Third Trimester Lessons

Well, we're at the end. 39 1/2 weeks pregnant, and no baby yet. The third trimester has been a slightly more challenging one with the warmer temperatures and my ever growing belly, but overall, I have had a GREAT pregnancy, so I can't complain at all! Just like my first trimester and my second trimester, this last trimester has taught me a few things...

1. A ninth-month-pregnant belly makes a perfect pillow for an 18-month old.

2. Climbing the 53 stairs to my apartment makes me feel like I just accomplished an amazing feat. When I successfully make it to the top, I have a sense of accomplishment that I never had before I was pregnant :)

3. Having a small-for-his-age nine-month-old and having a nine-month pregnant belly at the same time confuses people. I can't count the number of looks and questions I got just at Walmart this month. It's also confusing for kids. One day last week, a little girl whose parents work here at the school saw me out in the backyard carrying Israel. She looked at my stomach...then up at Israel...then back at my stomach...and finally up at me. She asked (very politely), "Are you still recovering from having that baby?" Laughing a little bit, I said, "No, I haven't even had the baby yet." She pointed to Israel and asked, "Then who is that baby?" I tried to explain how Israel was my son too, and I gave her a little lesson about adoption. She seemed satisfied with my answer. However, the next day, I found out that she didn't get it. I saw her out in the backyard again (and again I was holding Israel), and she came up to me and asked, "So you're having twins then? And you're still waiting on the second one to come out?" Ha. I guess adoption is a pretty hard concept for a little child :)

4. I now have a little glimpse into my husband's life. Aaron is almost always hot, and before I was pregnant, I was always cold! I would have a little space heater on, and he would want the air conditioner on. However, now I am almost always hotter than Aaron...and it can be pretty miserable! So I will most likely be more empathetic to him in the future when he is sweating in the heat.

5. Rummaging through every drawer and cabinet in your home for something sweet to eat at nine months pregnant can make one's husband feel sympathetic and result in him going to the dollar store and buying this: (thanks, Honey!)

6. It is kind of exciting to "outgrow" your regular clothes when you have to start wearing maternity clothes. But it is more on the depressing side when you start outgrowing your maternity clothes. I'm down to just a few maternity shirts that fit.

7. Being pregnant is like an invitation to other people--even strangers--to tell you odd, scary, and disturbing birth stories. I have heard about everything from emergecy c-sections, to epidurals gone wrong, to less-than-an-hour labor and delivering in a bathroom, to husbands passing out or throwing up, to botched stitches, to 40-hour labor. I really hope I don't have an odd or disturbing labor story...but even if I do, I won't be telling the story to first-time pregnant women! :)

And a few pictures from the past few weeks:

37 Weeks

38 Weeks

39 Weeks