ahhh, pregnancy

Yes, this is going to be a shameless post full of complaints. Feel free to assume you already know what I'm going to say.

Disclaimer past: Agh!! My ankles have started swelling in a serious way the past few days. It's not helped out by all the time I've spent sitting at the table reading journals (I really should have my feet up more). My shoes completely don't fit, and walking is very uncomfortable with my ankle joints about half again their usual size. (Not to mention the feet themselves.) Every time I bend over, the blood flow to my head is constricted ... and I can't bend at the knees very well because those are swollen, too. And with two small people in the house, bending over is pretty constant. The baby is hanging out high up in the chest cavity (no further dropping, and as a matter of fact, she's come up from where she'd dropped to before), so my breathing is all off, as well. The smallest exertion and I have to stop and pant. Sleeping is okay except every time I roll over (which I do a lot) I have to go in very small stages with long pauses because my muscles and ligaments get so used to being in one position that they stiffen up. Plus, I wake up with my fingers so stiff they can't bend very well.

And all this at 34 weeks!!!!!!!!! I can only imagine the level of discomfort I'll be reaching in 4 weeks ... much less 5 or 6, if I make it that long. I feel badly for my poor little guys—I already have so little energy that afternoon trips to the park are few and far between, and that's not going to be getting any better. In some ways, it's good for us all to get used to spending more time inside, between oncoming winter and the baby, but it's definitely been a little too much inside time. Not sure what to do about that. Thank heavens for the back yard! They've been really patient, though.

End of complaint ... for now. I'm so glad this is the last baby!