30 down, 10 to go

Hello 30 weeks :)  Time is starting to speed up a little.  Looks like I have about 8 weeks to catch up on...

23 weeks.  Viability.  Decision time, God forbid we are put in that position.  I handled this better than I thought.  It helps having so many friends working around me who have been through this.  For each stage I've tried to expect the worst, so that when the worst doesn't happen, I am pleasantly surprised.  In the beginning I thought, "OK, I'm pregnant...time to throw up constantly."  When I didn't I thought, "Alright, I can handle this."  When my friends warned me that 23-25 weeks was the time they worried the most, I prepared myself to have lots of anxiety.  I expected work to be more difficult emotionally.  I thought I'd start freaking out, diagnosing my fetus with everything the  NICU babies had.  Being prepared for that allowed me to mellow out through this time.  I kept reminding myself that I take care of 1% (ONE PERCENT) of the infant population.  That's it.  And I made it through.  Each day I continued to thank God for allowing me to still be pregnant, allowing me to feel the baby more each day.  And the weeks continued to pass....

24 weeks.  My first noticeable contractions.  Irregular.  Stopped with rest.  No big deal.

25-27 weeks.  Uneventful.  Dr appts going well.  Active baby.  Feeling good.

Somewhere in between all these weeks, hemorrhoids got baaaaaad.  I've learned so much about witch hazel wipes, Tucks pads, and the wonders that ice packs in unmentionable places can do.

28 weeks.  HORMONES.  I think I cried at least once each day this week.  Thankful that a surge in hormones = a healthy pregnancy.  Sorry for Daniel for the helpless feeling it leaves him with.

29 weeks.  Unevenful.

30 weeks.  Lots of growing and stretching and uncomfortableness.  Not complaining...just saying.  It's getting difficult to tell what is normal growing aches & pains, as the discomfort moves to different locations.  I know I'm going to get less comfortable as the time goes on.  But with each new ache I find myself thinking, "OK this is different...do I worry?  Do I wait?"  Baby stays active...dr is pleased with the status of my pregnancy.  We are happy :)

I'm loving my days off doing laundry, cleaning the house...looking forward to washing some tiny clothes & continuing to work on the nursery.  Gearing up for mom-mode.