So much for relaxation … This has been a crazy week! I recall a day, a few weeks back, when I had a fleeting thought, a moment of dread as I anticipated the intensity of the baby’s movements. Not more than a second later I was left feeling terribly guilty.
Early this week that day arrived. I was kept up all night both by my discomfort and by hours of kicks, squirms and stretches from inside. When I finally gave up my attempts to sleep and settled into a (somewhat) comfortable chair to watch a few minutes of the morning news, my sweet, innocent, yet unmet little one, decided to make every effort to climb out … through my rib cage. Yes, the tender little nudges have now given way to all-out kicks and punches.
The worrying continues ... Truth be told, I miss the movements when the baby decides to sleep. I no longer feel guilty, because I now recall just how painful it can be to have a little foot try to wedge itself between two ribs. I’ll never understand though how I can move from begging the movements to stop to sheer terror when it does. The only thing left for the baby to do is to grow larger and stronger. I may have survived a full 40 weeks (and two days) with Jacob, but I’m not sure how well I’ll fare for the next 12 weeks this time!
In addition to enjoying all this baby-kicking, I have been worn down because it is the week of both Jacob’s and my birthdays. We celebrated my birthday with a snowstorm. I woke to find the ground covered with just an inch or two of snow, but more importantly it was first covered with a layer of ice. So, after trying to locate warm clothes that still fit me I headed outside, shovel in hand and attacked the driveway. Seeing that this was the first time I shoveled my own driveway, I wanted to just keep going, but, after the second time I slipped and fell on the ice, I gave up and headed indoors. Fortunately I’d fallen only on my knee, but I managed to worry enough about the baby’s health that I couldn’t justify trying to do any more since the steep part of the hill was now clear. I could get the car out in time for my birthday dinner with my parents … or so I thought! Thank heaven for a kind neighbor who helped out when we got stuck and managed to not only get our car out, but bring a load of sand as well! An afternoon of shopping for maternity clothes and a large dinner topped off the day and I returned home feeling just a bit older.
