Being pregnant......

[moosmom]

Sara,

Being pregnant has it's ups AND downs. At least you won't be going through the summer pregnant. The best way to get rid of edema (excess fluid) is drink lots of water.

Hang in there, honey! It SEEMS like it's taking forever, but just think of that little sweetheart that will be the end result.

[Christiansmommy]

I am right there with you. I love the baby part, but I could do w/o the pregnancy part of it, lol I don't have the easiest pregnancies...not the worst ones, either, though. I can't wait to be able to run up the stairs to get something I forgot, instead of waddling everywhere, and then having to stop b/c I have a Braxton Hicks contraction...which I have been getting since 14 weeks. I can't wait to sleep on my tummy again too...and just feel my age again...getting on a bike and riding with my son and hubby...would be nice Anyway, I have about 7 weeks left (they will most likely induce at 38 weeks, due to the gestational diabetes), and while I am not ready for him to come early, I will be happy to be back to the old me again

[Samantha Puppy]

Chin up. I hated being pregnant too. Now I can't wait for it to happen again.

I think my main problem stemmed from the fact that I *hate* change. Hate hate HATE it. And pregnancy is about the biggest change someone can possibly experience - physically, emotionally - it's life-altering. So that, in addition to the fact that Josh and I weren't trying (I was on the pill, for God's sake!), I had a hard time coming to term with being pregnant. You know when I think I finally did? When Aidan was about 3 months old.

I think it took me that long because of all the unknowns. Everything you're experiencing is new. It's a lot to swallow! At the very least, your body is completely different from what you've gotten used to for your entire life up to this point, and at the very most, you're about to become a MOTHER. I, personally, think that even the women who claim they looooove being pregnant didn't love it 100% of the time. What's to love about leaky boobs, swollen ankles, weakening joints, and your hormones going nuts? But then again, look at what you're doing. You are growing another little human being inside you. He's just a little baby now, but think of what this means! You're providing him with a big, huge life that will be his own to do with as he pleases. All because of you!!

Don't feel bad and try and focus on the positive. Take extra pleasure when you feel him kick you. I wish I had more when I was pregnant with Aidan. Instead, I focused on all the bad things - feeling unattractive, swollen ankles, my face breaking out, etc. - and I regret it now. And I absolutely cannot wait to get pregnant again, because I will be totally different - I know I will. (Not saying I won't have my bitching moments, but I'm a woman - I'm entitled to them, pregnant or not!!)

So rub that belly of yours and remember there is a miracle inside there, just on the other side of your skin. And soon enough, he'll be out here with you and growing and changing so quickly, you'll wish you could slow time down!

[Jods]

Hang in there!!! Remember the end is in site, I hated it too!!!! the last few months are the worst especially when you just want it to end... I thought I would love being preggo, but it was just so much to stress about... Good luck and dont worry your almost there then you'll be typing like me with a babe on your lap and it takes 4x as long lol

[Pawsitive Thinking]

I only did it once....................enough said!

[Cataholic]

I HATED being pregnant. Glow? Oh, sure, from perspiring as a result of lugging around so much excess weight! I gained at least 55 pounds, it might have been 60...and I couldn't wear shoes the entire summer. I had NO ankles. None. I did what you are doing. I came home from work, washed my face, put my hair in a pony tail, and sat on the couch! This from a person that ran 3-5 miles a day, and spent 1.5 hours in the gym? LOLOL...I went from being a gym nazi to a couch nazi. I am STILL fighting my way back to something besides a tired mommy. STILL!!!

The people that said, "oh, I loved being pregnant" truly made me wonder. Who knows? Maybe they did nothing before becoming pregnant, so, the inactivity was just more of the same for them? LOL..it is a thought.

The trade-off is so worth it. So very worth it. From the moment they placed Jonah on my belly, it was, for me, instant love at first sight. I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China.

As for stretch marks? It has WAY more to do with your skin's elasticity than it does with the weight gain. And, usually, you don't see the stretchies until after you have lost the weight. I **might** have one stretch mark. I have more on my thighs- from muscle growth, etc., than I do from child birth.

Who cares...for me? Any physical change is worth it. I **know** you will feel the same way once the baby gets here.

[Karen]

My sister has two children. Her pregnancy with the older of them was not bad, pretty "easy" compared to her second one. Her second pregnancy, 8 years later, she was sick almost the whole time, just miserable. And baby #2 was a fussy, difficult infant as well. When #2, Em, was little, her Dad would look at her sometimes and say "Kid, it's a good thing you were the second kid, because if you had been first, you'da been an only child!"

Each pregnancy is different, just as each child is different!

Some of those who claim to "love" being pregnant have what someone I know calls "maternal amnesia" - just remembering the good parts, and choosing to forget the uncomfortableness, the inability to tie your own shoes - even if they DID still fit on your feet, and all the other not-so-fun parts.