Any Day Now?

We're on week 36 of pregnancy and little Elwin is still brewing. This whole pregnancy, I thought I didn't have to worry about birth until end of October, beginning of November. Until some friends shared that they had their children at 35-36 weeks. Now I'm imagining going into labor at any second, at any of the events I plan on attending in the next few weeks, during the most mundane or embarrassing tasks. Will it happen in public? Will my water break and it be really gross and some poor employee stuck cleaning it up? How will Curtis react, will he freak out like all the dads on TV? How will I react?!?!

Pregnancy is crazy.

So let's recap some of the past several months for posterity sake. First trimester I looked like this:

Hopefully I will look like that again soon. I was nauseous almost all the time and had to always be eating to keep the nausea at bay. Fun nausea story, I was walking from the bus stop to work at about 1030am and all of a sudden had to puke. I quickly grabbed the side of the closest flower bed and let it rip for a couple minutes while countless people bustled to and fro behind me. Since I wasn't visibly pregnant, I am sure I looked like I had partied too hard the night before.

I gained 11 pounds before I was even supposed to be showing weight gain, which made me a self conscious and uneasy about my appearance. Now I'm like "psh, 11 pounds is nothing." Luckily I was able to wear all my own clothes through the first trimester, save those pennies where you can!

Second Trimester!

I felt better once I started to have a belly showing. I saved a lot on maternity clothes, my friend Kindal let me borrow several items and I bought some key things (like those cute floral shorts pictured below) from Destination Maternity on sale and finished the rest off with a clothing swap amongst 20 or so other ladies that my friend Stacy invited me too. That's where I got the yellow jacket and blue floral skirt pictured below as well.

                   

Also, I got wild and henna'd my belly! Really cool, I'd do it again! Who doesn't love a tattoo at the fraction of the cost that washes away eventually?

2nd trimester is also when I first felt Elwin kicking around. I was sitting at the table and all of a sudden realized that what I had thought was indigestion or just my stomach gurgling was actually Elwin moving around. Whoa! It was totally freaky. That helped make the pregnancy seem real, instead of just an unnecessary weight gain.

All in all, 2nd trimester was pretty chill. I definitely slept a lot more, taking obligatory naps midday after my breakfast shift at work. The nausea passed, which I will always be eternally grateful for (I hate feeling nauseous). For the most part, I didn't feel pregnant except when I put clothes on or saw myself in the mirror, or the occasional flutter from my progeny.

Third Trimester!

This is when it gets fun. I have inflated exponentially throughout the 3rd trimester as you can see below.


                                            

This first picture was at the beginning of the 3rd trimester, when I felt I was just beginning to have a legit belly...but still didn't feel huge.

              

These two pictures are from about 29/30 weeks and 32/33 weeks. I put them side by side since they are from the same angle and you get a good idea of the difference in size. LOOK AT THAT TUMMY! Elwin kicked it into high gear for the home stretch, Curtis says my belly looks significantly bigger every day.

                               

These two pictures are from 33 weeks and 36 weeks (picture taken yesterday). Huge difference in just a few weeks!

3rd trimester is when you can't deny that you're pregnant. I've experienced back pain and all over body aches, difficulty breathing especially when laying down, tired/exhausted almost all the time, the bigger Elwin gets the more violent his movements, waking up in the middle of the night, leg cramps that you can't stretch out because your belly is in the way, blood rushing to head when bending over, the list goes on. Third trimester hasn't been as fun and I'm starting to feel full to bursting. 

I feel extremely blessed by the midwives we've had at Eastside Birth Center. I remember my first meeting with them, I was so nervous and scared, I had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect or what I needed. They have graciously and kindly helped me every step of the way, even helping fill the gaps when we couldn't afford a birthing class or doula or even pay our bill to the birth center by the date they needed. They've addressed my symptoms with supplements which have worked immensely (I joke that their answer to every ailment is to take an epsom salt bath...but it works!)

Curtis and I are also extremely blessed by the community we are surrounded by. So much of our baby stuff was donated or gifted soon after we found out we were pregnant. Many of my mommy friends have been great resources for all the questions I never expected to be asking. 

It really does take a village!