Third Trimester Problems

I'm 38 weeks so third trimester problems have been plaguing me for a while now, but at this point in the pregnancy, things really get interesting because of my size.

Here's my list of #thirdtrimesterproblems.  

When I play my fiddle, I can't play the E string because the bow bumps into my stomach.

I'm pretty sure my arms are getting shorter.  I'm starting to feel like a t-rex.   

When Star stands in front of me holding onto my legs, I can't see her.  The only way I know she's there is by the little hands grabbing my knees.

When Little Man runs up to me to give me a hug, he bounces off my stomach.

I would rather leave a $50 dollar bill on the floor than bend over to pick it up.

My idea of exercise is getting up off the couch or rolling over in bed.

Getting up only once to use the bathroom counts as a good night of sleep.

95% of my maternity clothes are too small to cover my belly.

It's the middle of winter, but the idea of not putting on a pair socks when I go out is kind of appealing.

Fred Flintstone feet...'nuff said.

I have a very real fear that I won't be able to get my wedding ring off my swollen hands.

I'm ready to go to bed before the kids are at night.

My fastest speed is "slow turtle."

Any shoes that are not slip-ons are completely out of the question.

No more sitting in booths at restaurants!  Only tables with chairs that slide out, thank you very much.

The nesting instinct is kicking in big time, but I'm too big and uncomfortable to do much at all.

I'm starting to feel like people are viewing me as a ticking time bomb.

Questions like these.    


What would you add to this list?  Tweet me @supermommyornot with the hashtag #thirdtrimesterproblems or leave me a comment!
    

The Waiting Game

I'm at that point in my pregnancy where my due date is no longer just an obscure date.  It's this week.  On Sunday.  Granted, I could go 2 weeks over like I did with Princess, but still...

39 Weeks

So now, I'm waiting.  I have a moment of panic every evening when I start getting ready for bed and realize that if I go into labor during the night, there will be people in my house before I'll get the chance to straighten things up.  The plan is for our upstairs neighbor to come downstairs and spend the rest of the night with the kids so we don't have to get them up in the middle of the night.  In the morning, Hubby's mom will come over and pick up the kids.  She'll be taking the week off after I go into labor so will be taking care of the kids for quite a bit of that time.

Right now, it literally feels like the baby is going to fall out while I'm walking.  I've been wearing a denim maternity skirt which is the only thing that fits and is comfortable right now, but I'm starting to think that maybe I should start wearing pants.  You know, just in case.  It also feels like his head is about the size of a bowling ball and if it is, he better start thinking about an alternative route out.

I'm starting to get really irritated with the "haven't you had that baby yet?" questions.  When I'm standing in front of you, and you can clearly see that the baby is still hanging out in his cozy little 9 month home, please try to come up with a different line of conversation!

I get nervous taking Little Man out and about because he has a tendency to bolt for no reason.  You know, like out in the middle of the street when a semi is barreling down the road.  And frankly, I move about as fast as a turtle hopped up on Benadryl right now.

Sorry for all the randomness.  I've been having problems forming a complete thought lately.  I'm blaming it on a combination of pregnancy and blondeness.  Which is also what I'm blaming the recent incident at the gas station on.  I came home from the gas station thinking my van was broken because I couldn't get the gas cap off to refuel.  Hubby went to "fix" it and twisted it right off.  Oh, that's right.  It's lefty loosey, righty tighty.  Oops.  I least I had an excuse for being that...well, you know.  My younger sister tried to get the gas cap off at the gas station too and she's brunette and NOT pregnant.  Not sure what her excuse was.      


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Innocent Comments and Questions

Oh the things you hear when you're pregnant....

Especially when it's your third pregnancy, and you're huge, and the extremely hot weather has made you retain more water than you ever thought possible.

Some of the comments make me cringe because they're from people who should know better, but there are some that make me laugh, especially the ones from kids.

Here are some of my favorites:

From a little boy I haven't seen since spring: "Woah, are you pregnant again?!?"
Nope.  Same baby bump I was sporting a few months ago, but MUCH bigger.

From a 10 year old boy at church last Sunday: "How many months do you have left?"
Oh please don't do that to me.  We're talking weeks or DAYS, not months!

From Little Man: "Mommy hab' biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig tummy!"
Thanks for noticing, buddy.

