This week was the first time I can officially say that I am legitimately uncomfortable. My hips hurt, my lower back aches, and I am having Braxton Hicks contractions on the regular. My little one seems happiest when he is right square on my bladder and I have never peed so much in my life. I wake up every hour on the hour throughout the night to readjust and/or pee. Everyone keeps urging me to relax and rest and take it easy but, quite honestly, when I sit still I only feel worse. The more I move and stretch and bend, the better I feel. And so I keep busy with my normal, everyday routine, allowing my body to take on its normal chores and tasks. The longer I sit still, the more achy and sore my muscles feel and so I keep on keeping on. My patients keep asking me when I will take my maternity leave and I just smile and reassure them that I won't go into labor in their living rooms. Maternity leave will come soon enough and I will delve into that time just as deeply as I have delved into this one. My yoga practice is looking pretty ridiculous these days despite my dedication. I can barely bend over anymore and so I stick to my standing poses and lunges. But it helps, keeping all of my ligaments loose, and so I press on.
I am nesting in every way: cooking, cleaning, storing away as though we are all about to go into hibernation. My lists are getting shorter and shorter as I knock them out day by day. It is an amazing experience to me: the journey of pregnancy. Putting so much time and energy and effort into preparing and making way for a new life. I take such great pride and joy into getting everything ready for I know that the more I do now, the less I will have to do when he gets here. Because the only thing I want to do when he gets here is hold him, rock him, and soak in every ounce of who he is. That's what this is all about, after all.
