Pregnancy Positives

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I've been pretty whiny lately.  But in my defense, I've been pretty miserable.  Sciatica, swelling, achy, bad hair, tired tired tired... you get the point.  (Okay, the bad hair isn't really related - I just hate this inbetween-growing-it-out period.)  For Pete's sake, when I drop something I now stare at it for several seconds, deciding whether or not it's worth bending over to pick it up.  More often than not, I just leave it.  My house looks awesome.

Needless to say, I'm pretty tired of being pregnant.

This being my last baby, people have asked me if that makes this pregnancy any different or if there's anything that I'll miss about being pregnant.  My immediate answer is no.  This is not so fun for me or for my family.  I can't wait to get back to normal.

I can't wait not to need a bathroom every 28.3 seconds.  I'm not a big fan of having a tiny human break dance on my innards every evening for several hours.  And the heartburn.  Oh, the heartburn!

However, the other day I decided I needed to stop having a pity party and to try to focus at least a little bit on the good things about being pregnant.  It was hard, mainly because at the time baby girl Madsen apparently had the hiccups and decided to focus them on my bladder.  Anywho, here's what I came up with:

Good Things About Being Really, Extremely, Hugely Pregnant

1. You always have something to talk about.  Anytime, anywhere, with anyone.  This being the friendly Midwest, everyone has some sort of story about themselves or sister or mother or distant relative/friend/roommate's cousin's pregnancy/labor story/baby.  Which they very much need to tell you when you are so obviously pregnant.  I'll admit, sometimes this gets on my nerves.  But for the most part it can be pretty entertaining, mainly because it always surprises me at how much personal information they're willing to share.  Stranger TMI can be fairly amusing.
2. For some reason strangers always assume this is my second baby.  Probably because I run most of my errands with just Cole in tow.  Sometimes I let them just think that, and then feel quite mischievous as they give me their opinions/advice/horror stories about when they had their second child.  Other times I bother to correct them, and then it's fun to watch them kind of ogle me when they hear this is not only my fourth but also my first girl.  (Of course, then I also have to correct them when they say something stupid like "Oh, trying to get a girl, huh?"  I usually just say something along the lines of "Nope, we were just trying to have a baby."  Then I feel all Holier Than Thou, which is probably not very nice, but it makes me feel good.)
3. People are much more willing to lend a hand when you're this pregnant.  Lots of doors held open, lots more patience for the unwieldy toddler tantrum in public, lots of sympathetic smiles and offers of help with whatever I'm doing.  (Except for at home... I think it's because Lance thinks I'm Superwoman or something.  Perhaps I am in his eyes. Excellent.)  Anywho, just the other day I was shopping at Wal-Mart.  Cole really wanted to get out of the cart and I made the foolish mistake of allowing him to do so.  (He's behaved out of the cart in the past, I promise!) Within 60 seconds he had run down the aisle and made a beeline for the exit of the store.  It was physically impossible for me to run and catch him, and he knew it.  So I did the best that I could, loping frantically after him and calling his name and thinking of various death threats that were of no use because he wouldn't have understood them anyway.  Before he could get out at least four employees blocked his way and held him back for me until I could catch up.  They sure were nice about it, even when Cole scowled and howled at them.  I'm not saying they wouldn't have done it had I not been pregnant, but I don't know that they would have been so friendly.
4. I have a very good reason to take a nap most days.  My reason being that I HAVE to, since I apparently am not allowed to sleep at night.  I love naps.  Napping in the middle of the day is heavenly. Give me an hour and I'm good to go.
5. Lance won't argue with me when I tell him we're going out for dinner because I'm just not in the mood to make it. 
6. I can wear knit pants just about any time.  Ordinarily I'm more of a denim or khaki kind of girl; I just try to look at least as if I've tried to look nice.  But right now I only have one pair of jeans that fit.  Knit yoga pants are my new best friends.
7. I can hog all the pillows in bed and Lance can't complain about it.  Or about my snoring.  Or my excessive and gross drooling when I sleep.  Because I'm growing a tiny human, dang it, so don't even start...
8. When I ask Lance to do something silly like get me ice cream or grab something for me up/downstairs or just something that I generally easily could do myself - he does it.  He's awesome like that.  Plus, I think he's kinda afraid of my fists of death.
9. I can pretty much justify eating whatever I want.  Well, within reason.  Hey, when I'm not pregnant I usually try to eat healthy and sensibly.  But when I'm newly pregnant and sick and only one thing sounds appetizing (like a strawberry milkshake), then that's what I have because it's that or nothing.  This attitude tends to follow me throughout my pregnancy, especially at the end.  If I'm hungry and want a strawberry milkshake then dang it, I'm gonna have it because I'm so frikkinly hugely pregnant.  Oh sure, I'll probably regret it later.  But that's later and I'm not gonna think about that.
10. Okay, this sounds kinda corny, but it is pretty neat to feel that baby move inside of me.  I mean, for a little while.  When they start pounding against your ribs and pummeling your intestines it's not so fun.  But I have to say that there is a special bond between momma and baby before they're even born.  There's a reason why newborns recognize their mothers before anyone else just after they're born.  Sure, it looks like something from the movie "Alien" when your tummy starts to have corners, but it is pretty cool to be able to see a knee or a hand and know that you'll be holding that baby sooner rather than later.

So there's my list.  Will I ever miss being pregnant?  Maybe.  Doubtful.  Especially if I come back at look at all my blog complaints about it.  But I do recognize the special time this is, and hopefully I'll be able to appreciate it during these last few days.  These miserable, sleepless, special days...