Let's talk about this pregnancy, shall we?

This pregnancy has been weird. I thought that after being pregnant with two, being pregnant with one would be a walk in the park. Wrong. I don't want to complain too much, but here are my thoughts at 24 weeks on being pregnant with one.

With the girls, my back constantly hurt. I ballooned really fast and was carrying a "full term" baby for the vast majority of my pregnancy. Lillian was so high in my ribs, that sometimes I literally could not catch my breath. This kid is looow. Lower than Sophie was and it makes everything from getting dressed to sneezing tricky.

I've been getting heartburn like crazy. I've gotten a lot of good tips for what to do, but this is also something that I didn't have with the twins. The other night, I laid in bed for just under 2 hours waiting for it to go away. I drank milk, took some Tums and neither attempt at a solution touched it. Hopefully I can figure out what works soon!

I been liking being less concerned about everything. A (healthy) singleton pregnancy is so much less stress than a (healthy) twin pregnancy. I've only had two ultrasounds, I have no idea what level his amniotic fluid or position (both his and the placentas) is and have no reason to be worried about any of it because I'm normal. I don't have to worry as much about going into pre-term labor at 28 weeks (like I almost did last time) and maybe the best thing of all, I'm not waddling already!

I've tried to be a little quiet about this pregnancy. If I've learned anything with having the twins, it's that everyone has an opinion and few people are afraid to tell it to you what it is. With the twins, I didn't have strong opinions about anything. I my main and only concern was bringing two healthy babies into the world. I didn't care if they had to pull them out of my ears, they simply needed to be healthy. This time, I pretty much have the same attitude, but I realize there is more in my control. I'm "normal" this time. I'm not constantly being monitored and I'm still on a regular schedule with the doctor (as opposed to this time in my last pregnancy, I was already seeing the doctor every other week). Some people assume I'll have a scheduled c-section and others assume I'll go for a VBAC. I don't know why it bugs me when people assume *either* scenario, but it does. The c-sectioners think VBACS are dangerous and I'm stupid for even considering one, while the VBACers think that giving birth vaginally is superior and I'm somehow this heroine for trying one. So, here's the truth. I'm seeing a midwife, BUT I'm also seeing an OB AND I'm giving birth in a hospital with an epidural nicely secured in my back. Beyond that, I'm not sure what will happen. Will the midwife deliver this baby traditionally? Will the OB slice me open? Who knows? And you know what? I'm perfectly ok with either scenario.  I know, I know. I should have opinions on this, but really I don't. I'm not passionate about birth like some are (and I think it's great if you are) and absolutely refute the idea that a c-section is less empowering, less spiritual, less awesome than a vaginal birth. For me, I realized with the girls that it was all about my attitude going in, so I had a great one. And I had a great experience that I honestly wouldn't mind repeating. I do know that if I didn't attempt a VBAC, I'd probably always wonder and regret it a little, so that's why I'm going with the situation I have. Midwife, OB in the hospital with drugs. It's the perfect set up for me.

Overall, I'm feeling great. Josh might disagree because he's pretty much the only one I complain to and he gets it a lot, but I am feeling good most days. Some days are hard and the girls run me dry and they spend way too much time on abcmouse.com but that's ok, right? I go from wanting to do the pregnancy thing 5 more times to never wanting to do it again. I've learned that while being pregnant probably isn't the best time to discuss how many kids you want, but there's also a real possibility that this could be the last time we go down this road. That's a story for a different day, but knowing that makes me want really appreciate what's happening that much more. The girls love feeling baby brother kick and Sophie goes and "sees" baby brother on the fridge almost every day. Lillian is a little creeped out by him (her words) so hopefully real life baby brother won't be as scary as the ultrasound picture. ;)

It's also been fun this pregnancy because I have three good friends who are pregnant within a month of me. One a week before, one a day or two before and one about 8 weeks after. It's nice to not be the only person around (although they all live at least a half hour away) who's gut is rapidly expanding. It will be fun this spring when we all start having these babies. The one who's due just a week before me is also having a boy, so I'm really excited about that.

I'm ready for him. We talk about him in almost every conversation by name. I talk a lot about how he'll fit into the scenario that's going on and the girls often wonder why he's not here yet. It's crazy to think that we really only have the Holiday season and then just 2 months and he'll be here. I know everyone pregnant woman says this, but I'm up so much in the middle of the night already and it makes me frustrated that he's not here. If I'm going to be up with painful heartburn or needing to pee every 45 minutes, I might as well be holding a baby, right?

Anyway, here I am at 24 weeks with the girls. It's not a side shot, but take note that the shirt I'm wearing is NOT a maternity shirt and for kicks I tried it on yesterday and what do you know? It did not fit. Therefore, according to my scientific reasoning, I'm bigger with one than I was with two. Although, I was trying to find a picture I know I took at Josh's graduation (also basically at 24 weeks) and I looked a lot bigger than this one. Sadly, those pictures are on a broken computer in the basement. Guess I should figure out how to burn them to our external hard drive. Anyway, 24 weeks with the twins...

And here I am a few nights ago at 23 weeks. I've been terrible at taking pictures (just like last time) so right before I hopped into bed I thought I'd snap a selfie in my dirty bathroom mirror because everybody's gotta have one of those, right?

See? Bigger this time. I'm in for it.