Not entirely binary

A character on a favorite TV show of mine, when asked "how pregnant" his ex-wife was, replied that, as he understood it, pregnancy is a binary state -- you either are, or you aren't. That may be, but over the last week, I've started to feel "very pregnant."

Saturday was my 26 week mark. That means that I am officially in my 3rd trimester. I started feeling like it last week. I imagine I'll feel better for another week or two before it starts to feel like I've been pregnant forever, like everyone tells me I will.

Last week was when I first had the thought "why do women love being pregnant??" It was not a great week. For about 3 days, I had very painful gas (though, thankfully, not particularly stinky). My lower back has started to hurt when I have to stand for any length of time, as I tend to be sticking my belly forward and my shoulders back, in an attempt to distribute the balance of my weight. I can feel my uterine muscles stretching to accomodate my growing baby. I also think my digestive organs are finally starting to get squished. I'm still just as hungry as I have been for several weeks, and want to eat just as much, but I find that afterward, I feel much fuller -- there's less storage room now. As my belly grows and stretches, the skin is getting incredibly itchy. I'm sleeping fine, but it's harder for me to get to sleep in the first place...I don't know if it's because I'm not tired enough when I go to bed (I feel tired), or if I just can't find a comfortable position. And you don't even want me to get into the emotional roller coaster I rode last week (and dragged Ben on -- poor guy).

Yet, despite all that, I am still enjoying being pregnant. I don't yet have that "I've been pregnant forever" thing going on. I know that I will still grow lots more before the end. I fully anticipate that. Julie is moving a lot, but it's not uncomfortable yet. It's still a really neat (and very weird) feeling, not painful at all. She seems to be most active in the morning, after I wake up but before I get out of bed. I like it because that's when I'm least active, and I can fully enjoy her movement.

With moving into my third trimester, I've also become painfully aware of how much I still have to do before she comes, while also being fully aware of the fact that she really could decide to come at any time now. Until last night, I had yet to choose bedding for the nursery. I haven't painted it yet or bought a crib either, because we've been waiting to choose bedding colors first. There is so much to do, and I really feel like I'm under a deadline now. I enjoy my job (even though it's temporary), but I'm starting to get anxious for it to be over so I can be home working on stuff.

Anyway, it's been a long while since I've posted anything, and I just wanted to share some updates of how I'm doing.