News alert: I've never been this pregnant before.
Well, let me clarify. With each passing day, I venture into previously unexplored turf. It's all new to me. The changes, the sensations, the challenges. New surprises every day.
Oh, sure, I check out baby2see.com each week to see what's happening with the baby. I was able to find out when his eyes opened and when he developed fingernails and things like that.
But there are things no one tells you. Things you figure out as you go.
No one tells you that the constraints of your belly skin will feel stretched to their absolute limits some days. I think, oh my, baby boy must be growing a lot today. My belly feels like it is going to burst!
To pick something up off the floor, I have to maneuver like a giraffe: feet wide apart and lean over so that the belly goes between the leg space. Yup. Odd.
Last week at work I was in the hallway waiting for some co-workers to come from the restroom so we could go have lunch. I set my carry bag on the ground and squatted to rearrange some things in the bag. I...well...I couldn't get back up. There was nothing nearby for me to grip to help myself up, and I was kind of stuck. Fortunately the women came out of the restroom, saw my predicament and helped me up.
The baby doesn't only kick outward. He moves in all directions. So sometimes he wiggles or jumps and I have the strangest (and - ahem - sometimes even erotic) sensations deep within my body. My, my!
Sometimes when I lie on my side in bed at night, I swear I'm lying right on his little head. It feels hard and I worry I'm squishing him. Can you squish the baby by lying on your side?
One of my nipples has grown a nipple. I'm not sure if this is pregnancy related, or the result of my advancing age (you know we tend to grow more moles and such as we age). At the 6 o'clock position (basically, underneath) my left nipple, a little skin tag has suddenly appeared. What the....?!
Speaking of boobs, there are moments of shooting, pinching pain in one boob or the other. Developing milk ducts? Not sure. At home I sit with my hand up my shirt, massaging the poor burning spot. In public, I can only wince.
Yes, I am beginning to waddle.
No, I can't get comfortable at night to sleep.
My internal organs are no longer where I used to recognize them. I think my stomach is now squarely between my boobs.
And just yesterday, my DH said that sometimes I breathe loudly, like an overweight trucker. That's nice.
Hm. Who knew? Each day is a new venture into the peculiar. Of course you know I don't really mind any of this a bit. Small price to pay for a sweet baby boy. It's just that I wake up each day wondering, and not really knowing, what to expect.
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12 comments:
What a great post! I can't imagine what all of that must feel like! And so weird that it's completely beyond your control, isn't it? It's just HAPPENING to you and there's nothing you can do but observe and adapt. And most of us look at it through a lens of sheer gratitude after hoping and working and praying for such a thing for so long - that is the one positive thing I think I can say about IF - we do not take pregnancy or parenting for granted. We know we are lucky if/when it happens for us and we treasure it. I am so happy for you, dear Besty, and your BabyBesty is a very lucky boy to have you for his mommy!
Love,
Maddy
Amen sister! It's pretty crazy, isn't it? And how fortunate we are to be able to experience it! Overweight trucker, eh? My mom asked me if I was having problems breathing the other day because I guess I was wheezing a bit. There is a living person inside of me that is taking up space that used to be occupied by my lungs, so yes, I am having a small problems breathing lately. Isn't it fun waiting to see what the next unexpected "side effect" will be?
Wait until the day the giraffe manoeuvre no longer works because leaning that far forward would end in a faceplant! There is much more “fun” of pregnancy to come, it’s an adventure leading you to the most amazing treasure :) Glad to read you're enjoying all the little nuances of this journey :D
LOL, speaking as someone who has never made it as far as you, it all sounds horrifying and wonderful!!
I'm sure it's 100% fine, but have you had your OB look at the nipple's nipple? As someone who had boobie issues this past year, I'm particularly sensitive to hearing about them. I'm SURE it's pregnancy-related, but please make sure to have your doc take a look anyway, girlie!
thanks for the walk down memory lane! wow, i forgot all those discomforts so quickly!! i think being stuck in a squat is the funniest... (i was there several times - i dont learn!)
hang in there -- you are so close!
Thank you for making me LOL!! Great post. The body is an amazing thing. This is my fourth pregnancy (3rd to this point-as you know) and I am STILL amazed at what it does, how it has done it and what it will continue to do.
Somehow, in my warped mind, when I was pregnant with my son, it amazed me that at that point, I kinda had a penis!!!! My body actually contained a penis??!!! Hey--that's you--your body has a penis right now!!!
Freaky I know.
(I hope you don't stop reading my blog now that I've confirmed I AM a total freak!)
Made me laugh my ass off. Your nipple has a nipple! Enjoy every moment mama, I hope I get to follow your steps!
I love the insight this gives into what its like to be preggers.
Eb
Holy crap that was a funny post! I'm in tears! Umm, I can only relate right now. My nipple has a nipple too- go figure. What the &@#$&% is up with that? I too can not breathe, definitely waddle and should be member of the circus based on how I have put on my shoes, socks or pants these days! Oh and my stomach growl definitely come from between my boobs. Craziness!
Here's one- you know how you have to pee in a cup every time you go to the dr? Well I can now officially can NOT see where I am putting my hand/cup, therefore have no idea if I'm peeing in the cup until I make a complete mess. Lovely huh? I hate the whole idea of not knowing what is going on down there. I actually dared to attempt a "clean up" job that required a full length mirror and some scissors. I know, pathetic. No blood or missing parts so I think I did ok :)
Hang in there and enjoy the waddle :)
BB
Someone should do an ad for pregnancy:
you know the real thing, not the romanticized version:
"Get pregnant so you can waddle like a duck, breathe like a trucker and grow a third nipple!"
It sounds like an interesting life:)
You are 29 weeks - yeah!
As always, I have to laugh out loud when your posts are so descriptive of my current life. I fell over in a shrub the other day, squatting to do a little weeding. Luckily I managed to push myself back up...
I've also been having a lot of shooting pinching boob feelings, and I happen to know what they are - the let-down reflex. It is usually described as a "tingle" but for me they were always way more intense than that. Yikes!
I also think you should get that skin tag looked at, just in case it's something that would end up bothering you during nursing - better to have it removed now if it can be a quick little procedure If it's something else, you can at least decide what to do before your little guy is here.
We're in the home stretch, I guess. Load up on the good fats!
The sad thing is, I'm jealous!
What a crazy world! Oy!
Well, tonight, on behalf of you and all your crazy pregnant and hoping to be pregnant soon buddies, I will get all boozed (or actually maybe just one glass of wine or a mojito... we'll see) up in a toast for your health and happiness.
The new year is always a crazy door which lays before us- all sorts of possibility and pent up opportunity, just waiting to go off like the spring in a jack in the box... It must be even BIGGER for you (sorry, that was punny but not intentional) because you dont just have a new year, you have a new LIFE coming.
So happy for you. Cheers to all this newness.
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