From Hubby upon seeing a very pregnant newsanchor on tv (ok, he should've known better, but he's totally a guy and still doesn't understand why this may have been better left unsaid.  From his point of view, he was just stating the facts, not being insulting.): "She blows up like you do when you're pregnant."
All I could do was laugh at this one because, seriously, who says something like that?!?

From Princess upon hearing that I couldn't eat something because it might make the baby sick: "That would be bad because then he would throw up in your tummy!"
LOL, yes, that would be bad.


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38 Weeks

How Far along: 38 weeks

Little Man joined me for the "photo shoot"

 Baby's Size:  Baby weighs approximately 6.8 pounds.

Sleep: Not going well.  My allergies keep me up half the night even though I've been taking the 24 hour Claritin twice a day, including once right before bed.  My doctor is a little concerned about the severity of my allergies since they can quickly go from making me miserable to cutting off my air supply. 

Best Moments This Week: Crossing the "big" stuff off my to-do list (see bottom of post)  Everything left would be nice to accomplish before Baby comes, but if it's not, that's okay with me. 

Miss Anything?: Being able to move.  It's uncomfortable to move, bend, stand, sit, lay, etc.  I miss being able to walk without bumping my belly into something.  Little Man is short enough that he fits right underneath my belly, but Princess is just the right height to get knocked over by it if I turn around too quickly and she's standing by me.  Oops.  I also miss my feet, but the few glimpses I have gotten of them have made me glad I can't see them most of the time since they've been replaced by Fred Flintstone's feet. 

Movement?: Yes, but he's running out of room so the movements have slowed down a little.  When he moves around, it hurts! 

Food Cravings:  My cravings change from day to day. 

Things That Make Me Queasy: Being around my sister.  Haha, that sounds awful, but she's 10 weeks along with her 4th pregnancy (congratulations!!) and sick as a dog.  Being around her reminds me of the first trimester and just thinking about that makes me nauseous.

Gender: Boy!  I'm ashamed to admit that Hubby and I still have not picked a name.  We have it narrowed down to 3, but we just can't get past that.  We'll probably pick one off the list when I'm in labor like we did with Princess.  We do have the middle name, David, picked out which was easy since it's my dad's first name and Hubby's dad's middle name.

Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions which are so painful that they feel like the real thing, cramping in the stomach and back almost every day, and the baby's dropped.  

Symptoms: Heartburn, fatigue, exhaustion, crazy hormones, allergies, etc...I'm sure it's a joy to be around me right now.

Mood Most Of The Time: Happy for the most part.  Around 36 weeks, this whole pregnancy finally became real to me and I'm finally feeling excited about meeting this little guy soon! 

Looking Forward To:  (Hopefully) going into labor naturally!!  I do NOT want to be induced again.

I've been following a few other bloggers who are due around the same time as me or shortly after.  Now that I'm 38 weeks, I'm really wondering who will have their baby first :)

Jenni From the Blog-Jenni is due with her third baby on September 16th which means that we share a due date :)  You can read her announcement post here.

The Windle Family-Kristen is due with her second baby on September 15th which is one day before me.  You can read her announcement post here.

The JoyfulChaos-Suzanne is due with her sixth baby on September 17th which is one day after me.  You can read her announcment post (posted on the same day I found out I was pregnant!) here.

Growing Up Geeky-Melissa is due with her second baby on September 23rd, exactly one week after me.  You can read her announcement post here.

Smiles 'n' Snuggles-Victoria is due with her second baby on September 25th.  In her 36 week post, she has a to-do list like mine which automatically makes her cool in my book :)  You can read her announcement post here. 

Here's my to-do list before Baby comes.

