A Few Thoughts About Baby

February 22, 2014

A Few Thoughts About Baby

This week marks my 35th week of pregnancy. According to 3DPregnancy.com, this is what my baby might look like right now...

They are guessing that she weighs about 5.5 lbs. and measures 18 inches long at this point... to that I say, good enough, let's get her out. But my doctor said no. And I don't know how to make her come out without his help, so I guess I will hang in there a little longer.

I have been thinking for a while that I should put down a few thoughts about being pregnant, as Zac and I have decided that this is our last and I know that someday, I am going to forget what being pregnant feels like, and wanted to remind myself of a few things while I am in the thick of it.

So here is a little summary of what being is pregnant is like for me personally,

First, I guess I should start at the pregnancy test. I never feel very pregnant right off the bat, so there is always such a sense of anticipation until I can know for sure. When I was expecting my first kids, I always tried to think of a fun way to tell Zac that we were expecting. I remember with Charlotte, wrapping up the test and taking Zac out to eat at a restaurant and giving it to him there. We were both so teary by the time the waiter came, we had to have a minute. On the other hand, by the time I took the test with this pregnancy, I just threw it at Zac as he was ironing his shirt for work and said, congrats. Poor kid, we really are excited, it just feels different when it is your sixth as opposed to our first. There have actually been quite a bit of differences from our first experience with becoming parents to our last. I could probably do a whole blog post on that topic alone. One of those biggest struggles right now is trying to think of a name for this baby. With the first ones, we had names picked out months in advance and by the time we had Bronson, he wasn't named until we had him in the hospital and I have a sinking feeling with this one that she may not even have a name until we bring her home!

During the first 13-14 weeks, I don't get super sick, but I do wake up in the mornings so so hungry that I get the sensation that if I don't get food in my mouth in the next 5 minutes, then I am going to puke. And it doesn't just happen in the morning, but I will wake up at 2 or 3 am with the same feeling. I have to keep a box of crackers by my bed... which is hard to do now that there are five kids around who discover my snack stashes and not only devour them for me, but leave the crumbs in my bed. I also get super tired during this time and don't know how I will ever make it through a day without a nap. And sometimes, I would even fall asleep on the couch in the mornings while Char and Bronson played or watched TV. And for me all of my pregnancies have felt the same, boy or girl, or even twins, this is what pregnancy is like.

But by 14 weeks I feel like an entirely different person. And don't even have many pregnancy symptoms at all... other than the frequent trips to the bathroom. I can get through the days without naps again and feel like I can function like a normal human.

Then the third trimester hits. This time around I have been suffering with back pain. By night time my back hurts so bad, I can hardly walk. It is so hard to get to sleep and especially hard to get out of bed multiple times during the night when a) my throat dries out from pregnant snoring b) I have to use the bathroom for the 3rd or 4th time c) I need to get some tums because everything gives me heartburn, or d) my kids are shaking me awake for various reasons. So it goes without saying again that by the 3rd trimester, I once again am very tired and have a hard time making it through a day without a nap. How spoiled am I that I get to be a stay-at-home mom and actually fulfill that desire. Now that I am down to the last 5 weeks, every day seems like a major hurdle to get through as I am getting so uncomfortable. This baby no longer kicks and jabs, but stretches and shoves her little feet up into my ribs. It is hard to clean the house and do the things I need to do, because I feel like at any given second my C-section incision is going to bust open.

I do not love being pregnant.

But I do love each and every one of my kids. And though pregnancy seems harder as my body gets older and I have more responsibilities with my other five kids, so that I can't just lounge around in sweat pants all day... having older kids definitely has it's benefits. I am so thankful to my kids for all of their help with the house work and taking care of their younger siblings. And it is so exceptionally nice to have kiddos so sympathetic to my aches and pains that I am the recipient of constant foot rubs and head massages.

I am also so blessed to have such an amazing husband, who offers to run out at 10 pm to buy me whatever my heart and stomach desires. He thinks of me often and does things to ease my burdens. He is also very good at foot massages and constantly buoys me up with his excitement for this new baby.

As hard as pregnancy is, it is worth every little ache and pain to have the family that I have and that is what I hope I remember most of all from this experience.