Week 33

I love being pregnant, I love being pregnant, I love being pregnant...

I am not miserable and I know for certain there are far more people that have harder pregnancies than me. But it's all relative, right? I am not wishing this baby out early and I don't feel all the time like I am just "done" with being pregnant, but there are certain days and times that I feel entitled to complain. I never understood women that said they were just "done"... until now. My latest complaints are that:

1. My back always aches (and when it's your 2nd, you get less sympathy and, consequently, less back rubs);

2. Maternity sizes are AWFUL. "S" should stand for "small" (which is a bit ironic, when you're talking about pregnancy clothing) and not "short"! I am not particularly tall at 5'6, so why do all the maternity shirts come only to my belly button?

3. I'm swollen. If I am not wearing flip-flops, I can tell my feet are fatter. And my legs are puffier. And my face looks bloated. And my arms are big... need I go on?

In fairness, pregnancy has been easy for me, albeit a bit more uncomfortable this time, but still nothing to really feel sorry for myself about. Even my doctor says I am just "made to be pregnant". Part of my complaints are grounded in the fact that I am really just simply excited for this baby to come. I was excited when I was pregnant with Deviney but in a different way, and with added anxiety and anticipation. With this baby, the fears are fewer and the anxiety is... well, it's not gone, it's just targeted at different things. What makes a second pregnancy different is that this time, I know what it's like to hold my child in my arms for the first time, to sit for a 1/2 hour just looking at his/her beautiful face, to feel the overwhelming bursting love you can only understand when you become a parent, to be overcome with amazing pride. Those are feelings you never forget and, for some of us, we are lucky to experience it even one time in our lives. I'm thrilled I get to do it again.