• Get cradle from in-laws and put together
• Pick up the dresser from my parents' house
• Pick up the baby clothes from my sister's house and drop off the boxes of clothes that Princess and Little Man have outgrown
• Make at least 6 freezer meals (lasagna, meatloaf, meatballs, etc) and stock up on groceries.  In the freezer update: 2 pans of lasagna, 1 pan of deep dish pizza casserole, 2 pounds of pre-cooked hamburger meat/pork sausage, 4 doz. cookie dough balls, 24 muffin sized meatloafs, 1 chicken pot pie
• Organize freezers (we have a regular one and a chest freezer)
• Pick out a baby book (I ended up getting this calendar)
  
• Pack my hospital bag, the diaper bag, and the kids' overnight bag
• Get the newborn essentials: a few packs of diapers, pacifiers, etc
• Rearrange kids' room so the new dresser fits
• Rearrange car seats in the van and install infant carseat
• Unpack baby clothes and gear.
• Wash and sanitize baby bottles and pacifiers
  

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Pros of Being Pregnant and Overdue

Yes, I know my due date isn't for another 4 weeks, but Princess was 2 weeks overdue and Little Man was 1 week late.  I'm not exactly holding out hope that this one will be early or even on time.

As any pregnant woman will tell you, the last few weeks are the hardest and take the longest, especially when your due date comes and goes without any sign of a baby to reward you for 9 months of nausea, fatigue, discomfort, lack of sleep, etc.

Since I will more than likely be joining the overdue club again this time, I thought I'd make a list of the pros of being overdue to cheer me up once I pass my due date.

1. The looks on people's faces are hilarious when they ask you when your due date is, and you nonchalantly say "9 days ago."  Most are imagining your water breaking right there in front of them and having to deliver the baby themselves.  YOU know this isn't going to happen, but go ahead and have a little fun with them by faking a contraction or something like that.  You deserve it.   

2. A little more time to get ready for the baby.  Unless you're already done with all the preparations.  Then that packed hospital bag and perfect nursery will seem to be mocking you every day.  Okay, this may not be a pro.  Never mind.

3. You can finally let your true feelings show when someone thinks they're being cute by asking every time they see you, "Haven't you had that baby yet?"  You're overdue, go ahead and give them that snarky reply you've had composed in your head for the last 2 or 3 weeks.

4.  No waiting in line!  Nobody wants you to go into labor while waiting in a long line at Target to return that 3rd diaper pail you got for your baby shower.  See Pro #1. 

5.  Ummmmmmmmmm.........................

Okay, this is getting hard.  Frankly, being overdue is, well, lousy.  I give up.

Do you have anything I can add to the list?


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35 Weeks!

How Far along: 35 weeks

Baby's Size:  Baby weighs approximately 5 pounds.

Sleep: Between waking up to use the bathroom once a night and baby waking me up with his nighttime gymnastics routine, I'm not sleeping very well anymore.  I've been needing more naps too just so I can function.  Really makes it hard to get anything productive done!

Best Moments This Week: Finding out that my best friend gave birth to her third baby boy on July 30th!  Congratulations, Lisa!!

Miss Anything?: Being able to move.  It's uncomfortable to move, bend, stand, sit, lay, etc.

Movement?: Yes, but he's running out of room so the movements have slowed down a little.

Food Cravings:  Omelets, spaghettios. 

Things That Make Me Queasy: Just normal stuff right now.

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions (some of which are pretty painful), cramping in the stomach and back almost every day. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, fatigue, exhaustion, crazy hormones, etc...I'm sure it's a joy to be around me right now.  In the last few days, I've been in the bathroom practically every hour so either the baby has had a growth spurt or he's dropped a little, putting more pressure on my bladder. 

Mood Most Of The Time: Stressed.

Looking Forward To:  Seriously getting ready for the baby.  Now that I'm down to the last month, I realized how unprepared I am.  I made a list of things to do before baby comes:

• Get cradle from in-laws and put together
• Pick up the dresser from my parents' house
• Pick up the baby clothes from my sister's house and drop off the boxes of clothes that Princess and Little Man have outgrown
• Make at least 6 freezer meals (lasagna, meatloaf, meatballs, etc) and stock up on groceries.  In the freezer update: 2 pans of lasagna, 1 pan of deep dish pizza casserole, 2 pounds of pre-cooked hamburger meat/pork sausage, 4 doz. cookie dough balls, 24 muffin sized meatloafs, 1 chicken pot pie
• Organize freezers (we have a regular one and a chest freezer)
• Pick out a baby book (I ended up getting this calendar)
  
• Pack my hospital bag, the diaper bag, and the kids' overnight bag
• Get the newborn essentials: a few packs of diapers, pacifiers, etc
• Rearrange kids' room so the new dresser fits
• Rearrange car seats in the van and install infant carseat
  
• Unpack baby clothes and gear.
• Wash and sanitize baby bottles and pacifiers
  

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33 Weeks

How Far along: 33 weeks

Baby's Size:  Baby weighs a little over 3 pounds and is about 17 inches long from head to toe.

