 |
| 35 Weeks with the Gentlemen |
 |
| 35 Weeks with Little Lady |
We are now in the final month before baby girl is due to arrive! With that, comes lots of new insights, experiences and well...unpleasantries of being pregnant. Overall, I will say that in spite of being uncomfortable and suffering from insomnia this pregnancy still is no comparison to carrying twins. Last week I took a belly shot of myself and compared it to one I took two years ago while pregnant with the gentlemen and it's just crazy how much smaller I am this time! My poor belly was so incredibly stretched by the end of my twin pregnancy that I had absolutely no feeling around my belly button. We're talking a six inch wide strip all the way up and down my belly that had zero feeling. So bizarre! It's there this time, but not nearly as bad and certainly nothing that bothers me. There are definitely unique experiences this time though that are entirely new.
Warning! If you're squeamish or don't really care to hear about the reality of pregnancy, skip ahead.
First of all, baby girl has lots of room in there. My uterus is quite elastic having been previously stretched out to the max. So on the plus side, she's in a nice and cozy vertex (head down) position and sinking lower and lower every day. With my gents, T was the first to lock and load and he didn't really drop until the day I delivered him.
What does this all mean? If pregnancy is foreign to you, let me enlighten you to some of the joys that come with a baby dropping down into the pelvis. You walk funny. That may not sound like a big deal, but the reason you walk funny isn't simply that there's a head between your hips. It's also because every single time you stand up you feel as if your bladder is about to explode. No joke! It's like you chugged a big gulp, have been stuck in traffic and are finally getting a chance to go an hour later. Now repeat that over and over throughout the day...and night.
Another fun event is referred to as "lightning cervix". Classy, I know! This refers to a sharp pain caused by the baby's head pressing against the plethora of nerve endings down there. It feels like your child is packing a pocket knife and with all her might is stabbing trying to create an exit. From what I've read, it doesn't really do anything. The baby, in fact, is not going to fall out of you at any minute. It just means that the baby hit a sweet spot and that you're getting near the end of your pregnancy.
One positive of a dropped baby is that the sudden change in placement in your abdomen is giving your lungs and other vital organs a bit more room! This translates to being munchy all the time, regaining the ability to breath deeply and I've been told it can also give you a few glorious weeks of energy. Oh how I need that energy! I want to nest!
Okay. I'm done talking about female anatomy! All who skipped ahead, begin here.
Two weeks ago, my family got to go to our gents' little buddy's 3rd birthday party. His mom, my dear friend, just gave birth to beautiful twin boys! So proud of her. We had a brief chat about how different our experiences are and debating who has it worse; Twins then a singleton or a singleton before twins. Ultimately, my opinion on this matter is simply that there are too many extenuating circumstances surrounding motherhood and pregnancy that it's impossible to decide who's life is more complicated. But it has got me thinking about how my life is changing and how it's different from the gentlemen's early days.
When I was in my third trimester with my twins, I wasn't working. Working was just too much and we were blessed with a choice. I chose to take it easy. There were many days that I spent lounging in my pj's watching TV all day long without lifting a finger. My doctor never put me on bed rest, but if I am to be honest, I kind of put myself on it. Everything hurt all the time! It was pretty miserable. I am thankful that I didn't have another full term pregnancy to compare to because it was sheer ignorance and acceptance that this was my 'normal' that got me through.
Do I have a job today? You bet I do! I am a stay at home mom of twins. This is the hardest job physically, mentally and emotionally I have ever had. And I love it. Whenever I feel like complaining about how hard it is to be pregnant with kids climbing all over you demanding every ounce of attention you can muster, I think about my mom, grandmothers, and all the other women before me. And I try to suck it up! Stress try. It's still hard. Being in your third trimester is a lot for any woman to handle and there are so many moments throughout the day where all I want to do is sit quietly or take a nap and unless that happens during the boys' nap time, or daddy's there to take over, I'm out of luck. I can see that in their two year old reasoning, they understand that mommy is sleepy, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they need my undivided attention right now.
I lean HEAVILY on my husband. He's a trooper. This morning I woke up at 4:30 after a bad dream and was wide awake. At around 7:30, when the gents were up demanding breakfast and I was passing out on the couch, he took one look at the situation and told me to go lay down in bed. I did and slept until 10:30. When I got up, the boys were happily playing, the kitchen was clean and my exhausted hubby was hard at work at his computer trying to do his actual job. He may not have been happy about how his morning turned out, but he never complained. I am so thankful to have him share all of these burdens with me. He may not be pregnant but he feels the burdens just as much as I do, just differently. I hope he fully knows how much I love and respect him. Tomorrow, he starts a new job which will take him away from being a working from home dad. I am nervous, but I know God is in control and everything will work out just fine.
We are now in the 'take everything as it comes, one day at a time' phase. I know that this chapter is about to close and the world of newborns is no picnic either, so since this potentially is my last pregnancy, I'm trying to focus on the positives and cherish these last few weeks of kicks and intimate cuddles with my baby girl. It really is a surreal, special experience.
