25 weeks

How far along are you? 25 weeks—it’s hard to believe I’m nearing the third trimester so quickly!

How big is the baby? According to my apps, the baby is around 2 lbs, but obviously I’m not exactly sure.

Maternity clothes? I bought a maternity swimsuit (tankini-style) last week, so I’m really looking forward to getting into the pool once it finally arrives.

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: Still exhausted, but waking up more throughout the night.

Best moment this week? We built our registry this weekend, which was a TOTALLY crazy experience, but at the end of it all we were looking through all of the hooded towels and they were just so damn cute. It reminded me that, yes, parenting is going to be crazy and overwhelming, but there will be plenty of adorable moments and memories to make it all worthwhile.

Movement? So much movement! I love it!

Food cravings? Not really!

Food aversions? Nope.

Symptoms? Just fatigue at this point.

Belly button in or out? Out.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody? Happy, but emotional. SO emotional. We went to Babies R Us this weekend to build our registry and I ended up crying in the parking lot when we were done because it was so overwhelming. And then I recovered and thought I was good to go, but made the mistake of looking through the gift bag they gave us, saw a container of baby wipes, and started crying again as I exclaimed, “Our first baby wipes!!” Poor Neal—he really deserves some sort of award or prize something. I really don’t know how some women do this alone!

What I miss: Running. Like, really running. What I’m doing now is definitely not ‘running,’ and it’s not really pleasant, either, but I know I’ll get it all back in time.

What I am looking forward to: Being in my pajamas tonight! LOL.

24 weeks (only 16 to go–ZOMG!)

How far along are you? 24 weeks! 24 weeks is a huge milestone in pregnancy, as the baby is now considered ‘medically viable’, or able to survive outside of the womb with significant medical intervention. However, delivering at this point is far from ideal, and I think I’m finally getting the hang of this whole pregnancy thing, so I’m hoping she stays put for the next few months.

How big is the baby? Baby is about a pound and a half at this point, and apparently my uterus is roughly the size of a soccer ball. So, yeah. There you go.

Weight Gain? According to my doctor, my weight is ‘perfect.’

Maternity clothes? I finally bought some maternity jeans! I also got a cute pair of maternity Capri pants and another dress this weekend. And two workout tops, because I don’t want to stretch out every race shirt in the house.

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: Yes, please—and lots of it! Still super tired. I was so hoping I could stay up until 10 on Saturday, but I passed out at 9:30 and didn’t get out of bed until 8:30. (And then was ready to nap after breakfast! LOL.) I think baby must be going through a growth spurt or something.

Best moment this week? We’ve started running again! Or jogging, really, as speed isn’t really my strong suit at the moment. It’s not easy, but we’re doing something, and that’s all that matters. Neal is being awesome and sticking with me, even though I know he could run much faster on his own!

Movement? She’s definitely a mover and a shaker. The other night Shelby was sleeping against me with his head resting on my belly, and I kept thinking he’d feel her movement, but he didn’t. I’m guessing before long he’ll get a wake-up call when he’s on my lap!

Food cravings? I was totally craving the strawberry pop tarts last week, and Neal bought some and they were surprisingly good. Right now I’m not craving anything, though.

Food aversions? Nope.

Labor signs? No, and I really hope it stays that way for a few more months. Being pregnant can be uncomfortable at times, but every moment and every pound gained will be worth it when I’m holding my healthy, full-term baby girl!

Symptoms? Just fatigue at this point.

Belly button in or out? Out.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody? Admittedly, a bit moody, but I like to think I’m happy over all, and my moods tend to pass quickly (or at least I seem to think they pass quickly—ask Neal and you might get a different story! LOL.)

What I miss: Training and racing.

What I am looking forward to: We have a 3 day weekend in a month. Is it too early to start looking forward to that??

The napowrimo farewell

This is the end of
all that—the haikus, nonets,
and tankas. I’m sad
in a way to see it go—
I think now in poetry.