Sleep: Between waking up to use the bathroom once a night and baby waking me up with his nighttime gymnastics routine, I'm not sleeping very well anymore.  I've been needing more naps too just so I can function.  Really makes it hard to get anything productive done!

Best Moments This Week: Taking the kids to the county fair.  And satisfying my craving for deep fried oreos :)

Miss Anything?: Being able to move and bend easily. Not having to stop at a bathroom everywhere we go.  Having energy.   

Movement?: Yes!  Baby likes to lounge on the left side of my stomach and it causes a lot of soreness on that side.

Food Cravings:  Omelets.

Things That Make Me Queasy: Just normal stuff right now.

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: Having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, mostly when I'm active or bend over too far. 

Symptoms: Heartburn (although nowhere near as severe as I had with Little Man which leads me to believe I'm having another baldy, lol), hip pain, fatigue, etc. 

Mood Most Of The Time: Stressed, annoyed, calm, happy...it really varies from minute to minute!

Looking Forward To: At this point, most women would be saying that they're looking forward to having the baby, but frankly, the baby takes up less room and is easier to take care of before he's born so I'm perfectly content to be pregnant (no matter how miserable!) right now!
Sorry, no picture this week!  I'll be sure to include one next week.


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Why Won't You Stop Asking Me Why?

I hate the word "why." And if you ask me why, I'll probably bite your head off. So please don't ask, let me just tell you. Princess is in the "why" stage. She has been for a while, and at first, I thought it was cute that she wanted to learn so much. Now, she seems to think that no matter what I say, I expect her to follow up with "Why?"
Me: "Princess, you just stepped on your sunglasses and broke them."
Princess: "Why?"
Me: "I don't know why you did that."
Princess: "Why?"
Me: "Because I have no idea why you do most of the things you do."
Princess: "Why?"
Me: "Because 2 year olds are inexplicable."
Princess "Why?"
Me: (Pulls out hair in frustration) "Stop asking me why! I don't know why!!"
Princess: "Why?"
Me: (Screams and locks self in bathroom)
Princess: (Bangs on bathroom door) "Why?"
So yeah...not so cute anymore.

Have you ever noticed that people are never happy with how many children you have or don't have? After the wedding ceremony, people (especially prospective grandmas) sidle up to you at the reception with a glint in their eye and casually ask how long you plan to wait before having kids. Five months later, the same question is posed, but this time with a vague sense of urgency. A year later, people start slipping you brochures with titles like "How to Overcome Infertility" and "Babies: A Fulfilling Experience"

When you finally cave and become pregnant, complete strangers feel as if it's acceptable for them to add their opinion. Questions arise as to the number of babies you are carrying even though you've had two ultrasounds to prove that there really is only one baby in there. Fast forward to when the baby is 6 months old. People start to whisper behind your back. "Do you think she'll have another soon?" It's almost as if, since you've proven your ability to create a new life, they expect you to pop out another one within the year. After you've had your second baby, some people start to change their tack. Instead of pushing you in the direction of pregnancy, they tell you how you now have the perfect pair and don't need any more. Others will still hold out hope that you continue to have more. If you dare to become pregnant again, you will receive advice on how three children is really a difficult number to have because someone is always left out. About half of the people telling you this are trying to make you feel guilty for bringing another life into this world, the other half are telling you to have one more to even things up a bit. When you bring home your fourth baby, with only a few rare exceptions, people will begin giving you literature on the dangers of overpopulation and asking you how you can possibly handle so many little people hanging on you all day long.

Unsolicited Advice:
One of the best things about having kids is that they make great gift ideas. I don't mean you should wrap your 10 month old up and give him away at Christmas time, but pictures of your kids or personalized items with pictures of your kids make great gifts for relatives (your boss at work may not be too impressed with a mug showing off your children's "silly" faces).

Surprise!

Yesterday was my due date. I'm still here. I'm pretty much expecting to have to be induced, but hopefully I'll be surprised.

