Getting there!!

24 weeks. Holy moly. My third trimester is looming on the horizon, and I can definitely feel the weight of it bearing down on me. So much to dooooo! And it feels like... or actually we are... running out of time!

Little Sully has a huge container of stuff and his own corner in my living room. (I'm sure this won't change.) We are still working on getting his room cleaned out, so I haven't had a chance to organize everything yet. Baby clothes, toys, books, and a car seat. You shoulda seen me trying to figure out that last one. There are so many buttons and safety precautions, I actually did what you're supposed to do in these situations: I read the guidebook. Go figure. Reading the directions actually does make things easier.

Accumulating all the necessary essentials that are required to keep your baby safe and happy is really... crazy. If feeling Sully kicking didn't make it real enough, seeing all this baby stuff in my house is really taking the whole "reality is slapping you in the face" to the next level. Sully will be here in less than four months, and while that can sound like a long time, remember that we found out about him almost six months ago... YEAH. Really. Having those months go by as fast as they did makes me feel like four will be the blink of an eye.

So how am I feeling? That's a question I get a lot. For the most part, I'm feeling really tired. I've been having more off days than days when I feel like a normal human being, and I think that has a lot to do with my second trimester coming to an end and the fact that Sully is getting huge. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours cleaning the house and doing laundry, and by 11 AM, I was spent. I have a really bad habit of not listening to my body when it tells me to lay the frig down, but this time I had to. Laid down to do a bit of reading and ended up falling asleep for an hour.

Needless to say, this being tired all the time (again) is really putting me in a predicament. I feel like I can't do anything without paying for it somehow. Last weekend was pretty full. A friend's baby shower. Canoeing on the lake. 2 mile walk. More canoeing on the lake. Dinner with friends. Then work on Monday. By Tuesday and Wednesday, I felt like I was going to keel over and die while having a major hormone-induced bitch-fit. Turns out, I was just exhausted and needed to go home and get some R&R. Literally just sit on my ever-growing ass and do nothing.

It's frustrating, because I want to go walking every day. I want to go out and do things with friends. But at the same time, I need to relax as much as possible or else I'll end up sick and miserable. Seems like it's hard for others to understand, but it is what it is right now, and I don't like it anymore than they do.

What makes it all worth it is feeling Sully get stronger every day. He's begun to wake me up at night, and I find it really difficult to get frustrated with his insomniatic antics. It's something I better get used to, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn't bother me being woken up by a squirmy little munchkin. We'll see if that changes when the kicking turns into screaming... ;)

Speaking of kicking, Taylor finally saw Sully move. He had his hand on my belly while Sully was uber active, but for some reason, he can't feel it to save his life. Over-think much? I actually saw the man's hand move when Sully kicked him, but nope, he didn't feel a thing. *Sigh* Good thing the kicks have gotten to the point where I can see them pushing on my belly. (There's that "alien" thought again....) So I had Taylor watch the belly instead. And BAM, the moment finally happened. There was no way Taylor could mistake those huge jumps in my belly for hunger pangs.

I have my next appointment on August 1st, and I'm excited to see how much Sully has grown in the last month. He's definitely strong, healthy, and growing fast. My belly feels enormous, so much so that I had to roll off the couch the other day to get up to pee (again), much to the amusement of my husband.

Do you see how walking two miles could be difficult with this added weight constantly throwing me off balance? I see all these "fit and pregnant" women on Pinterest or other blogs, and I have to fight the urge to say screw. you. I've always been one to workout and jog as part of my lifestyle, but my knees, ankles, and energy levels are finding it hard to keep up. It's gotten to the point where going up and down my stairs half a dozen times while cleaning is calling my exercise routine for the day good. Now if only I could turn my craving for chocolate ice cream into a craving for something like... Oh, who am I kidding?

There are a lot of things you have to just let go when you're pregnant. The house isn't going to be as clean as you like. You're not going to be as active as you want to be. The scale is inevitably going to go up. And you're clothes aren't going to fit anymore. It is what it is, and it's really taught me a lesson in just letting things be and not focusing on the things I can't do. I've been trying to put the energy I do have into things I can do. Or stepping back and remembering the things I am doing... Like creating a whole other life.

I think Taylor was worried about having to live with a pregnant wife due to the horror stories that every man seems to like to tell (as if they are victims and have the most difficult job in the whole deal), but I think I've handled it pretty well, and it helps to have such an understanding guy on my side. When I'm feeling extra irritable, I just tell him, "hey, I'm feeling really *itchy tonight," and instead of thinking it's something he's done or that I need to get over it, he always asks, "what can we do to make you feel better?" Or if I'm in one of those moods where I just want to cry, he gives me a hug and tells me to just let it out because I'll feel better for it. I don't make him a target of my hormones. I just give him a heads up that they are getting out of control and it's something he just seems to know how to help me with. We work together.

So instead of him thinking I've become possessed or me thinking he's an insensitive jerk (stereotypes, I know), we can focus on the fun stuff. Like belly kicks and car seat fiascos and putting the crib together.

Hopefully, soon I'll have some photos of the nursery!


Cheers!