I began the napowrimo experiment somewhat haphazardly–not quite believing I would actually have the willpower to write thirty poems in thirty days. It was surprisingly easier than expected, though, and I now find myself jotting random phrases or haikus when I’m sitting on the metro or bored at work. The majority of the poems were written in haste and therefore I’m not proud of them all, but there are a few I do like, and at the very least, it got me writing more, which was kind of the point. I’m not sure how public I’ll be with my future poems, but I have a feeling you haven’t seen the last of them…

Mondays

How will Mondays look
when I’m changing diapers, or
rocking my baby
to sleep? The push of paper
replaced by tiny cries,
tiny smiles, and
a tiny hand holding tightly
onto my finger.
I look forward to
those Mondays.

Nothing:Everything

Sometimes the best way
to spend a weekend is to
not do a damn thing.

Neal and I realized last weekend that we had nothing on the social calendar for this weekend, and we decided to keep it that way. We love seeing people, but have both been needing some non-scheduled time. Yes, there’s still plenty to do–a weekend isn’t a weekend without a trip to Home Depot, for instance, and my growing belly necessitates a journey to the nearest Old Navy maternity store–but it’s nice to be able to do things whenever. Sleep late, drink a cup of tea, go for a jog, go to Home Depot, futz around for a bit with shoe molding and whatnot, sit on the couch with the Shelbs, etc. I hope everyone else is having a productive yet relaxing weekend!

My ode to the nonet

One more nonet to tide me over—
the fun challenge of syllables
slowly descending with each
line; forcing ideas
into clarity;
simplicity;
turning thoughts
into
truth.

Haiku, pregnancy style

I’m craving pop tarts–
strawberry ones, with frosting.
Just thought I would share.

Ok, seriously, though, I’m really craving pop tarts, which is weird, because I typically avoid pop tarts like the plague. And on the rare occasions I have been known to eat pop tarts, I never opt for the strawberry ones. I haven’t had hardly any cravings at all this pregnancy, and I don’t know if this is a legitimate craving or if I just want pop tarts. Regardless, I have an awesome husband who is all like, “I’ve GOT this!” And lo and behold, strawberry pop tarts found their way into our kitchen cabinets.

So it has been a good morning.

AND, I gave you a non depressing poem for once. So there you go. Happy Friday!!

The search (a nonet)

Depression has the better of me;
this familiar feeling grows old.
I tire of the darkness,
and begin my search for
light; I know it’s here
kindly waiting
to be found.
So I
look.

So, yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I haven’t really been in the best place lately. I blame it on fatigue. And all of the little house things that seem to pop up incessantly. I think I mentioned before that grad school was a pretty intense experience for me. It was a competitive program that sort of sucked the very soul out of my body. And what I remember most about grad school (and this is precisely why I decided to peace out after my master’s instead of pursuing the PhD as planned) is that you are never done. You know there’s always something else you should be doing–there are articles to be read, data to be cleaned, home visits to be scheduled, papers to write, asses to kiss, etc. I feel we’re going through a similar experience right now. I’m five months pregnant and still get quite tired, but I get upset sitting down in the evening because I know there’s a box I should be unpacking, or a room to be painting, or adorable little baby clothes to be washing. (Or I should be putting together a registry. Or exercising more. Or cleaning the bathroom. You get the idea.) One of my friends was like, “Let me tell you about a little something I like to call compartmentalization.”

Yeah, I need to work on that.

BUT.

I think maybe the clouds are starting to part somewhat? And it helps when I find these adorable goofy youtube spoofs like the one below. I haven’t seen Game of Thrones, but I’m almost finished the third book and know enough of the characters and the story line to know that this re-imagined Friends-style intro is absolutely hilarious, and it literally made me laugh out loud. So enjoy, and maybe tomorrow’s poem won’t be another little dark rain cloud.

The tenant

Effervescence fades
when Darkness sets down her bags
and resolves to stay.

(Perchance to dream)

soon in bed I long
to be; the day grows dark and
my head grows weary