32 Weeks 3 Days

A bump picture at last! We have been terrible at taking these, mostly because my phone storage is always full.

How Far Along? 32 weeks, 3 days. Baby's Size Equivalent? A half-gallon of milk! Moooo Maternity Clothes? Same old story! I ordered some sweats pants with a Nike gift card I received at a White Elephant gift exchange, and they are my favorite thing. How Are You Sleeping? Not great, to be honest. On my best nights, I'm up twice. But usually it's three or four times. Additionally Jace's flu/cold finally caught up to Colt and I this weekend, so I was up every two hours. It's harder to get comfy, and breathing is a bit more difficult these days...and the last two nights I've been woken up with a charley horse in my leg! Doesn't make for restful nights ;) Hopefully it will get better once I'm over this cold. Best moment this week? Even though we were sick, it was super nice to have Colt home all day. Weird pregnancy moment? Those dang leg cramps in the middle of the night! My calves were still sore the next day. I woke up yelling, and scared Colt to death-I'm sure he thought I was in early labor.  Any Movement: Yeah! He definitely stretches out in there, trying to get comfy. He pushes out my sides a lot, which is weird to watch. Anything making you queasy? No! But I'm feeling so much pressure and fullness after I eat anything, especially in the evening, and especially with this cold-flu. Even drinking water makes me feel like I'm about to pop. How About Cravings? Strawberries...natural peanut butter (yes, the runny kind, so weird!) and honey...and caesar salad! Not together. What I'm Looking Forward To: Snuggling this little guy! I'm simultaneously excited and terrified to have him here. I'm excited and worried about labor, excited and scared about having a newborn and a toddler, and just plain scared about the sleepless nights! But I'm reading the Tao of Pooh, and it's a helpful reminder that there is a natural rhythm and "way" to things. When you learn to work with circumstances for what they are, things have a way of working out, with little stress and minimal effort. When you fight situations and try to make them into what you think they should be, it makes life more difficult. I'm going to try to remember that this time around!
There is a brief analogy shared in my book from the works of Chuang-tse, about a man who was standing in front of a waterfall, watching the churning turbulence created by the force of the waterfall hitting the pool below. All of a sudden, he saw an old man in the middle of the turgid water, and called to his friends for help in rescuing the old man. But by the time they all ran over, the elderly fellow had emerged from the water and was strolling along the bank. They were mystified as to how he had survived, and certain that he must have magical powers. When they asked him how he managed to live, he replied:
"I began to learn while I was very young...now I am certain of success. I go down with the water and come up with the water. I follow it and forget myself. I survive because I don't struggle against the water's superior power. That's all."
:)