A Very Pregnant Post

36 weeks! About 4 (or less!) to go! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Last Monday afternoon, Jeff's mom's kind manager gave Jeff and I a nice couch for free. As we were picking it up she said to me, "From the back, you don't even look like you're pregnant!" I laughed light-heartedly. She then said, "I looked the exact same way when I had my first child, small and carrying everything in the front. But then he turned out to be a 10-pounder!" My laughter turned a bit nervous and I told her I hoped it wouldn't be the same for me. Out of the 24 pounds I've gained so far, I really hope 10 of them are not solid baby! After the couch was all loaded up in my dad's trailer and car, Jeff and I were talking with his mom and sister. I don't know if it was the way I was standing, but all of a sudden my dad just bursts out laughing, pointing to my belly. Yes, I know it's huge, and it was kind of funny to see him laughing so hard and so suddenly. It made me laugh, and everyone else started to chuckle to see, as Jeff's mom said, "a ball in my belly bouncing" up and down. I've never truly understood the meaning of having a "belly laugh" until this pregnancy! I don't know what my dad was thinking that made him laugh so hard...maybe it was something like this:

Who knows for sure? That evening, Jeff and I went to a friend's wedding reception. It was really nice to see some of our friends from high school there and chat for a bit. One kind friend said to me, "You look really good as a pregnant woman!" Another said, "Pregnancy suits you well!" Ohhhhh, if only they REALLY knew what was going on in my pregnancy...sometimes I don't think being pregnant suits me well at all. I feel this way mainly when:

- Every part of my body is bigger, except for my bladder.
- Swollen feet, swollen face, swollen hands, achy legs, achy back, achy body are common.
- CANKLES! Waaaah! I was so, so sad to get them for the first time yesterday. Having no ankles is not very attractive. Nor is seeing the tops of my feet jiggle like Jell-O when I walk on them when they have swelled up like balloons.
- I take 3-4 nightly trips to the bathroom, barely able to get up and walk to the toilet because of severe back pain, and sometimes not being able to fall back asleep for hours.
- Nausea kicks in. Oh, you terrible thing, nausea. But thank you, modern-day medicine, for allowing me to keep my stomach down when I eat and drink now!
- At times I am so tired and don't have the energy to do the things I want and need to do.
- I feel like an airhead. Having a "pregnant brain" and not being able to multitask, remember things, and think and speak as clearly as I used to frustrates me.
- I get so grumpy or sad with all these hormones raging inside of me. I don't like it when I'm not my happy, normal self, and feel bad that Jeff has to endure many of my "episodes."
- The AC in our car when out right when summer started getting super hot. It's still currently out...we think there's a leak since we just got new freon put in late in June. I have not enjoyed car rides much with the baking heat and highly offensive smells that have entered in through our rolled-down windows as we drive. I swell up super fast in those conditions.
- Suddenly cramps come and seize up in my hip when I walk, making it so I can't walk.
- Sometimes I have incurable bouts of being restless and uncomfortable for no apparent reason at all.
- And the list goes on...

This pregnancy has been hard for me, truth be told. I've had to stop school when I would have graduated at the end of this past summer term. School is currently on the back burner...to be finished at an unknown time. It's hard and a little strange to see many of my friends and family go back to school and that I'm not joining them. I had to stop working in early April. My back and shoulder just couldn't stand the 5-hour secretarial shifts I was mainly sitting and typing through. Jeff has become the lone provider for our little family now, and with school starting back up it's going to be even more of a burden for him. Bless his poor, pea-pickin' soul!

But, despite all the not-so-great things that have happened in the past 8 months, things have been okay. Life is still good. There have been so many happy moments, and Jeff has been so good to me. Our family on both sides have been so supportive and wonderful. Good friends have helped keep my spirits up. The Church is as true as ever. Our Savior is always there, helping us get through the hard times. I've been listening to many old General Conference talks, and love how much better I feel after hearing the word of God. "Come What May, and Love It" by Elder Wirthlin has become our theme. Jeff and I have been trying to laugh more when things don't go quite right. We (especially me) have been striving to have a better and more positive outlook on things, no matter what comes our way. Things will all work out for the best. And no matter how hard things have been, it will all be worth it when we finally get to hold our little son in our arms.

For all of you scholars, happy first day of school! I hope you were as excited to go back as Jeff was this morning!