Two-Thirds

Well hello there, Third Trimester! For so long, you seemed like a distant, impossible point on the horizon. Thirty weeks might as well have been thirty years away. All the landmark dates on the calendar were but future plans.

But now, here we are. Two-thirds of the way through this adventure called pregnancy, and less than three months from bringing our little boy into the world. For my memory's sake, here are a few thoughts on this phase of pregnancy...

(Snow storm #2 in Memphis, taken at about 26ish weeks)

• Little Guy is moving All. The. Time. and is particularly responsive to loud music. When we saw Jersey Boys last weekend, I thought he just might jump out of my belly button during the climax of "Dawn" that ends the first act. And at the Step Show competition last Saturday night, his movements were noticeably stronger and more frequent when the loud, pumping hip hop music played between acts. I might have to put on BET to get this kid to sleep!
  
• I get multiple nosebleeds each day. This was one of those things that I read about in books and thought, "Well that's weird," but the books don't lie!

• My sciatic nerve has definitely been making itself known. After sitting for too long, I will stand to be greeted with a sharp pain shooting from my lower back through my upper thigh. The throbbing increases with each step but still lingers even when I'm not moving. I'm realizing that I can no longer sit in the same positions that my typically limber body has always been able to handle!

• After a month of the second-trimester honeymoon phase, I'm starting to feel the return of the fatigue and frequent bathroom trips that were common in my first trimester.

• My belly is now large enough to obstruct movement. In the middle of a conference session last weekend, I dropped my pen underneath my chair. When I bent over to grab it, I realized that I couldn't bend over far enough to reach it. I had to get up and squat down in front of my chair just to retrieve it! I'm realizing this is only the beginning of the "large, uncomfortable" phase of pregnancy...only getting bigger from here, folks!

• I'll keep this short and sweet, but let's just say that I really had no idea "The Girls" could get this large. And then I read that they too will get larger. Good gracious. How far into the alphabet do bra sizes go!?!
  
• We are making progress on the nursery: walls painted, crib assembled, armoire refinished, and furniture arranged. Now to add bedding and decor, remove hubby's desk (which I have agreed to delay until the last minute so as to not disrupt his study space!), and fill the room with all his little things! Here's a sneak peek...

(Crib and fabric swatches of bedding)

(Baby Daddy assembling the crib--don't worry, it didn't stay in the living room! Notice the Quality Control Department observing in the background.)

• Speaking of little things, shower festivities begin in two weeks and I can hardly contain the excitment. Now to work on containing the tears that tend to surface every time I get my hands on some little bitty baby thing.
  
• Which brings me to another pregnancy phenomenon: hormones. I really have not experienced the telltale prenatal mood swings until the past few weeks. Now I feel as though I am always one straw away from tears! Straw, as in the one that broke the camel's back. For example, after an off morning before a doctor's appointment, I arrived late and frazzled. The nurse took me to a new and unfamiliar part of the doctor's office, handed me my urine sample cup, and pointed me to the bathroom "down there" before disappearing. For the life of me I could not find that bathroom! So there I stood in the middle of the hallway, urine test cup in hand (empty, thank goodness!) fighting back the tears with all my might! And the surreal thing is that I am fully cognizant of how ridiculous and not tear-worthy these situations are. ("You will NOT cry because you can't find the potty...you WILL NOT cry while holding a urine sample cup...you WILL look like a crazy lady if you are found alone and crying because you can't find the bathroom!")
  
• I'm pretty sure that this guy has a name. We've been calling him one name for the past two weeks and it just feels right. If it were up to me, we would be shouting it from the rooftops, but my very deliberate and contemplative husband is still reluctant to seal the deal and commit to this name for all of eternity. Gosh, you'd think this was an important choice or something.... ;) (Just teasing, honey...take your time!)

I'm hoping to share some more pictures soon, but unfortunately now that we have a nice new camera our computer refuses to take any less than 45 minutes to upload pictures to Facebook or Blogger. I just can't win! Hope these few can satisfy you in the mean time!