8 weeks left

I am unbelievably uncomfortable these days. I feel absolutely stuffed, all the time, even when I'm hungry. I halfway feel sorry for my kid, because it's gotta be crowded in there, and I'm just not expanding as fast as s/he is apparently growing. Most babies are about 4 lbs at this stage, which means in the next 8 weeks, half of the weekly weight gain estimated for me goes directly to baby. How is that even possible??? I feel enormous, but apparently I look 'tiny', or so my coworkers say. I was walking along next to someone who asked me if had that pregnant "waddling" feel yet -- YES! Here I am, right next to you, waddling along! *uuuugh* I am SO uncomfortable. I've been meaning to post a picture, but I am just too lazy these days. I'll get around to it soon, I promise, and you'll see what I mean about this all.

There is an up side and a down side to this ready-to-explode feeling. Okay, several of both, I guess.

Good: I am too full to really eat that much. It means that Travis has actually been LOSING weight, somehow, and dinnertime is pretty pathetic around here. But it's helping keep my overall weight gain a bit slower than all-out feasting would, especially now that I don't have that goal of Ragbrai hanging out there. Also, I am playing the Pregnancy card on things that involve going out in the heat (today's index: 95°) or lots of walking (sounds like the State Fair is out for me!) And, with less buffer layer between me and my kid, I can really feel when body parts are thrashing about. It's been pretty fun to realize those hard bumps sticking out are actually parts of my baby. And it gives me enough leverage to turn him/her to a more comfy position for me. If my bladder allows.

Bad: Every once in a while, I have been getting this woozy feeling on top of the general discomfort. It's like my heart is beating really hard and fast but my body is giving me the sensation that you get after you've been holding your breath, and all your muscles are so happy to have oxygen again. I kind of feel like I might pass out - I haven't - and I'm not sure if i need to breathe faster or slower? It's really strange, and if it happens at work again I think I'm going to go lie down in the nurse's station, because that has helped me today. I wonder if baby ends up sitting on some sort of essential artery? Of course, I can't get comfortable at night either, and resulting neck strain causes frequent morning headaches. Throw in the contractions I get nearly every time I stand up or climb stairs, and it's all I can do to be pleasant sometimes.

Travis and I have had a great weekend together, though. We got a lot done on the baby's room, and it's ready to start being the nursery. The only things in the room are baby-related now, which means the basement and guest room are full of many boxes to sort through. In that sorting, I found a bunch of my favorite children's books from when I was growing up, so they're now on one of the bottom shelves of my bookshelf. That was pretty cool to find :) It's been a quiet but productive weekend. I don't know that I'll get many more like this in the forseeable future, so I'm just relaxing and enjoying as best I can!