Relentless Fatigue. Even when I'm awake, I'm not awake. It's not quite as bad as the first trimester, because all of my organs are functioning and I'm still in a pretty good mood, but I'm tired.
Inability to get off of the couch or floor by myself (in a timely manner). Or a ladylike manner, at that.
Hyper-sensitivity. I'm easily offended, quick to jump down your throat if I feel threatened, and annoyed over the little things. I blame fatigue, heartburn, and hormones. Because of it, a simple tear is no more. If Kaylea is going to cry, it's going to be a river. Justin Timberlake would be so proud of the river I've cried for him this week.
A feeling that I can't quite distinguish in my head. It's neither light-headed nor dizzy. It's neither pain nor discomfort. It's like a sampler platter of all of the above. How was that for a complicated explanation? I'm not dehydrated (I drink 4.5 liters a day. this is not a joke.) I'm not hungry. My blood pressure is fine. I've never had blood sugar issues, but I guess we'll see if it's because of that after my glucose test next Wednesday (blah!) It's not enough to make me feel like something is wrong, but enough to make me aware of it. Isn't that strange?
Pregnancy Brain. I think everyone is hyper aware of my obsession with spelling and grammar. Well, don't judge me if you ask me to spell a fairly simple word for you this week, because I can't do it. I don't know what's going on, but you should have SEEN me trying to spell Colossians at church last night. It was sad. And it's only sadder that I had to look up at least 5 other words this week.
Swelling. Nothing severe. Just enough that I took my wedding ring off (sad,) and kicked my shoes off anytime I sat down. In a restaurant, in Lowe's, at church, and even in the car. I still have ankles and wrists, but if I'm on my feet too long, they swell. And I blame the 90 degree weather for my fingers.
Pregnancy induced Insomnia. This isn't severe yet, but it's definitely starting. My mind moves a million miles an hour at night, usually about the baby. When my mind finally slows, I have a difficult time getting comfortable. It's amazing how heavy my stomach feels when I'm laying down. It takes a lot of effort to roll to either side. My back usually aches, or sometimes my hips join the party. But honestly, sometimes I'm just awake for no good reason at all. I'm tired, and my eyes are heavy, but I never fall into a deep sleep. They say your body begins to prepare you for life after baby, so maybe that's what's going on. I'm not sure, but I bet it definitely contributes to the extreme fatigue, eh?
Sweating like a Wildebeast in the middle of Africa. Y'all. I don't sweat. I'm not a sweaty person, a B.O. Person, or even a person in denial. I don't fight body odor or excessive sweating. This is probably because I am very rarely hot, because I'm generally pretty cold-natured. My husband freezes me out of the house in Winter and Summer, resulting in lots of screaming during the night when my frigid toes just so happen to graze Cody's thigh. Not anymore! At the moment, we have 2 fans blowing full blast at our bed. I have moved the bed from it's usual spot so that we are sleeping directly beneath the ceiling fan. I have cut my absolute favorite pair of sweats from pre-marriage (it was time. They're so white trash looking.) in to sweat shorts, and though they're miserably uneven and super baggy in the crotch (resulting in me looking like I carry an extra 40 pounds below my stomach,) I finally slept without waking up in a heat stroke. It's been a really interesting transition, because I always know that when my ears feel like they're on fire, then I'm about to start sweating. It's so strange. SO uncomfortably strange.
How was that for a big list of new symptoms? Week 26 was a little bit relentless, but I've been in pretty good spirits. There's something about knowing that we have less than 100 days left (91, to be more specific.) There's something about knowing we're entering into the third trimester that makes all of this seem more acceptable. There's a magical feeling that comes with knowing that we're approaching the 12 week countdown, because I've been through all of that before. It's WONDERFUL knowing that 37 weeks will be upon us in such a short time, because while I'm not crossing my fingers for early labor, I would be okay with going into labor before 40 weeks. I'm just being honest.
