I really shouldn't complain. I mean, I have managed to escape some of the lesser loved pregnancy related symptoms such as morning sickness, horrible cravings, excessive weight gain, but little did I know, the third trimester would bring on a whole new world of agony.
Everyone warns you about that first trimester. ("Oh you wont be able to keep anything down", "your boobs will become so painful", "you'll have to pee every 20 minutes") but nobody warns you about the perils of the third trimester. Maybe its due to the fact that by the time most women get around to discussing the third trimester pains they already have had their babies and have forgotten about all the hurdles they had to cross to get to that point. I'm not really sure, but nevertheless, I was unprepared.
First of all, I have no idea I would become such good friends with the sandman. I have never been so exhausted in my life. I know I had to catch a few naps during my first trimester, and maybe getting all my energy back during the second trimester has made me jaded, but I literally have great difficulty making it through an entire day now. The sandman has arrived and he brought a sh*t load of sand with him!
Now if that weren't trouble enough, the part that tops it all is, that despite complete and utter exhaustion, its pretty much near impossible to stay asleep! I'm up every 2 to 3 hours because my hips ache. Not a slight ache where you can take a tylenol and head back to bed, but ACHE as though I've broken something. They say its from the hormones which cause your ligaments to loosen up and stretch, allowing your pelvic bones to widen in preparation for childbirth. Being that I lost the ability to sleep on my stomach months ago, I have no choice but to sleep on my side. So every few hours I have to wake up and rotate sides in order to relieve some of the pain and pressure. Lying on my back doesn't help because now I can no longer breathe since the weight and position of the baby restricts my lung capacity.
I don't know if this symptom is related to the hormones or the sleep deprivation (most likely both), but I have turned into a cry baby. I've always been a pretty emotional person (something I've always disliked!), but now the littlest things can set me off, and I honestly have no control over it. Cute commercials, a sad song, pictures of babies, a disagreement with a friend, good or bad news.... i'm a wreck! With Christmas steadily approaching my mind often wanders to next year where we'll have a little baby to buy presents for and show her Christmas lights and Santa and I get all teary from joy and excitement. Heck even today I was watching a tv show about kites and I got teary eyed thinking about how eventually I get to teach her how to fly one! I'm very glad that the majority of the time I'm at home when the tears hit, because that could get very embarrassing if it happens in public to often.
There is a bright side to all these little annoyances.... the thought that its almost over. At this point I have 7 weeks to go (hopefully less) and I know all these little quirks are natures way of preparing me for whats to come, be it physically or emotionally. I know the lack of sleep wont improve for some time as the baby is bound to have a similar 2-3 hour schedule, but hopefully a few weeks after she arrives I'll finally be able to sleep on my stomach or at least lay on my side without being in constant pain. Fingers crossed!
