27 Week Pregnancy Update

I am now in the third trimester of my pregnancy and am so excited to meet our baby. One of my favorite things about this later stage is feeling the baby's constant movement. He twists and kicks and flails around practically nonstop, and I enjoy the reminder of his presence. It feels like this wonderful secret between me and him, the fact that he is letting me know he is there but no one but the two of us knows it. Pregnancy is really a fleeting time and I'm trying to soak up the experience of him on the inside before I meet him on the outside.

While I could go on about the good parts, there have also been some less-than-pleasant realities lately, such as:

-I've had four nosebleeds so far. The first time it happened this go-around (it happened once my previous pregnancy) I was very thrilled with the drama of it all. Anything bleeding feels very important! But now I'm so tired of them and am praying I don't get any more.

-My tailbone is always easily irritated when I'm pregnant. Going to church and sitting on hard metal chairs for multiple hours pretty much does me in. I'll sometimes end up standing (in heels) in the back of the room because it is easier than trying to make myself comfortable on those death traps. This week at the library, I opted to sit on the floor because it felt better than the tiny wooden stools that seem to pierce straight through my tailbone.

-I've already grown out of a maternity shirt. How? Why? I still have three months to go and since it won't be winter like my last pregnancy, when I could wear a coat every time I went outside, I actually need to look decent right up to the end!

-This one is not pregnancy related, but our apartment building is going through some construction that makes many aspects of my life miserable. We knew about the construction when we signed our lease and we're getting a break on rent for it, but I didn't fully understand what the construction would mean. I wish someone had held my hand and gently said, "Workers will be jackhammering along your front door and on your patio, always during your son's nap time, which will cause him to wake up and ruin your own nap and the only bit of respite you get during the day." Maybe then I would have been more prepared.

Overall, this pregnancy has been so much more of a trial than I anticipated. My hormones have not treated me kindly and there have been so many times I've wished for it to be over. Now that it's finally getting closer to the end, I'm trying to remember the good parts about being pregnant (especially sleep) and take all the hardships in stride. Obviously, this is easier said than done but that's okay! I'm a work in progress.