29 Week Update

Benjamin woke up at 5am after having a bad dream and even though my sweet husband jumped up to console him so I could rest, I’ve been wide awake ever since: thank you, third trimester insomnia.

Yes, I’m in the third trimester already. Can you believe it? I had a little bit of a heart attack the other day when I realized that if Baby Girl comes a week early like her big brother, I’m only 10 weeks away from bringing her home.

Luckily, except for the achiness of a little cold that Benjamin sweetly shared with me this weekend, I still feel fantastic. The last pregnancy and this one are like night and day. With 7 or 8 hours of sleep at night and a short nap midday, I have energy, no headaches, and I feel motivated to take on the day. Last time, I felt like a semi had run over me every morning and I dragged through the day and fell asleep by 8 so I be sure to get at least 11 hours a night.

I also haven’t had nearly the trouble with my bladder that I did last time. I’ll usually get up once to pee but last time I was up at least every two hours at night all through my pregnancy. Pretty miserable.

I think the difference between my first pregnancy and this one has lots of factors. One is that six months before getting pregnant I went to a naturopathic sort of doctor to sort of my constant fatigue, foggy thinking, UTI symptoms, afternoon headaches, and lethargy. After setting me up with some supplements, cutting most of the sugar and gluten out of my diet and discovering that an allergy to coffee and tea as well as yeast were at least part of my bladder issues, I started to feel like a normal human being again. I remember a couple of weeks after really ruthlessly laying off anything sugary, waking up to the world again. The renewed energy I received from these changes has really carried me through this pregnancy. I feel way better pregnant than I did a year ago even though I wasn’t pregnant and was getting plenty of sleep. I’ve also been far more active during this pregnancy due to my job teaching ballet and chasing Benjamin around all day as opposed to sitting in front of a computer screen in an office all day. I think my job situation in general has also made a huge difference. Working full-time while pregnant was so hard for me, especially when I knew that five weeks after Benjamin was born, I would be back in the office. The past year has been so relaxed and delightful and this summer in particular (as I haven’t been working at all for June and July) has been the most stress-free I can remember since childhood. Benjamin and I have a blast going fun places where he can swim or run around each morning, followed by a lovely nap, and then playing at home and making messes in the kitchen until Daddy gets home. I’ve also been praying the rosary a lot. So there’s that.

I am so excited that this time around, I will get to be home with my newborn. It was torturous going back to work for Benjamin’s whole first year. I feel like I missed out on so much. At least I have the consolation that when I was at work he was either with Daniel, my mom, or my best friend Eleanor, who all love him as I do. So it’s not like he suffered, but…I did from missing him.

Some other updates: I started pre-natal yoga a couple of weeks ago. Feels great.

We’ve decided to name our little girl Lucy. I love that it means light and I love St. Lucy.

We’re going to have some housemates for about six months! Our friends Brian and Lois plan to move in early August into our third bedroom while the raise money to return to Nepal where they have been doing missions work. We love Brian and Lois and can’t wait. Lucy won’t need that room for awhile because we plan for her to sleep in our room for the first year like Benjamin did.

I’m trying to savor each sweet day that Benjamin is still an only child. He is at such a fun age. And here he comes toddling into the living room…our day has begun!