Not the Typical 30 Week Update

Something has definitely happened in the past 3 weeks of this pregnancy. I was on a straight and narrow path, but somehow I made a sharp right turn and things have absolutely changed. Here's what's been going on with this pregnant lady lately:

• I am nesting and its scaring my husband. Since I took leave from work about 2 weeks ago, nesting made a full surge attack on me. I'm always a to do list type of gal, but I may need to attend To Do Lists Anonymous and admit I have problem soon. I have a full list of things to get done each week; some small annoying things I've been putting off and plenty of new items I add daily. My husband came home from work and I was in a frenzy of 'we need to do this...have you thought about that...let's work on this tonight.' He knew better than to question the list and got to work, but later, once I had calmed down, he told me I was acting a tad batty. Needless to say, we have gotten a lot done the past two weeks. I'm feeling great about where we are at with the nurseries and with the prep of the arrival of the babies. All that's left to do in the nurseries is finish hanging decorations.

• I wonder if people think I'm a tramp. My fingers have officially become too swollen to comfortably wear my rings. I had to pry them off with soap so I think the wearing of my rings ship has sailed. I've thought about purchasing a bigger 'fill in' ring, but at this point in the game it seems like it would be a waste of money. I hate not being able to wear my rings. Since my husband gave me my engagement ring 8 years ago, I've only removed it to swim in the ocean a handful of times. They are beautiful and the 3 center diamonds were hand picked for me by a jeweler friend on a diamond buying trip to Belgium. You get the picture, the rings are important to me and I LOVE them. I feel naked without them. I wonder what people in public think of me...the very obviously pregnant lady walking around with no ring on my left hand. I'm afraid I'm being judged as the unwed lady who, bless her heart, got knocked up. I don't think I'm being paranoid, I do live in the Bible Belt after all...

• My body is weird. Since I started leave from work, I have packed on the pounds. This makes me think it's a definite positive I stopped working when I did because I've been struggling to gain the recommended weight. My body and bump have taken on a life of their own. By bump is huge and I can't get used to how big I am. I run into things, knock things over and am a klutz in general. Navigating the world with this bump can be challenging. The worst things I've done recently include burning my bump with an iron (got too close while ironing and I wasn't wearing a shirt) and I ran into a door knob (I had a red circle for quite some time afterwords...I hope the boy wasn't in the breech position or he may have suffered his first concussion.)
  

• I require naps like a toddler. I haven't been moody overall. No lie. Sure, I have my moments where I've gotten a tad cranky, but overall C said I've been doing great in the mood department. However, the mood department quickly goes awry if I don't get a nap in. The exhaustion has reached a new level all together. These babies must be growing a lot the last few weeks because my body is constantly fatigued. If I take 1-2 naps a day I can remain my normal happy self. If we're busy and I don't get a chance to nap, I quickly become crotchety. We were prepping for some friends to come over Sat and I didn't get a nap in...ugh it wasn't pretty. Naps are a must to keep everyone in this household content.

• My husband goes to bed shivering every night. I am hot! Literally, physically hot, especially when I'm trying to sleep. Don't get me started on how much I loath summers in the South...but this is beyond normal summer hotness. When we go to bed every night, I crank down the upstairs AC unit and turn on our ceiling fan on the middle to high setting. My husband has covers pulled up and wrapped under his chin because he is so cold. I partially cover with a sheet. I wake up sweating most of the time despite these cooling measures. I have a small fan on my bedside table I turn on when I get overheated. Cranked down AC and two fans aren't enough to keep this pregnant lady cool these days.
  

• Collin can add Personal Assistant to his resume. Since I'm feeling so awkward these days, Collin has become a personal assistant to me. It's difficult to put socks on, bend over to pick up things I drop (I drop a lot of items these days), remove my ass from my comfortable reclining couch position or get all the clothes out of the dryer. He has done a phenomenal job of helping me with the list of tasks I can no longer complete with ease. The list of things I can't do is growing longer every day. Case in point-I cut my toe nails today and it left me winded and my toe nails look like I chewed them off rather than cut them (they aren't pretty).

• Emotional Mama. It's easy for me to cry lately...Here's my latest emotional installment of crying when not necessary-I signed us up for a childbirth class at the hospital we're delivering at. I asked several questions when I called to sign up to ensure it was the right class. Today is the first class. I looked online this morning and noticed the class is mainly preparation for the last stages of pregnancy, relaxation during birth, and birthing options. Um...I primarily cared about infant safety/CPR, breastfeeding and the tour. The classes I wanted are all separate classes and when I called to get into the breastfeeding class, it was full already. I cried. Poor C was home over lunch and had to help me calm down. Time is running out and I want to do these things!! I don't care about birthing options and relaxation because I don't think much of it will apply to our situation. I don't see my husband massaging me and telling me to breath...we're more than likely going to end up with a C-section and I won't have a lot of choice in the entire birthing process. Luckily, I did some research online and my inner granola mama found another breastfeeding class we could get into (I know breastfeeding is going to be a challenge, but I really want to do it. We're also going to cloth diaper. People look at me like I have arms growing out of my head when I say we're breastfeeding and cloth diapering twins.) Scratch the childbirth class. We're doing the tour and breastfeeding class and infant safety/CPR if I make it to the class date without giving birth. My tears have dried up for now, but I'm sure something else will make me cry shortly.

I posted a picture with my face! Ah I'm crazy!! I figured the 3-0 mark was a big mark to reach in this journey and I may as well share it with the world. Check out the size of that bump on that lady who isn't wearing a wedding ring!! Keep cooking for 6 more weeks babies!!

That's about all I can think of for this installment of a pregnancy update. Other random items, I'm completely obsessed with the Olympics! The ladies gymnastics team was phenomenal!! Throughout their competition, I was thinking about our little girl and told C she'd be the perfect age to compete in the 2028 Olympics. His response? He just stared at me and shook his head. I LOVE gymnastics and the Olympics!!

Did any of you hear about this article 'Work after eight months of pregnancy is as harmful as smoking?" Of course working has no effect on mothers under 24, but has more of an effect on older women. Crap. Am I an older woman?! Who has kids before they are 24? Like we need any more things to worry about...