Almost 31 Weeks

So tomorrow I'll be 31 weeks pregnant, and I have to ask myself, where has the time gone?  She's growing up right before our eyes and she's not even here yet! 

Before getting pregnant with her I told myself, knowing that I may have never had the opportunity to be pregnant again, and probably never will, that I was going to enjoy every second of my pregnancy.  Bryton's pregnancy was pretty breezy until the last 6 weeks or so, and I naively thought I'd handle every other pregnancy the same way.  Naive. 

My whole first trimester I spent sick... not throwing up constantly sick, but constantly nauseous and pukey feeling.  Needless to say, I was praying away those first weeks... afterall, they aren't the 'fun ones' anyway. 

Luckily, 2nd trimester was pretty good to me.  I felt good, got around well, the headaches from first trimester also stopped, and I had a good amount of energy, but at almost exactly the 29 week turn, I could sense the miserableness that was nearing around the corner.  I, now, am remembering how I really felt with Bryton towards the end, and I'm not there yet. 

I'm still kind of fighting her, as she's brutally active, and I don't use that word lightly.  Aaron and I talked the other day about how much I enjoyed Bryton moving and watching Bryton move around in my belly.  Well, Ansley, she's a powerhouse, and I'm guessing will be very stubborn.  If there's somewhere that she wants to be and I have organs or ribs in the way, she kicks harder.  More than once she's knocked the wind out of me, and it's nothing for me to feel pain as a result of her movement.  Crazy.

I'm trying to do a good job at keeping my feet up at least once during the day for about an hour, to prevent the swelling that inevitably came (and would not go away) with Bryton.  The very bad swelling didn't come until about 34 or 35 weeks, so I still have some time, and I'm trying to do what I can to prevent it all together.  I can already see some swelling in my face this time.  (Knowing this time what I'm looking for... I didn't even think my face had swelled any with B until after I had him and the swelling went down.  I then realized how awful I'd looked.) 

Besides those few things, I'm tired, it's getting harder to get around, especially with Bryton, and if I'm on my feet for two long, or laying in a position to sleep for any period of time, or sitting in a recliner too long, I hurt.  Legs, back, you name it.  I'm remembering how much I hate maternity clothes, and look forward to the day I can wear my normal clothes again.  (I hope it happens as quickly as it did with Bryton, but I'm not getting my hopes up.)

So, though I can say I'm not miserable yet, I will not be so naive this time to think it's not coming... it is coming.  As it comes, I'm now thinking about labor and delivery again, and it's all coming back to me.  Especially as my belly gets bigger I think, "this thing has to come out some how," and I remember how that 'somehow' is.  I honestly hadn't thought about it much until now, because it seemed so far away... now it's not all that far.  If Ansley decides to be anything like her brother, she could be here in about 6 weeks, which blows my mind. 

Hmmm - seems this 'update' has turned into complaining... and I'm really not complaining, all of this is said just basically to show where I'm at in pregnancy.  Any woman who has been pregnant knows that it ultimately comes to this.  Pregnancy is a gift, in fact the greatest gift I believe God has given us women.  It's amazing to allow God to grow a child inside of you.

So with that update... here's the 30 week picture.  I didn't put it up on facebook because after I took it I decided I'd take the rest of the pictures with a tight shirt on and no 'real belly' shot.  So, here she is... and I feel huge... how can I possibly have 6-9 weeks left???