I am a pregnant ninja

Well, it's hard to believe but I am now less than two weeks away from my due date! Part of me feels like this pregnancy has flown by and the other part feels like I have been pregnant forever... As I near the end of my baby's 40 week incubation period I am experiencing all kinds of conflicting emotions. Most days, I feel like I cannot WAIT to get this baby out! It's not that I'm uncomfortable or anything, in fact I've had a pretty easy and uneventful pregnancy. It's that I am beyond excited to finally meet my daughter. Hubby and I cannot wait for that moment when the doctor holds her up and we finally get to see her face. Okay okay, I am not being completely truthful. There are some things that are REALLY annoying about being pregnant, especially the second time around. 1. The VEINS: This pregnancy, I've gotten the UGLIEST veins and burst capillaries on my legs. One huge vein on the back of my leg actually looks like a bruise. It's really fun when people ask me how I hurt my leg. Hmmmm. Let's hope they go away after the baby comes! And thank goodness it's now "pants season" instead of bikini season... 2. MATERNITY CLOTHES: I cannot stress how SICK I am of maternity clothes! I'm tired of wearing the same outfits, especially the ones that are already stretched out from my first pregnancy. Half my pants are falling down because the elastic stretched, the other half constantly roll off my belly. It feels like so long ago that I was actually able to wear my normal clothing. Every morning when I'm getting dressed, I allow myself a longing glance at my size 6 skinny jeans and pray we will be together again soon! 3. NO PHONE CALLS: Perhaps one of the worst parts about the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy has been the fact that I theoretically could go into labor at any time. Because of this fact, every time I call family members, I feel like they are going to think I am in labor. Luckily, I remember this happening during my first pregnancy so I can now combat this. I begin every phone call with, "Hi. I'm NOT in labor!" 4. WARNINGS: TOO LITTLE TOO LATE: Another fun thing about being pregnant the second time is all the fun warnings you get about how hard things are going to be with TWO kids. Maybe I have been noticing it more lately since I am nearing the end. But honestly friends, you couldn't have warned me about this 10 months ago?!?!? It's a little too late now. The baby is literally about to fall out any day now!!!! 5. MY BLADDER!!! : If I thought my bladder problems were bad before, this is just ridiculous! Ever since the baby dropped my bladder has become her personal trampoline. All I have to say is OUCH! And oops... 6. CANKLES: Holy crap, I have swollen ankles. EWWWW! I look like a 70 year old woman! What the heck? This never, ever happened when I was pregnant with my son. I'm doing everything I can to stay fit too. I've been eating healthier, working out twice a week, walking twice a week, and drinking my water. So why are my ankles swelling???? 7. Low Belly in the WAY!: I am carrying this baby much lower than I carried my son. When I was pregnant with my son I was still teaching first grade. I prided myself on the fact that I could get down on the floor with them even a few days before I gave birth. I also shaved my legs with no problem and tied my own shoelaces on the morning we went to the hospital. However, this little baby girl is MUCH lower. Tying my shoes is a challenge every morning and so is any kind of shaving! Even bending down enough to put my legs in my pants can be difficult. The hardest thing for me though is getting from laying or lounging position to sitting or standing position. I swear I have ab muscles hidden somewhere under there, they are just not working at the moment. To solve my problem, I have had to learn to be what I call, "A pregnant ninja". Every morning instead of climbing out of bed I do a very graceful (ha!) roll to the left and spring up into standing position at the same time. I am a pregnant ninja!!! Now, despite all my complaining, there is a large part of me that will be sad to see this pregnancy end. I will miss feeling my little girl moving, hiccuping, and kicking inside of me. I can't lie; I will definitely miss all the attention and special treatment I received while pregnant! I'll miss the excitement that came along with each week of this pregnancy, especially the last few weeks while hubby and I have been anxiously awaiting her arrival. Every day feels like Christmas morning because we wake up each morning thinking, "This could be the day!" I don't know if we will have any more children and part of me is so saddened by this. Pregnancy and giving birth to a child is really such a miracle no matter what the ridiculous "side effects" are. The countdown has reached less than 10 days until our due date. Wish me luck! ESPECIALLY wish me luck that the veins, cankles, stretch marks, and pounds all disappear with the arrival of my little princess. Honestly, if they don't I'll be ok. I'll proudly sport all of those things if it means having another child who is HALF as awesome as my first. Because despite my bitching, in my heart I realize that having a happy, healthy baby is truly all that matters. Wish us luck! -CoffeeAddictedMommy