15 September 2006
24 days and counting
My stomach now regularly bulges out on the top left side, a little bum or a little foot distending my stomach and making rippling waves across my abdomen. And she gets hiccups all the time.
I have a newfound respect for everyone who has ever been pregnant... I feel like I've been let in on this big secret: it ain't easy! My energy levels are low, and even yoga didn't get the kinks out of my arthritic feeling hips. 24 days and counting until my due-date, but I'll take earlier, too! Some midwives swear by taking evening primrose oil and drinking red raspberry leaf tea to get things going, so, dutifully (sans midwife) I am going ahead and doing that. I do have more Braxton-Hicks contractions, the "practice" ones that don't hurt and just make me feel like I have Abs of Steel (au contraire, though!)... but who knows when she'll get here. All in good time, in her good time. We are getting very, very giddy.
Family, too (both sides), everytime we talk, asks me if I have an idea when she'll come. Everyone thinks she will be early. Is this wishful thinking? Probably.... Can't say that I blame anyone for hoping, because I think my complaints (ow, my hips! crap, my morning sickness is back! i'm so tired! i'm so hungry! i'm so achy!) must be getting frustrating. But I also feel a bit pressured to have this baby SOON, because everyone is waiting. Clockwatching, really. And trust me, nothing I'd rather do than have her early (as long as she is ready)... but I have no control over this, people!
The weekend is around the corner, and I am grateful for that. No alarm ringing at 5 am will be a treat. Not to mention a block party with potluck food, which always makes me happy. I still have the grad-student attitude of "free food, free food" (followed by a binge-eating festival), and we have some good cooks on the block. Hope the weather holds... we've had overcast mornings, sometimes with rain, and the temperatures have decidedly dropped (15 degrees or so?) ... sleeping under a down comforter instead of a thin cotton blanket was a huge treat last night.
Work beckons, and so does the bathroom. I should clock my minutes spent in there, ... hourly visits translate into lots of time spent on the pot. How do people who aren't writing their dissertation from home (e.g. gainfully employed folks) do this pregnancy thing??? Respect, I tell you, newfound respect. Off I go... and my stomach continues to ripple. She gets active after lunch!
dandlioneyes at 1:38 pm