Yesterday was the first day of my third trimester! Only 12 (or so) more weeks to go before Livvy arrives. Her movements have grown sharper; she's jabbing at me with knobby elbows and knees, and sometimes it startles me so much that I jump. But mostly what's growing is my belly. There's no hiding this pregnancy anymore, haha, which means lots of unbelievably sweet looks from strangers (but less attention from the gentlemen). I'm up 17 lbs. because I was so relieved to have an appetite again after the nausea went away that I've been indulging a lot (too much), so I'm trying to snack more healthily. Of course I say that, but have been inhaling the birthday cake I made Nekos yesterday. I'm starting to get excited about having my body back to myself in a short while and have been browsing through fall clothes catalogs longingly. (Have you seen the new Madewell? I need a sheep sweater.) In a word, my wardrobe right now: Limited.
Compared to my pregnancy with Tess, I am so much less focused on the mechanics of the miracle that's happening inside my body. I crack What to Expect When You're Expecting once a month and read my weekly email updates from Baby Center, but I'm otherwise preoccupied with the details and chores and obligations of daily life to think much about all the hard work my body is doing. Keeping me busiest: looking for a job. How did this happen? It's so not my ideal situation to be looking for work when I'm in this "condition." But the truth is that I need and want to work, and if I can't find a gig that I can do from home (like my last one) I won't be the first mother to have to put her babies in daycare if it comes down to that. But, oh, how will I bear that? It's a bridge I'll cross when I come to it.
Most days I'm happy and I'm grateful and I'm getting closer to ready for this lil gal. One day soon I'll get to breathe her in and kiss her cheeks and lips and hold her tight to me.
