Large and In Charge

For those of you who haven't seen me, I am getting huge! My shirts barely cover my belly and am seriously getting worried about how I am going to go to work actually clothed. I hear on a daily basis, "Wow! You've gotten so much bigger since the last time I've seen you!"

And then there is my principal who said, "I just think pregnant women are so cute. I love their bellies."

I responded with an eye roll and laughter and added, "My husband used to think so too, until I was pregnant with my first."

My stomach is constantly bumping into walls, doors, cupboards, and human beings. Functioning at a low level is getting more and more difficult.

For example, we took the girls to the pumpkin patch yesterday. I made my way through the farm waddling slowly. (Waddling does make pelvic pain worse, but I can't really help it.) Madi got hurt twice (fell on her head and got kicked in the face by another girl) while we were there, and Doug was busy somewhere else with Braelyn both times. Consequently, I had to pick up my 42 pound child and comfort her. She was my primary concern. As the hours went on, pain in my stomach/uterus/legs got worse. I could barely walk to the car. Once we got home, I was so physically tired, I rested for the remainder of the day.

Fast forward to 3:00am...I woke up with a bladder that was about ready to explode. I couldn't move my legs because the pain was so intense. I had to wake Doug up so he could physically lift up my whale-sized body so I could pee. Each time I took a step to the bathroom (which is about four feet away), I had to hold my stomach and concentrate very hard to lift up my leg and place it back on the ground. So I sat in the pitch black bathroom, thinking How in the heck am I going to work for the next 8 weeks?

Each pregnancy has been so incredibly different. I would probably rank this one as the most difficult because I have two small children to take care of, and soccer season is going on right now, so I am pretty much a single parent for most of the evening. (There's one week left of soccer...yahoo!) It's been physically draining. I'm trying to keep this all in perspective because in 9 short weeks, I will be emotionally, mentally, and physically spent, perhaps going partially crazy taking care of three small children on very little sleep. After all, it is much easier to take care of infants before they are born.