28 Weeks and Breathing

The motion hearing I had been dreading and dreading for the past few weeks has come and gone. Everything went well, despite being incredibly long and touch and go. I was present, though not arguing, and could barely get a read on how the judge was going to rule until the very last minute, when he finally ruled in our favor. Even our outside counsel, who was arguing the case, was totally freaked out going into it since we found out at the very last second that our regular judge was on vacation and the motion would be decided by a visiting judge.

Anyway, all turned out well and I feel like I can finally breathe. Also, it totally explains my super crummy mood over the weekend, and the state of my cuticles at this very moment. 

But! Now I can concentrate on being 28 weeks pregnant, in the third trimester by all pregnancy guide standards, and (most importantly) on figuring out where those damn footie pajamas went!

Entering the final trimester, I am feeling quite large, though I'm still doing very well with keeping any weight gain under control. As of my last Doctor's visit, I've gained 6 pounds, but I am definitely already waddling. This explains how I was able to wear my suit jacket to court this morning, though only the top button could be done. I'm just relieved to know that my pregnancy hasn't moved to my torso, like it did last time. My pants were black maternity pants, but I still managed to look pulled together enough that our outside counsel said "So, you're pregnant then?" when I mentioned that I refused to buy a maternity suit despite my inability to button my jacket. This is both flattering (Oh, you couldn't tell? Why thank you) and confusing (Wait, I obviously have a large protrusion in my belly area -- did you just think I was enormously fat?). 

I'm now seeing my doctor every two weeks, which feels a bit premature at this point, but will hopefully help break the remaining 12 weeks up into some nice manageable chunks. I guess this is the point at which we start worrying about blood pressure increases and contractions and kick counts, so it'll be nice to check in with someone every two weeks without having to worry about calling in for every little thing I might have questions about. 

I continue to feel lots of movement, and those movements are now completely visible from the outside. I'll be laying down before sleep, and will watch my bump shift completely from one side to the other. I remember this happening with Mia, but I don't quite remember her being being this active. 

On a super mushy note, I'm starting to get really excited about meeting this person that I've felt inside me for the past several months. With Mia, there was so much anticipation, but so much mystery. Of course, this time around, there is still plenty of mystery (how will we handle having two children? how will Mia react to having a baby in the house? will I be able to breastfeed for longer?) but the basic aspects of having a newborn are not unknown to us. How to swaddle, how to burp, how to breastfeed, how to change diapers, how will we handle the lack of sleep (poorly), we know all of that. What we do not know, is who this person is. And finding that out is what I am most excited about, this time around. 

Also? So many things I've read, and so many people, talk about how the second pregnancy just flies by. They say that you're so busy concentrating on the child you do have, and juggling all of your responsibilities, you'll barely have time to think about being pregnant. Well, I call complete and total bullshit on that. This pregnancy has gone by quite slowly for me. We found out I was pregnant the day I got back from France, and honestly, that feels like years ago. So, NO. I have not for one second forgotten that I was pregnant, and I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER.