24 weeks

Well, my hair is getting shorter but the belly just keeps on getting bigger.  Sixteen weeks to go and we already seem to be playing the “how low can you go” game.  This kid is waaaaaay lower than the girls were and once he drops I suspect my poor bladder will really get a beating.  The Bug is apparently fond of soccer practice lately, and my new favorite pastime is watching my belly roll back and forth as he scoots around.  I’m so darn curious to know just how big this little man will be upon arrival.  But I don’t need to know anytime soon, so mama says “stay put for awhile!”

I’m throwing in the previous week’s photo for good measure – note the bland hotel room background.  The Hubs and I got away for a long weekend BY OURSELVES in the Lou – yippee!

He had to work in STL for most of the week, and Grandma and Grandpa were out here for a visit over the girls’ spring break week so I jumped at the chance for a few kid-free days away.  In true STL fashion, I was greeted by a delayed flight due to weather – high winds and tornadoes around the airport area.  My flight was preparing to descend just as the storm closed the airport runways, so we had to circle STL for awhile.  Once we were allowed to land, the pilot came on to announce that we would be “attempting” to land.  The word “attempt” is most certainly NOT what you want to hear coming from a pilot, I don’t care how witty those Southwest crews are known to be.

A few other random observations from our little getaway…

I cried when I left for the airport; the girls didn’t.  Hmmm…

It became very clear to me while waiting out my flight delay in Chicago that it is much more socially acceptable to chow down on ice cream in public when you’re sporting a nice belly bump.  No judgmental eyes from random strangers.  Love it!

What remains completely unacceptable however, is comments on the size of my bump.  This isn’t the first time of late that this has happened but it’s already getting old.  Here’s how it played out…

[Me, waiting in line on the plan for the restroom.  Two male flight attendants, hanging out in the back of the plane.]

Flight attendant: You look like you’re about done being pregnant.

Me: No, I actually have awhile to go – August.

Flight attendant: Twins, triplets?

Me: (attempting to remain cool and collected) Nope.  I have three-year old twins though and the second time around it apparently all just grows faster.

Seriously?  No, SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!  I wish I was making this crap up but sadly, it actually happened.  And it isn’t the first, and it isn’t always men that go there.  Ladies – WTF????  I’m convinced I need to commit to memory some witty comebacks for times like these, because this one actually reduced me to tears (privately, back in my seat).  Either that or I will resort to bitch-slapping the next jacka** – man or woman – that feels the need to provide an unsolicited opinion on the size of my bump.  And no one wants to see a nice pregnant lady in handcuffs for assault and battery, now do they?  Deep breaths…

22 Weeks

Remember in my last post how I mentioned taking weekly belly pics?  And remember how I also referenced my grumpier times?  One has certainly trumped the other lately, so no pics at 21 weeks.  My mom had this saying when we were kids: “Nothing goes right when your underwear’s tight.”  The same can be said for ill-fitting maternity clothes.  More often than not they kinda suck – too short, too tight, too frumpy, blah blah blah – and when my clothes aren’t comfy I’m grumpy.  Add to it a few nights of weird-a** dreams and bad sleep and I was downright pissy.  So we’re skipping ahead to 22 weeks, and the ever-growing, active boy in the belly.  I think I was getting thumped by him right about when this shot happened, hence the laughy smile.

So back to those dreams… I’ve heard that bizarre dreams often go hand in hand with pregnancy.  I never had any with the girls, but this time they’re frequent and freaky.  I’ve been chased by a bear through a school building – like a REALLY BIG terrifying bear – that scared me so badly I woke up abruptly, reached for my phone in the dark and googled “bear sightings in Laguna Niguel, CA”.  I’m completely serious here – it SCARED me silly.  I’ve also been harassed by a really large (about the size of an orange) beetle/flying insect that somehow flew up the sleeve of my shirt and terrorized me until I woke up abruptly.  Again.

In addition to the dreams keeping me up, sleeping with the belly is beginning to be a challenge.  The prego pillow I used with the girls is toast, or as I see it “well used” from last time so I opted for this monstrosity, also known as the Snoogle.  The Hubs took one look at it and made a crass comment about a threesome, but I’m giving it a whirl to see if I sleep any better with it.  C also thinks it’s pretty cool, because it is in fact shaped like the letter C.

The girls have lots of questions about the baby… one of the most popular inquiries lately is “How old will the baby be when he gets here?”  M referred to him as “the little guy” this morning and announced that they were the mommies who take care of babies, which made me melt.  And C has already offered to help with diaper changes – oh dear, she has no idea!  They are so sweet about him though, talking to the belly and telling him good-night.  C even shared a Dora sticker with him last week.  These sweet girls are calming my fears each day about how well they will adjust to not being the only center of it all.