Hello blog readers! it's been a bit over 2 months since I have written, and we are now firmly ensconced in the third trimester of this pregnancy. I am currently 32 weeks along (28 weeks in the photo above) and we are walking around with a big ole' bowling ball belly these days! The first trimester was easier then I had anticipated, the second was a glowing dream of lovely, and the third has been a mixed bag of exhaustion and elation. As the belly grows, so does the discomfort (as many of you know and remember), and sleep is not coming easily to me these days (hence me writing this post at 1:09 am!). I have been dealing with some pregnancy related restless leg syndrome at night, which to those of you who aren't familiar with it, is the uncontrollable need to move your legs/twitch when you are tired and just about to fall asleep, or even mid sleep, causing you to wake up... yeah, it sucks. I am usually awake each night from 1am- 4 or 5 am, the restless leg wakes me up and then I find it hard to get back to sleep for a few hours. Some nights I get 3 hours of restless sleep, some nights I get 6 hours of decent (albeit broken up) sleep, and most days I nap during the day to try to make up for some of that sleep loss. I am trying to be as gentle as possible with myself about it- when it first started happening, I was getting really frustrated with the inability to go back to sleep, getting upset and emotional. I gave myself a nice gentle talking to, and have been adapting- not getting upset when I need to get up and move to alleviate the restless leg, and not beating myself up for not being able to sleep. Just letting it be what it is, and get sleep where I can. I keep reminding myself that this is just preparing me for when my baby girl is here and brand new and needs me all hours of the night. I get up, make myself a warm cup of milk with ghee and honey in it, and go sit in her nursery in the rocking chair and organize her clothes, which is very soothing. My belly is so big at this point I am almost able to cuddle it in a way, so I wrap my arms around it and tell her how much I love her, even when I am exhausted beyond what I have ever experienced. The sleep issue has been my only real pregnancy road block, and for that feel ever so grateful- I remind myself many women feel awful throughout their pregnancies, and if all I have to deal with is some sleep deprivation I am still fairing terribly well. It also helps that I have THE MOST supportive spouse on the planet, who has effectively taken over all of the cooking, cleaning and other things that I used to do in our home, as well as rubbing my legs and back in the middle of the night for hours, even when he has to get up to go to work in the wee hours of the morning. I don't know what I would do without him, and going through this has solidified the fact that he will be an incredible, caring and loving and nurturing father, and really already is.
Our due date is December 12th, which sounds far away, but is quickly approaching- we are just about totally prepared (as prepared as one can be) for her arrival- her nursery is just about done, the car seat is installed, her clothes and diapers and such are all ready for her. We've taken our birth classes, read our birthing books, practiced our breathing and spent many many hours taking about our birth plan and what we want, and more importantly perhaps talked about how to not get too attached to it because things happen and she'll come however she comes, according to plan or not. She is kicking me right now, reminding me that in these moments, she is the one in charge and I remind myself to trust my body and my mental strength.
So for now we are rolling with the punches- I have seen a lot of beautiful sunrises these days, due to the sleeplessness, and am reminded daily to be thankful even when I am so tired it hurts. This little girl dances away in my belly, and I sit with her and talk to her, knowing that in a blink of an eye she will be in the world and physically apart from me and I will miss the time she was in my belly. We'll see what the next 8 weeks bring, and you'll probably be hearing from me in the middle of the night as my life adapts to all these changes and we continue to flow on.
I hope you are all enjoying the transition to fall, and if you have some spare "sleepy" juju to send my way it's always appreciated. Much love.
