The ups and downs of pregnancy

There are so many things to love about being pregnant, but yet I think that there are also so many things that come with this period in a woman's life that you wouldn't wish for and that we just put up with because we know the reward will be a true blessing in our lives.  Here is my account, at 31 weeks of pregnancy, of both sides of this experience.

Upside: Feeling baby move and kick.  It is truly such a unique feeling that I was always anxiously waiting for in the early weeks of pregnancy and was always so excited when it finally happened.  Typically I think I felt my first baby movements and kicks around 18-20 weeks.  By 20 weeks I definitely knew it was baby and it was a daily thing.  By 18 weeks I felt little tickles inside, but wasn't sure if it was baby or just gas.  Sadly, it could have been either thanks to pregnancy! :P

Downside: Feeling baby move and kick.  I don't really think I felt this way in my pregnancy with Evan...it's possible that I have just forgotten, but baby girl knows how and where to kick me that it hurts sometimes! :(  Of course, I didn't start feeling this way until I neared the third trimester when she's clearly getting bigger and taking up more of that precious space inside my belly.  Sometimes her kicks make me jump, as they are fairly abrupt and uncomfortable.  Sometimes they are so low in my gut that they make me run to the toilet so I don't wet myself.  Sometimes she just moves in such a way that she pushes out on the right side of my tummy on a spot that is sore (not sure why, and neither is the doctor, as there aren't any apparent reasons for pain in that spot...it's possibly just a nerve or a ligament or who knows what).  While not all of her movements hurt, those that do hurt make me pretty uncomfortable.

Upside: The anticipation of baby's arrival.  In a few more weeks a sweet baby girl will be joining our family!  I will get to hold her and cuddle her, hear her cute little noises, and watch her grow into a little girl and eventually into a woman.  It's a pretty spectacular thing, which I'm already loving about being Evan's mom.   In addition to the wonders of experiencing parenthood, I also get to prepare for her arrival by decorating her room, buying cute little dresses and ruffle-butt pants, and thinking about baby names.  Little slices of bliss.

Downside: The anticipation of baby's arrival.  In this case, 'anticipation' could have been replaced with 'anxiety', if I wasn't trying to be a little cute with my way of showing how the same thing about pregnancy can have both an upside and downside.   And, in this case, it is mostly anxiety about the delivery.  While there is also the anxiety about being a parent with a newborn (the round the clock feedings and sometimes sleepless nights, etc), I don't feel that as much (so far) this time around.  (I sure did when I was pregnant with Evan though).  Yet, even though I've already been through the delivery before, I still find myself having some anxious feelings about it this time too.  I think perhaps it's due to the fact that I have no idea if the delivery will be similar to the last time or not.  Will it go easier or be harder? Will it come naturally or will I be induced again?  And yes, there is my nervousness about the pain of delivery again, as well as all of the recovery time.  Granted, I somewhat forgot and looked past this given how much in love I was with my little newborn the last time, which I am sure is what will happen again this time too, but it still takes a physical toll on your body and for all of the unknowns about it, I'm feeling a bit nervous again.

Upside: Watching your belly grow and body change shape.  It really is a beautiful and unique sight and experience.  With Evan I felt it was taken away from me too early, given he came nearly a month early, and so I felt like I didn't cherish it quite enough.  So this time I find myself stopping and looking in the mirror and admiring this wonderful aspect of pregnancy a little more often, especially since I don't plan to experience this again. (I think two is enough...)

Downside: Watching your belly grown and body change shape. While this is a beautiful thing, it also comes with the less beautiful things like stretch marks, aches and pains, and limited mobility.  I didn't get much in the way of stretch marks with Evan, not until the very end when a few marks formed around my overly stretched belly button.  This time, those stretch marks have already grown and yet I still have a lot more stretching to do, so I am a little nervous to see how my belly will look when this is over.  My lower back aches, my lower abdomen (which carries most of this belly weight) aches, and I just last night got the worst leg cramp ever in my left calf muscle!  It woke me from my sleep and I laid there whining in agony for several minutes until I could figure out which way to move my foot to stretch the muscle and gain some relief.  I find it difficult, and painful sometimes, to roll over in bed.  I'm getting some chest pains occasionally now too, probably from my uterus trying to take over the real estate that my ribs normally occupy.  This also leaves me feeling out of breath more easily, and therefore tired.  I have to pee more urgently, yet in very small quantities since my bladder is being squashed to a smaller size, and I can't eat very much at a given time without feeling overly full (wishing my stomach was more stretchy than it is) given my stomach is being squashed to a pancake too (think the "after a big meal wanting to unbutton your pants" feeling, but yet you can't unbutton your skin).   And heaven help me if I need to pick something up off the floor.  It takes time and effort to get a solid stance, bend over in a way that my belly isn't being too smashed up against the rest of my lower body, grab said object, and then get back up again!  

Upside: Drier hair and skin.  While at first this may sound less like an upside to most, it really is a nice side effect of pregnancy for me.  However, I honestly don't know how and/or why this happens to me when I'm pregnant, but it did with Evan as well and I am loving it!  You see, I typically have to wash my hair daily, as it gets too greasy to go more than a day.  Furthermore, I tend to get little skin breakouts here and there also.  However, while pregnant, my skin and hair both dry out a bit more so that I have less oil and grease to deal with, allowing me to 1) go two (sometimes even three) days without needing a wash, and 2) I don't have to worry about not being able to use the skin acne creams while pregnant (as you're not supposed to use those given the chemicals in them) because luckily I haven't needed them!  During pregnancy is the first time I've ever really used a shower cap in my whole life!  And I love not having to dry and straighten my hair every day.   Such a time saver!

Downside: Food restrictions.  Let's face it...it's summer time.  It's hot and sunny outside and we've been grilling dinners a lot on the back deck and what goes better with that kind of meal than a nice cold beer?  Well, I've settled many times for a nice cold lemonade.  It's refreshing for sure, but just not quite the same as a cold brewsky.  While my doctors have never completely banned me from having a beer or small glass or wine here or there, I still refrain from having one all to myself.  I just have a few sips of John's to quench my thirst for it.  The other dietary restriction that didn't really bother me much when I was pregnant with Evan, but that I would love to sink my teeth into now, is a nice cold cut sandwich or wrap!  Cold cuts are off limits given the potential for bacteria on the cold deli meats (listeria being the worst of them since if I became infected it could get into the placenta).  Soft cheeses are also not recommended for the same reason, especially if they are not made from pasteurized milk.  However, most cheese in the U.S. is pasteurized and so while I limit myself to when I trust the source, I admit I've had some feta on things at times this pregnancy.  I just love feta cheese!

So in summary, I have found that there is certainly much to love and much not-to-love about pregnancy, but the end result is so worth it and it is just a temporary condition that you really have to cherish it while it's happening and try not to wish it be over too soon, as it will be over soon enough.  (I learned that the hard way last time!)  So here's to the last 9 weeks of this pregnancy going well, hoping I don't get too much more uncomfortable and stretched out, but mostly that baby's delivery goes smoothly and she is a healthy baby girl.