I've been trying to work on my attitude toward life in general lately. I was a little embarrassed on Sunday when I said "I just don't like being pregnant." and the person's response was "I can Tell." On one hand, I was like "Um, sorry I just stabbed you with a fork." But the other half of me was like "Yikes. I need to work through some 'tude issues, apparently." So I've been trying to make a very conscious effort to be happier. If you catch me when I'm NOT at work, life is pretty beautiful. But it's a real journey to stay happy at work. I'm in a great mood if I wake up on my own terms, get ready at my own leisure, and leave the house by choice. I am not in a great mood otherwise. I guess it's because I know I have to go to work. And I have to sit in an uncomfortable chair for most of the day. And I have to be nice to some pretty frustrating people because it's my job description. But my time at work is rapidly coming to an end. I have to survive a little over a month, and I'll be free to sprawl across the couch in whatever awkward position I can get semi-comfortable in. What I'm really trying to say is that while the first half of this pregnancy really was horrible (because of my gallbladder, not my daughter,) but I am making a very conscious decision to be happy for the last half. It's not the easiest thing I've done, but I'm a work in progress.
Other than that, it's been a really sweet (as in precious, not the hip-hop-happening sweet) week at our house. We started our baby's nursery. The nursery itself never really bothered me, but I'm sure that anyone who's single, married, or a first time parent can laugh with us when we say that Ella's room has been the "junk room." Cody has a great passion for audio engineering, and unfortunately, that means that an entire bedroom in our home is dedicated to it. That left us one extra room in our house for all of the things that we simply couldn't find a spot for elsewhere. I have been dreading cleaning that room out for 26 weeks. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any smaller, and it's getting significantly harder to bend over without feeling it in my back, even when I bend with my legs. It's significantly harder to get back out of the floor when I plop down in exhaustion. So I knew that it was now or letting the baby sleep in the hallway for the first 3 years of her life. It wasn't too bad, but I'm sure my pregnant attitude of "just toss it" helped significantly. We went to Hobby Lobby and started the "decor" purchasing, and it was so fun to hang it on the walls. Before I post pictures, I want to warn you that we opted out of painting the nursery (gasp!) We didn't want a super vibrant color, and we just couldn't find a pale enough pink to live with for the next 5 years. So we're over compensating in wall hangings. It's actually really cute so far. We have a long way to go, but I feel better knowing that her room is at least her room and not our pile of "don't knows." Her room is basically full of pinks and lime green, so if you see anything reasonably priced, give us a holler! One of my favorite friends is in charge of making her curtains, so we'll hang those at another time, but until then, here are a few snapshots of the progress!
Another weird conundrum is organization. Between my mother and my BFFL, Ella already has so many clothes hanging in her closet. I don't know the appropriate course of action. Should I have the clothes in the closet based on her size, meaning I pack and unpack her clothes as her sizes change... or should I buy dividers and hang everything in there at one time? What am I supposed to do with baby shoes? Keep them in a tub? What about bows that don't clip? Or headbands? I want our lives to be functional, but getting started seems to be the hardest part. I guess that's because I don't know where to start. I've heard you should only wash a few outfits until you see how big the baby is, because why wash something they'll never wear? Why wash when you can re-gift? haha! I'm just kidding. Sort of. But I've also heard to wash EVERYTHING because babies go through clothes so fast in the beginning. It's like... come up with a general consensus, pinterest and baby books. In the meantime, I'll open her closet and stare, just as I've done the last 3 times I've tried to organize. I appreciate any feedback.
I think that's mostly it. I do want to share my first weird craving:
Yep. You read it right. Weird craving. It's time to be honest about something... I don't like Chick-Fil-A. I never have. I know, I know. Look of shock and disdain. Flaring Nostrils. Friendships questioned. Whatever. It's not my thing. I don't like it. I don't eat it. I flare my nostrils when it's suggested. And today, for the first time ever, I went to Chick-Fil-A by choice. I ate every bit of my meal, and my stomach was satisfied. I don't know how to exist in this universe, and I'm not sure I like it... but that's just my life these days.
That's it! Week 26 was fun because it became the week that I was obviously pregnant and not fat. Strangers asked me my due date, my husband fell in love with the mound that I can't hide anymore, and my doctor gave me a "well done" on the baby growing. Baby is measuring a little big, but not enough to change the due date. I look pregnant, feel pregnant, and I'm beginning to think "Wow, 13 weeks isn't very long!" instead of dreading how much farther we have to go. I'm super excited about my baby shower (one month from today!) and I'm really looking forward to seeing her on our 3D ultrasound next week! Here's the bump!
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