Holy Third Trimester!

I turned 26 weeks last Thursday and I wondered back and forth if that meant I was still in my second trimester or going into my third. That very day I had volunteered at Cincinnati State as an OB ultrasound model and even asked the instructor what she thought. Her answer was not definitive--it depends on which doctor you talk to. Well, I am no doctor but let me I have made my own decision and I am telling you right now that I am in my third trimester! There are two very good general reasons why I have made this decision...

#1. It Makes Me Feel Better--If I say I'm in my second trimester, even if I'm 26 weeks, I still feel like I'm only in the middle of my pregnancy. If I say I'm in my third trimester, I feel like I'm approaching the finish line. That's all...it just makes me feel better and I'm allowed to do that if I want. Call the pregnancy police on me. I don't care.

#2. The Pregnancy Tide Has Shifted--I was 26 weeks on Thursday and by the end of that day, I felt markedly pregnant-er. My back hurts. I can't lean forward from the couch to get the remote off the coffee table without groaning and feeling like there is a basketball in my shirt. Getting up from the couch or bed requires serious thought, planning and counting to three. I can't sleep to save my life and the latest and greatest is the appearance of heartburn! I don't mean, "ooh, my tummy kind of hurts," heartburn. I mean all day, all night, popping Tums like candy, sleep sitting up and it still doesn't help kind of heartburn. Last night at 3 am I thought, "I bet they have good heartburn stuff at the ER...I should go there. Nah, they won't even give it to me, I bet." Yeah. That bad.

In short, I earned it and it makes me feel better. I'm going with the doctors that say it starts at 26 weeks because, well, I want to!

What Has Been and What is to Come

It has been a good two and a half months since I posted on here and looking back I realized that since my last post my baby girl has gotten so big! I have been lost in the second trimester bliss and forgot to share all the wonderful things that have happened. As a matter of fact, the last time I blogged, I hadn't even definitively felt her move. Well, she is moving now! She is actually quite the little acrobat and of course, not just a regular acrobat, but a very gifted one. She moves enough for mommy and daddy to both feel her AND see her wiggle around. We have seen her stretch her legs, roll around and even suckle during a regular ultrasound at 20 weeks. Just five weeks later I saw her perfectly beautiful face on a 4D ultrasound. It was then my husband realized she had my chin! We have (I have) hum-hawed around about the color of the nursery and finally settled on a lovely shade of green called "Potpourri Green" that goes well with pink, yellow, and purple accents. And if need be, later it will look good with blue accents as well.

It is also since my last post that we have decided on a name for our little girl. Her name will be Leah Faith. I suggested "Leah,"(pronounced LEE-uh) and when my husband, the Star Wars super fan, realized the resemblance to "Leia,"(pronounced LAY-uh), I tried to quickly back out but it was too late--we were both already in love with it and it was, "her name." Faith is a big part of our lives and it was a natural fit for her middle name.

We still have so much to do as I enter my third trimester, (didn't the test just come up positive yesterday?). We need to furnish our nursery, my family is planning my shower for October, we need to do some baby-proofing and house work, we need to finish registering, we have our childbirth class this Saturday and list goes on and on! But as the days to Leah's arrival close in on us we feel nothing but excitement! Sure, I'm getting more uncomfortable by the day but when I think about this little baby inside I can't help but remember that the discomfort is all worth it.