Third Trimester!

Third trimester has begun. I can't believe it, actually. I feel like there is this vast expanse ahead of me, but it seems like the time behind has flown by so quickly. I feel like just yesterday I was thinking, at 10 weeks, that I was only 1/4 of the way there. Now here I am, with only 12 weeks ahead. Granted, the longest 12 weeks, but I think it is going to go by much more quickly than I'm imagining.

We went for our 28-week ultrasound today. God-willing, on so many levels, our last ever. That's quite a sad thought; however, getting a few more ultrasounds is probably not a great rationale for deciding to have a third child. There are a lot of things that are coming and going that are assumed to be "lasts," and it really is sad, but nothing that would make overturning the decision to have a family of 4 a reasonable option.

All was good. Still a girl, measuring at about 63rd percentile. Good deal - not teeny-tiny, but a huge honkin' thing, either. The doc said she'd probably come in weighing about what Liam weighed (8 lbs., 2 oz.), maybe a little less, even though 2nd babies are usually bigger. I am grateful for the fact that, this time, I don't have to deal with all the size comparisons that come along with having a boy. It's like the size of your son at birth and at periodic checkpoints along the way is an indication of your prowess as a reproducer or your child's worth as a human being. With a girl, petite is okay.

So here we are, just rockin' along quite averagely!

I got clearance from the cardiologist. My tests were normal, bloodwork was normal, and of course when I was in the office I wasn't exhibiting a single symptom that I described (isn't that always how it goes?). The nighttime episodes shouldn't be a problem, but she did tell me to finish out the 30 days on the monitor. Darn. At any rate, though, she gave me paperwork to clear me for a "regular" delivery (trying to avoid the word "vaginal" again!) and an epidural and anything else that comes along with childbirth. Good to go. Good thing - I didn't enjoy using PTO for that and driving out to Marietta (though I will miss the office for its proximity to a TCBY).

We finally got a bed frame for Liam's bed so he's no longer sleeping on a box spring and a mattress on the floor. It looks much better. Of course, the first night he slept on it elevated (Saturday), I hear him start crying in the middle of the night. I knew before I went in there what had happened. Sure enough, I see him on his belly, flat as a board and stretched out on the floor, parallel to the foot of the bed, with his arms straight out in front of him and looking up at me crying. Poor little guy!

Everything was okay, and once I assessed the situation and realized that, I thought he was so cute in his pitifulness. It's moments like these where the psychology behind Munchausen by proxy fleetingly makes perfect sense to you. You hate seeing your child in pain or scared or anything bad and you don't want any of it ever to happen(probably the difference between a normal mom and one who poisons her own child), but if someone has to be the one there to pick up the pieces, it's a gratifying role to play.

I guess my 3-day weekend will officially end in 10 minutes, at 4:00. I always feel like, once the time rolls around when I would be getting off work if I had gone (or on a Sunday), it's once again a normal evening like any other, with the same amount of time separating me from the work week. Sigh.