In the Home Stretch, my Third Trimester

I’m now 35 weeks pregnant, well into my 3rd trimester.

While I’m starting to feel the woes of a huge and clumsy tummy, this pregnancy has been exponentially easier than mine with Max. I am in full blown mommy waddle mode when I walk, my hips are starting to hurt, I get out of breath very easily, and my hands and feet tend to swell at night, and it’s kinda hard to cross my legs anymore, but those are all pretty normal things. With Max I had a hematoma, carpel tunnel, lost the feeling in my fingers, suffered from extreme swelling, TMJ, was tested for preeclampsia, you name it.

Last time, each day seemed like an eternity and the pregnancy felt like it took years. This one has sped by in the blink of an eye. We had several potential complications with Max, so we were stressed throughout waiting for the next blood test or ultrasound. This time, she a has made everything easy peasy, at least so far. That being said, as soon as this little girl is big enough to get out of this belly, I am all for it!

I’m still running two miles most days of the week, and I think it has really helped keep my swelling in check and my leg muscles are stronger than they have been for a long time. I add about a minute to my mile time each trimester, but my body feels good when I so it so that’s all that matters.

My friends have been very excited to welcome baby girl too. Last month one of my best friends, Tina, threw me the perfect “Sprinkle” at her house with an Italian theme. Then last week my friend Jane coordinated the prettiest shower at work that was the same theme as baby girl’s nursery, with lots of cacti and llamas (and gummy candy, which is my favorite).

While all of those things are a blessing, what I didn’t take into account was how crazy it would be getting ready for a baby around the holidays and the end of the year.

For me and most other transactional attorneys, December is always a crunch, with folks trying to get deals closed or singed up by the end of the year. In addition to the regular work, it’s also important to me to make sure my team is prepared and has everything they will need prior to me being out of the office on maternity leave. I’ve had several special projects getting wrapped up by year end, so the crunch has been nuts.

Then there’s the regular holiday stuff… sending out Christmas cards, buying presents and prepping for the holiday can be stressful for anyone, but in the back of my head I’m always planning ahead. We wrapped all of Santa’s presents several weekends ago “just in case” baby girl comes early.

Even though I’ve been a bit frazzled getting ready for baby number two, I’ve been trying to take Max on as many fun outings as possible with us. I’ve taken Max to Animal Kingdom and water parks a few times recently, bought him his first pair of mouse ears at the Magic Kingdom a few weeks ago, and last weekend took this cutie to the dog show.

I hope my sweet boy knows just how special he is to us, and that won’t change once his baby sister arrives. He’s going to be the best big brother, and I cannot wait to watch him welcome her into this world.