Full Circle

They're not kidding when they say that the second trimester is the "honeymoon" period of pregnancy -- the exhaustion goes away, you're still not too big to do normal things (like roll over in bed or wipe yourself easily after using the toilet), the nosebleeds subside...

I'm officially not enjoying this last month of pregnancy, at least not 100%. Tonight I had the worst nosebleed of the past 8 months, and my feet have ballooned up. I can't sit comfortably on the couch anymore -- hell, I can't sit anywhere comfortably anymore. And sitting and standing aren't so hot, either. My legs are swollen; I normally like to sit with a leg tucked under my butt. Now it feels like my leg skin is going to split open when I do that.

Oh, and the tiredness. Now that I'm drinking upwards of 100 oz of water a day, in hopes that Murky's amniotic fluid will stay at acceptable levels, I'm back to peeing at least twice during the night. And when I first lie down in bed at night, I get this weird desire to make lists of things that still have to be done before Murky arrives. We still haven't written the birth plan (even though we know they usually go out the window when "the real thing" is happening). We have to sign and fax back the cord blood registry paperwork. And my god, there still aren't any blinds in the nursery!!! We must not love our child! He's going to feel like he's sleeping on the sun!

I think I'm nesting. What I'd most like to spend the weekend doing is scrubbing my bathrooms, putting away cluttery items, deep-cleaning cupboards, floors, cabinets, and other crevices in the house. I want all of Murky's clothes washed, sorted by size and type (sleepers, long-sleeved, short-sleeved, etc.), and put away. I want the windows washed. I want to clean out the refrigerator. I want to put up wall shelves in the nursery and I want to put Murky's little board books on them -- alphabetically, of course.

Trouble is, all of that takes so damn much energy! All I managed to do tonight was 1 load of (my own) laundry and balance my checkbook. I didn't even pay any bills. I was supposed to go grocery shopping, but Grammy ended up doing that (even though she has a cold and doesn't feel very well). That was nice of her -- now we have enough Halloween candy for next week. That is, if the Pregnant Elephant doesn't eat it all before then...

Murky's been very busy today. All in all, he's been good to Mama, despite a few ninja kicks to the ribs and multiple head twists on the cervix and/or bladder. I still can't fathom that, within a few weeks, there's going to be this little person in my arms. Right now he's a fuzzy image on an ultrasound, a foot or knee or hand bulging out of my belly, a heartbeat on the Doppler. But he's going to be a person, with a name and a personality and a cry, and maybe Daddy's pretty green eyes or Mommy's chipmunk cheeks. We are all looking forward to meeting him!