View from the top

Here's the very first picture I've uploaded to my blog.

Despite being a photo fanatic, I am aware that others are not, and so I often just don't upload anything.

But, inspired by my friend, Hayley's pictures of herself and her eldest daughter in this same pose, I thought I'd give it a try for posterity. And how about that- Avalon performed perfectly for the occassion. She was even much gentler with her pats than usual, which I was thankful for. And she even looks somewhat happy about her new little sister growing away in there. I hope that turns out to be true.

As these final months close in on me, little Willow is getting much stronger and I can feel a lot bigger. So much so that it scares me that I still have 7 weeks left of her growing to go. 

When she kicks now, she winds me by getting my diaphragm, and she's always wriggling or poking, which makes me think that she's a little uncomfortable in there. I can feel her hiccuping, just like Avalon did (but not with the same frequency) but no scratching (Thank God!, it was a horrible sensation.) 

Mostly, Willow likes to roll around, or at least slowly stretching is the best way I can put it. Limbs scrape against my belly but in slow motion most of the time, like a scene from a movie where a sea serpent slithers under the water causing slight ripples. And it's not too uncomfortable. (Sorry Willow for the comparison! I do love you, sweetie!)

Lately, I've also been waking up in the morning after sleeping for more than the usual 4 hours in a stretch and finding that my pelvis feels really fragile, like it's about to splinter apart. And as I bend to collect something from the floor, i hear it click in about 10 places. But at  least for the rest of the day I'm usually much more mobile. Putting aside my tell tale "stagger" up the stairs routine.

Pregnancy is certainly costly to your body. It feels like I could hurt myself at any moment if I move wrongly (and I sometimes do), and each pregnancy has brought different highlights and lowlights. I'm assuming much like the difference in the children themselves. And while it's probably one of the hardest physical states to endure for a year or longer (with feeding included), the pain from pregnancy and birth is still minimal in comparison to a new life in our family. And I can't imagine this being the last time I am pregnant, no matter how cumbersome I feel and how unproductive my life has become.

I hope that God has many more of these in store for me, and I also hope that my body recovers well from the toll of it all!