The bump so far

So, how am I adjusting to pregnancy so far? To tell you the truth, I almost feel like “adjusting” isn’t the right word, since things often happen so gradually that I just notice I’m different one day, without being able to pinpoint when it started. When did I start feeling so heavy? When did I start having trouble putting on my socks? When did my joints start hurting? When did I stop seeing my feet? I couldn’t tell you exactly when it happened, but that’s just the way my life is now. I have to admit that the big surprise to me is the pain. I was expecting “discomfort” in the last trimester, especially given that it’s summer, but it turns out that the constant pain (pelvic pain and a pinched nerve, in my case) is much worse than the general discomfort. I’m seeing a physiotherapist every week to help deal with this. Being in a pool helps tremendously, but getting out of the pool and getting hit by gravity full-on again is torture! My feet are so swollen that even my OB was impressed (and I saw him at 9:45 AM, mind you, so I still had some swelling to do before the day was over). I do keep gently bumping my belly into things, though, and I think that Katie on Jejune.net is right on (see It’s never what you expect or Things people should admit more often: Pregnancy is weird). I haven’t even been able to sleep through the night since I got pregnant, but it’s worse now because I can’t even sleep on my side anymore on account of the pelvic pain. To the point where I’ve naïvely thought that it would be easier after the baby’s born (which is ridiculous, because of course I’ll wake up more often, and it’ll take another few months for the pelvic pain to subside anyway). And despite all that, I’m still incredibly lucky to have a healthy pregnancy with no complications!

A month ago, at 33 weeks, I got my first “Wow, you look like you’re ready to pop!” from a complete stranger. I should have had a clever comeback ready, but I wasn’t fast enough. Instead, I just said something like, “Um, actually, I’m not due until July, so still almost two months to go, but… yeah.” I’ve also gotten “You’re bigger than Kate!”, meaning the Duchess of Cambridge. Thank you for stating the obvious. (I was bigger than her when neither one of us was pregnant, too, in case anyone is wondering. And I’m carrying a big baby.) I guess in theory she’s one of my seven annoying people I’ll meet when I’m pregnant, although I confess I’ve yet to find her annoying, ever. I’ve been lucky that no stranger has dared touched my baby bump, though, because I probably would start patting their stomach right back. It’s true that people in general, even if they mean well, do have a tendency to comment on how big you are regardless of your actual size, though, which is one of the reasons I don’t post too many pictures of myself on Facebook.

As far as preparations go, we’re pretty much ready with the essentials. The nursery is finished (upcoming post on that), I’ve got meals in the freezer (upcoming post on that, too). I’ve got a list of important phone numbers, my hospital bag is almost packed (for inspiration, see here, here or here). I’m going to be a minimalist and use a hospital-issued paper gown instead of a specialty maternity gown. My birth plan is written out, too, for what it’s worth – I’ve realized that while I would like a minimum of medical interventions, I’m not in control of what will happen, so being informed is really my best bet.

We’ve also seen the last “epic” film before D-Day – Man of Steel is totally worth it. Later this summer, I’m thinking we’ll skip Wolverine entirely and see if we’re up to a baby matinée (or an actual date night!) for Thor 2, though that’s entirely dependent on when Baby decides to show up. We also just celebrated our 5th anniversary with a fantastic dinner at Il Sogno, where I had the most amazing beef cheek ravioli with shaved black truffles in a cream sauce; I’d like to thank both the chef as well as the makers of Lactaid – plus the Engineer, of course, for being the best husband I could have asked for.

As far as baby-themed literature goes, I have to say I’m tired of all the publications that assume not only that the father-to-be is clueless, but also that the mother-to-be will do everything perfectly the first time. I don’t think it’s the case for us, and we’re not the only ones. I mean, sure, I’ll be hardwired to want to respond to our baby’s cries, but it doesn’t mean that my response would automatically be better than the Engineer’s. I honestly don’t even think I’ve changed any more diapers than he has, but I’m sure we’ll both learn very quickly. I don’t have all the answers already built-in and I can’t live up to the image of the perfect mother we see in magazines and on Pinterest. So here are five things that mothers want fathers to know, so we can keep that in mind.

And now I’ll go back to my knitting to see if I can finish that in time.