Entering the Third Trimester

A few thoughts on this stage of the pregnancy- here is what I've been noticing/experiencing recently:

• It is very difficult to wear shoes with laces when Jonathan is not around to tie them for me. At the same time, dress flats are hardly bearable by the end of a work day so tennis shoes have been my new accessory with slacks, classy I know.
• My walk is becoming more like a waddle and I've noticed that I don't move as fast as I used to. Instead of leaving my office for a meeting five minutes before start time, I have needed to give 10-15 minutes for the stroll.
• While aquarobics continues to be a great de-stressor at the end of my day and a healthy workout, my body is not quite moving the same way it did a month ago. The 'sprints' in the water are slower as my knees don't lift up quite as high and the ab exercises at the end are laughable.
• Pregnancy brain. Too many instances of where this has occurred but the most blatant are the forgetting my car is at work and taking the bus home. (and yes I said are as in plural because it has now happened twice!)
• I know I'm not the 700 lb man that needs a crane to lift him out of bed, but it is feeling a little more like this. Those non-existent ab muscles don't quite help you sit up like they used to and I've had to roll the legs out then push with my arms. I've noticed I try to stay in one place at night now instead of rolling over to my sides back and forth, but with this effort to stay motionless I've also woken up with numb limbs.
• Feeling Sweet Pea move has been incredible and as he grows the kicks and rolls are stronger and obvious. I stare at my stomach sometimes just to laugh at seeing my belly move without any effort on my part. Jonathan has also been able to hear his heartbeat by listening with his ear to my stomach- something very cool that he can experience that I won't (see above note about limited movement- you don't know maybe 6 months ago I could have reached my ear to my belly!) :)
• The emotions. Thankfully I have felt more like my laughing self in these past weeks than compared with the 1st trimester. The urge to cry at small things has not gone away and I'm still moved by Folgers commercials and now Olympic stories that are airing. But I would rather have this paired with my ability to laugh at myself and the situation- like when I showed up in my ruffled hawaiian swimsuit in the middle of the SEC swim meet in our natatorium. Yes I cried when I told Jonathan about it as I went home without getting my aquarobics in and and feeling mortified that I was standing in front of all these competitors looking all too pregnant and not in competing attire, but now we laugh at this!
• There has been a shift in my mentality recently from thinking about the pregnancy to focusing on preparing for labor and delivery. I've been flipping to the back sections of the books to get to the basics. We will start our lamaze classes at the end of March and I think this will feed my need for more information. Also contributing to this mentality shift is the fact that two of my girlfriends I grew up with have delivered beautiful healthy girls this month! Welcome Lainey Marie Taunton and Charleigh Jill Atkinson!