutes. Not moving, just sitting there with her leg outstretched. It makes both Cameron and me laugh. We're excited to meet her.
*Cameron landed a two-bedroom apartment for us and we get to move in on March 27th! I'm going to be nine months pregnant and moving, but we've been blessed with loads of family that lives minutes away, and I feel surprisingly calm about the whole thing. It feels right, timing and all. I've actually felt this entire pregnancy that I'll deliver late, and now I'm praying that that hunch is correct! I know it's not necessary, but I would like to have her nursery put together before she actually gets here, even though she won't really be using it for the first several months of her life.
*I am suddenly extremely interested in other women's birth stories. Like weirdly interested. In people I haven't even met. I want to know all of the details and how big their baby was and how long their labor was and what their fears were (and whether or not those fears were valid) and and and everything! I’m trying to tell myself that it’s not weird, it’s research, but that isn’t always the most convincing argument.
*I feel like my “cravings” have been nearly nonexistent. I just want the food I normally would want, with the exception of more fruit. I find myself going out of my way to eat lots of fruit. I have noticed food aversions, though. Like I don’t want to eat chocolate chip cookies (the very thought makes me feel a little nauseated) or French fries, and I hated chicken for several long months. But Brussel sprouts sound amazing all of the time. As do sweet potatoes, lentils, and oatmeal. I’ve eaten oatmeal with frozen berries for breakfast practically every morning since November/December and I’m not even remotely tired of it. But I’ve loved oatmeal my whole life so that’s not a huge surprise.
*Mostly I feel calm. I feel like things are falling into place exactly where they need to be, and that the timing—even though it isn’t what I had in mind—is completely perfect. I normally like to plan so I figured the inability to nest would drive me crazy, but I think it’s actually helped to calm anxiety. I’ve been limited in what I can do, so I’ve been limited in what there was to stress about. It’s been a blessing in disguise. We have had so many confirmations that this baby is supposed to come when she is, and I feel like those will continue to come. This is a huge, life-changing event, and I’m sure there will be days where I miss the “just us” time, but I also feel like being a mother will be my favorite thing in the world. Maybe not every minute of every day, but overall. I feel incredibly blessed.
