Still Pregnant!

We found out about a month ago that we are having another girl. We were shocked that we hadn’t finally landed a boy this time and it took us a day or two to accept it. It’s not that we were upset that we were having another girl, it’s that there was no reaction when the tech said, “It’s a baby girl.” It was like, “Okay, carry on with your measurements.” It sounds horrible, I know. Only because when I think about the reaction we would have had if she had said, “It’s a boy,” it supersedes the non-reaction that was actually had. We’re over it and moving on to picking out names and some more (pink) baby bedding.

I am currently 22 weeks along. Bending over has slowly become a challenge and is now accompanied with an assortment of grunts, oohs and ahs, followed by heavy breathing and the need for a short rest. Kyle will need to start assisting in putting socks and shoes on me sooner than later. Other than that I can’t complain. Aside from some minor heartburn (hairy baby??), I haven’t had any other real discomforts yet. My back is holding out for the most part, the heavy and frequent urinating hasn’t begun yet and I’m still able to sleep fairly well. I guess this is the “babymoon” phase. My reaction skills are enhanced and verging on ninja level. When something starts to fall I’m uncharacteristically able to catch it before it hits the ground and in a fashion that seems nonchalant, not just clumsily lucky.

The baby is also ninja-like in that it never stops kicking, moving, rolling, doing roundhouses… A majority of her kicks are landing low, like in my vagina and it’s…unpleasant. If you watch me long enough, you can see me flinching in reaction to a well-placed kick of hers to my nether regions. I’m waiting for her foot to just come flying out one day – and then what I do?? It’s evident that she is also hoarding all of the folic acid from my vitamins has my hair and nails have done nothing but become more brittle than they were before, if that’s even possible. The kid will come out with the most luscious mane and freakishly long nails ever. She’ll look like that weird guy with the curly cue nails in the Guinness Book of World Records. This will be my reminder to bring infant nail clippers with me to the hospital.

I am also quickly realizing that I have few winter-appropriate maternity clothes. My previous pregnancies were timed such that my “large months” fell during warmer weather whereas this pregnancy is the opposite. This means, pause while I gag, maternity jeans. I have one pair that I hate and refuse to wear and I can’t bear the thought of purchasing another pair. The thought makes me want to set myself on fire. So right now I’m still either wearing in-between jeans which are just a larger than normal size that I usually set aside for post C-section wear or I’m stuffing myself into my normal jeans and leaving them undone and just securing with an elastic band around the button. This works only if you have a shirt long enough to cover the undone zipper. Otherwise, the public gets a flash of undy, C-section scar and potential pube. So you have to be careful with this method.

I still have a lot going on in my life that remains in the forefront for now. My hope is over the next couple of months, things will even out, I’ll be larger and as a result, the pregnancy will merge into a priority. Then excitement, preparation and nesting will begin. Until then, I have a weekly reminder on my phone that lets me know how far along I am.