26 Weeks: Feeling the Burn

I feel like I missed out on a good chunk of the “dream trimester.” Now that I’m rounding my way into the third trimester, things are just not feeling as good as they used to. I have periodic aches and pains, discomfort, stitches in my sides, etc. Seems like every day, something hurts. I told my doctor that I wasn’t sure what to label “pregnancy” and what to label “surgery aftermath.” I don’t think I’ll ever be able to draw a line between the two.

This poor baby. He or she is going to read back on my pregnancy “journal” and read all about my misery. Sorry, kid.

My biggest challenge right now is maybe energy. Or, rather, patience. I find myself more easily aggravated with Nora these days. I would maybe call that a product of her age—two-and-a-half can be challenging, you know—but I think it’s me. My discomfort and general feeling of, “Ughhh, I don’t have the energy to fight you!” mean that I snap sooner than I used to. When she’s being good and listening? Love. When she’s not? I just want to walk away and go lie down on the couch.

The energy thing is improving, though. But I wonder how much more improvement I’ll see before late pregnancy kicks in and things decline again. So for now, I’m enjoying the bursts of energy and motivation as they come—even if I pay for them later. Last weekend, I got started on a (relatively) minor facelift in the kids’/guest bathroom. I made a pretty decent amount of progress just during Nora’s naptime… and then I felt like I had been hit by a truck the rest of the day.

26 Weeks Pregnant

I had another doctor’s appointment today and everything looked good. She measured my belly for the first time, and it was on track. I’m 26 weeks, 2 days, and I measured at 25.5 cm. I gained 2-3 lbs. in the last couple of weeks, which is good since I had lost some from my surgery and recovery. Heartbeat sounded good.

We talked about my travel plans for the summer (nothing crazy, just a few long weekends away within driving distance), and she gave me her blessing as long as they were before 36 weeks. Which they are.

I ordered a bunch of maternity clothes this week, and unearthed the rest of my stash from the basement now that the weather has finally been warm enough to wear some of them. I had more than I remembered—some dresses and tops that I forgot about—but I still need a few more things to get me through, so here’s hoping that some of the stuff I ordered actually fits and looks nice.

I’m starting to feel some pressure with the baby name situation. We are pretty sure about a boys’ name (might use the one we had picked out for last time!), and have a handful of girls’ names that we like. The problem with the girls’ names is that I haven’t fallen in love with any of them like I did with the name Nora. I keep waiting for one of them to grow on me in that same way, or to hear a new name somewhere that just clicks as “the one.” Naming a second baby is also harder because we have the added factor of, “How does it sound when you say it with Nora? Does it go with Nora?” Since my ultrasound in the hospital, I’ve been leaning toward feeling like this baby is a boy—no real reason other than that was the feeling I got when looking at him/her on the screen—so part of me has been thinking, “We probably don’t even really need a girl name.” But what if we do?!

I had the cutest conversation with Nora last night during bedtime prayers. We were going through, blessing my brother’s family, and I said, “God bless the baby in Aunt Kara’s tummy.” Nora said, “Nooooo… Aunt Ree’s tummy.” (Aunt Marie. My other brother’s wife.) I explained to her that no, Aunt Marie wasn’t having a baby, but Aunt Kara is, just like Mommy. I told her that Hunter was going to have a baby brother or sister, just like she’s going to have. She said, “No, Mommy, Hunter BIG BOY.” Any time we mention babies she always thinks we’re trying to talk about her, and corrects us that she’s a big girl. The same went for Hunter, I guess. :) I finally explained it to her by telling her that she is going to be a BIG sister, and Hunter is going to be a BIG brother. She eventually smiled and conceded with, “Ohhhh.”

I still wonder how that’s going to go. Even 26 weeks in, it’s hard to imagine someone new in our little family.