Jul 19

Jul 19 Third Trimester "Bumpdate"

One more month until Addie's due date!

I remember being one month away from Annabella's due date and thinking that I had sooo much time left until she was going to come. Ha. She was born 15 days before her due date. I had everything ready for her, but I still did not feel ready in my mind. Now here I am with baby #2 on the way and I have NOTHING ready for her. The crib is still on the toddler bed setting, our co-sleeper is full of unwashed baby clothes and blankets, the bottles and pacifiers haven't been washed, and my hospital bag isn't even packed. I am 35 weeks and 4 days along and I feel like I am running out of time.

Not only am I running out of time to prepare for baby, I am dangerously low on energy. It's harder than I thought it would be to parent a 2-year-old and grow a human at the same time. It's hard to stay in a happy mood and be present when I feel sick, tired, and my body hurts. Some days I manage to push through the exhaustion and pain, but others I am a cranky blob on the couch. Those days I need to give myself a lot of grace. And I need my husband to pick up dinner on the way home from work.

I think Addie might be born early like her sister, but I am also hoping that she will stay in a bit longer. Annabella was born one day shy of 38 weeks, so I am aiming to have everything ready for Addie by 37 weeks. Which is almost a week away.

I have tried to really enjoy this pregnancy, but being pregnant is not my favorite. Besides the physical symptoms, the worst part of this pregnancy and the third trimester so far have been all of the comments about how huge I am. Obviously, I am aware of how big I am (and how much weight I've gained) and I am not exactly thrilled about it. I love pregnant bellies. I think they're adorable. But comments about me and my ever-expanding body hurt/anger me. Although part of me does want to reply to those comments with inappropriate quotes from the movie Juno.

Despite all that I still do find joy in this pregnancy. It's amazing to me that I am able to yet again grow and bring life into the world. I also love feeling the baby move and wiggle. And I do enjoy feeling and looking at my ginormous belly, no matter what other people seem to think about it.