Finally, I am in the home stretch. I feel like an elephant, both figuratively, because I feel like I've been pregnant for years, and literally, because I feel like a beached whale and I still have 12 more weeks to go.
It's amazing how pregnancies can differ so much from kid to kid but still have so many similarities. I thought Matthew was hard on mommy, because he made me sick for 280 days, but this one on the way is taking the cake. I am no longer sick and nauseous like I was for the first 22 weeks, which is wonderful, but the pain I have with this one is incredible. My back, my legs, my stomach, my whole body just aches. It's getting harder to pick up Matt, which is heartbreaking to me, because if you know my son you know he loves his mommy and wants to be with me 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If we're in the same room, he wants to be sitting near me, if not on top of my lap. If he wakes up in the middle of the night and daddy goes in to get him, ignite the water works and major meltdowns. He lights up when I get home from work and is my little sidekick for the rest of the evening until bed time. So how do you tell your 20 month old that Mommy can't pick him up whenever he wants? It's darn-near impossible.
As much as I am complaining about the aches and pains of being pregnant, I am so excited to meet our newest addition. I am gearing up to start clearing out the baby's room, which for the past 5 years has been the junk room... this will be an exciting task... NOT! I've also started washing some of Matt's old blankets and newborn clothing, so that I don't have to do that when the baby is born. I ordered a second rocking chair, because I still use the one in Matt's room every night and logistically it'll be easier to have one in each room. We're picking out baby names and feeling the little one kick, punch and roll. It's as if this baby can't get comfy. I'm pretty sure I've taken a few punches to the lungs, liver and spleen over the last several weeks. As much as these can be painful, I love knowing that baby is growing and healthy. The other night I was putting Matthew to bed and as he was laying on my stomach, his sibling gave him a right hook to his side. He shot straight up and looked at me with his big doe eyes, as if he was saying "what the heck was that ma?" I could not stop laughing for about 10 minutes. I looked at him and said that's your baby _____. Since then, when you ask him where the baby is, he lifts up his shirt and points to his belly button. Not quite kiddo, not quite.
