The numbers

At the beginning of the pregnancy I thought of things in large vague terms. I knew I would be pregnant for nine months – not considering how long nine months is. I also didn’t really take into account the additional weeks and months it would take for my body to get back to “normal.”

I knew I would gain weight and I even knew the amount of weight I should be expected to gain (somewhere around 30-35 pounds) but I never did the math and added that expected weight to my pre-pregnancy weight. My weight right now is a number I thought I’d never see on a scale I was standing on. I know, poor me, who’s always been thin and only started having to watch what I eat after I quit smoking about 5 years ago.

One of the numbers I’m really happy about is the 12 weeks I’ll be taking off of work to spend with the baby. This will be the longest I’ve been off of work and I am really looking forward to it. There was one time period a few years ago when I was so miserable at a job that I quit before having a new job lined up and I was not working longer than I would have liked but I didn’t enjoy that time at all. I was a little depressed over the whole thing and couldn’t even appreciate or take advantage of my free time. I plan on appreciating every second of this time off. Assuming I work up until I go into labor (or maybe work from home until then in the final week or so) and assuming I deliver on my due date (which isn’t very likely) I won’t have to go back to work until the end of June! Wow!

In non-number related news, the pregnancy is going well and I am long overdue in posting a belly picture. I have one from two weekends ago and one from Tuesday night but I just haven’t gotten around to posting them. I hope to do that very soon. I can’t believe how big my belly’s gotten. My fairy tattoo is getting stretched out – but not as much as I thought it would be. I’m not going to worry about that though because I still have about 8 more weeks of stretching.

I’m feeling great other than being a little tired. My heartburn has subsided and I ate some chicken fried rice and didn’t get sick. I was a little burpy but hey, lately almost everything makes me burp. The joint pain is minimal and manageable and I love the feeling of walking and not wanting to cry!

Banjo has been doing somersaults and I can tell when he’s feet down vs. head down. I almost always feel everything on the right side and I think I can tell the difference between his punches and his kicks. I can also tell when he’s kicking my ribs and lungs vs smooshing his head into my organs. He has several more weeks that he can do this before I want him to settle into his head down position.

Last night I snuggled on the couch with Pete and he could feel Banjo moving around in my belly. It was so nice to be relaxing on the couch with my hubby and the cat all cozy together. He joked that we needed to add a few more animal to the pile. Samson wouldn’t fit and I don’t think the birds would sit still. I am treasuring these moments and trying to enjoy the last weeks of my pregnancy and not stress out about things! I’m also looking forward to my prenatal massage and my day of relaxation on Saturday.