34 Weeks

Whoa. Baby Girl will be here in just a few weeks! This is the point where her arrival seems alternately far away and right around the corner.

I have been doing updates every couple of weeks, just haven’t posted them. They can all pretty much be summed up very concisely: Mild symptoms and so much better than last time. Kidney stone aside, there is just no comparison between my two pregnancies.

My belly seems to have popped a second time and can now officially be categorized as “huge” in comparison to my overall frame. I enjoy this aspect of pregnancy because I find people’s unfiltered reactions to the size of my stomach to be quite hilarious. That split second before they recover their manners is priceless.

Accordingly, I am outgrowing most of my shirts. There is a lot of tugging these days to keep the bottom of my belly covered!

I am getting increasingly uncomfortable, but it’s still manageable. Baby Girl is almost out of room and smooshing everything. I am short of breath most of the time. The most uncomfortable thing right now is the increasingly soreness in my hips/pelvis. If you envision a skeleton, where the leg bones meet the pelvic/hip bones – that’s what aches.

Relentless heartburn continues, sometimes starting at breakfast. I am tired constantly, tire easily and don’t have a whole lot of energy. Anemia is a contributing factor – my iron levels are really low right now even with an iron supplement.

Baby Girl is often active and moving, more so than I remember from my pregnancy with L.J. She has found my ribs, much to her delight and my discomfort. If I sit with my belly touching my desk for too long (impossible not to right now!), she will kick at the desk until I move.

I am still getting around just fine, which is a big blessing! No support hose so far this pregnancy and my legs are pretty steady so don’t feel like I’m going to need them. I’m debating between a celebratory bonfire after this pregnancy or seeing if I can donate them to someone in need.

Christmas + 8 months pregnant pretty much means I am a total sap. I cry at commercials, get teary in the car listening to any Christmas song about baby Jesus (so, umm, all of them) and can’t get enough of seeing new baby announcements on Facebook. I ordered her a monogrammed blanket and loved seeing her name written out. I am so very ready to hold Baby Girl in my arms.

Pregnancy brain is a very real thing and the AC on my team has quickly learned to appear in my doorway if I don’t reply fast enough. Yes, unfortunately it is possible to forget about a request from 5 minutes ago.

Despite my temporary mental lapses, we have not yet slipped up and revealed Baby Girl’s name, much to her grandparents’ dismay. I am rather shocked by this, as I think of her by her name most of the time. Mike still uses ‘Baby Girl’ most often and L.J. calls her ‘Baby Sister’.