pregnancy: stick a fork in me...

You hear it all the time. "I'm so tired of being pregnant...I'm so ready to be done being pregnant...I wish the baby would get here already." Haggard, waddling, unwieldy pregnant ladies are well-known for making these statements as the third trimester creeps closer to its end.

Prior to (finally) getting pregnant, I thought to myself that I would be so grateful to actually get pregnant, I would not be one of those whiny complainers. I understood that baby cooks for as long as baby needs to cook, and that my prolonged misery would be worth the peace of mind that comes from knowing I was sticking it out to give baby time to fully develop. And, I mean, how rude is it to moan and complain about the so-called miseries of pregnancy when there are those who can't get pregnant? I didn't feel those moms had a leg to stand on.

Fast-forward to today, and here I am, barely standing on that achy leg myself. I am more than grateful, overjoyed, over-the-moon happy that I am pregnant and will soon have my first child. But I now see the error of my judgement of complaining moms who are ready to pop.

Stick a fork in me, already, because I. Am. Done.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love feeling little Miss Avery's movements and kicks (when she's not kicking me in the lungs or head-banging me in the cervix). I love knowing there is a life growing inside of me--that little life I longed for for so long. I love getting to eat extra calories and extra-good foods (like whole milk!) to nourish her. I love that I am pregnant.

But. I don't love some of the unpleasant physical manifestations of pregnancy. It is NOT easy.

There's the relentless, unpredictable, uncontrollable heartburn. Sometimes I get through a whole evening without it striking, and think I've avoided it for one glorious day, when--as soon as I lay my head on my pillow, the acid reflux monster immediately rears its ugly head. I've tried avoiding certain foods, eating less, drinking less, chewing tons of Tums--but nothing seems to be a consistent solution. Actually, know what would be a magical solution? Not being pregnant anymore.

There's the also-unpredictable aches. Like, not minor aches, but major, sometimes debilitating, makes-me-want-to-cry pains in my sciatic nerve department (aka my bum), my hips, my tummy, sometimes my head or my back. Again, not much I do helps, but not being pregnant anymore would likely be a big help.

I could go on and on. Like, really, ask my husband--I could go on and on. And when it all comes down to it, I truly feel that I am not being ungrateful for being pregnant, and I'm not being a big baby. Carrying a growing person for 9 months and bringing said person safely into this world is one of the harder things a person can do in life! It's stressful on the mind and the body. It really, truly puts you through the ringer. And there is not a thing wrong with admitting to that. 

So, I am ready to have this baby. But the number one reason why I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore?

I am SO ready to meet this little girl. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and see whose features she has, and to cuddle her and breathe her in and just bask in the unbelievable fact that we made her, and she is ours.