Speaking of surprises...my sister had her baby. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but she was due to have a baby girl April 10th while I was due to have my baby boy yesterday. We figured that was perfect. We'd swap baby clothes and neither of us would have to buy much more than a few bibs and pacifiers. We'd gotten all the baby clothes out of storage, and each of us had filled our baby's dresser drawers with gender appropriate clothes. Or so we thought. On Friday, at 13 days overdue, my sister had to be induced. I have to be honest, her hubby is a bit of a joker so when he called me at 8 pm that night and announced "It's a boy!" I insisted on speaking with my sister before I could actually believe that she had given birth to a 9 pound 14 ounce baby BOY. My first thought was...well, I'm not actually sure because I was so positive she was having a girl that I was in shock. My second thought was "Oh shoot." Prior to finding out what the genders of our babies were, my sister and I had agreed that she got first dib on the boys clothes if we both had boys and vice versa. So, 4 days before my due date, I found myself packing up all the clothes and baby boy stuff and giving it back to my sister. She was nice enough to return the newborn size clothing to me since her bouncing baby boy was already too big for them, but other than that, all I had were a few pieces of miscellaneous clothing I'd picked up because I thought they were cute. To a woman who's 9 months pregnant, it was devastating because let's face it, when you're pregnant everything is worse than it needs to be. I must have complained about it to enough people though, because less than a week later, I now have everything I need plus offers for more.

Unsolicited Advice:
Don't ever assume an ultrasound will be 100 percent correct in predicting the gender of your baby!

Who Stole My Feet?

I miss my feet. Yes, I still own a pair of feet, but they're not the ones I had "before." Right now, I can't even see my feet most of the time because my stomach has obscured the lower half of my body. When I do catch a glimpse of my feet, it's a shock for me to see them because they aren't the same feet I had a few months ago.

When I was pregnant with Princess, I did not have water retention. I was kind of hoping that this pregnancy would be the same, but it's not. Maybe it's because I'm carrying a boy this time, maybe it's just because every pregnancy is different. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my feet looked a little...bigger. Not a big deal though because I could still fit into all of my shoes and they really didn't hurt much unless I was on them all day. Now however, the swelling has kicked in for real. I can barely walk in the morning when I get up, and shoes that fit me at 10 am are too small by mid-afternoon. My sister (the one who is also pregnant and is due this week) is thrilled that this time around, she's not the only one with water retention. Yay. I've been trying to drink plenty of water and put my feet up periodically because I've noticed that even in a sitting position, my feet keep swelling up. I now have one pair of shoes that isn't too small for me. I want to cry because I just bought an adorable pair of Skechers that I won't be able to wear for a while because they're too tight.

I'm not bragging, but my feet used to get compliments. Their main flaw was being flat, but if you overlooked that, they were nicely proportioned feet. Now I can't even look at them. When I see my feet, I have the feeling that they're actually somebody else's feet that somehow got attached to my ankles (which by the way, don't look so hot either right now). Hopefully this baby doesn't decide to be as late as his sister was so I can have my feet back soon.

I love being pregnant. No really, I do.

Third Trimester Joys

Let me just take a moment here to whine. Actually, let's be realistic. Let me just take an hour here to whine.

My stomach hurts from Baby Boy kicking and squirming so much and so hard. My hips hurt and feel like they're falling out of their sockets every time I move. My legs hurt from having to carry all that extra weight around. My feet hurt because I've been wearing non-supportive, slip-on shoes to avoid having to bend over to tie tennis shoes. I've got killer heartburn 79% of the time. It takes me 84 minutes to turn over in bed or get up off the couch. I'm ready for bed around the same time I put Louise to bed. No matter what position I try sitting or laying in, two and half minutes later, I'm uncomfortable again. Judging from my symptoms, it sounds like I might be in my third trimester of pregnancy.

But to be honest, despite the nausea, discomfort, exhaustion, and outright painfulness of pregnancy, I actually do enjoy being pregnant. For a while I can wear clothes without worrying about whether they make me look fat or not, because let's face it, I passed that point around the third month of pregnancy. I like how people are so much nicer to pregnant women, and how just seeing a pregnant woman can seem to cheer some people up. And I love, love, love that there's a tiny baby growing inside of me. Because of my severe asthma messing with basically every part of my life, I somehow assumed that my body wouldn't work right when it came to making another human being. So I was a bit surprised when I found out I was pregnant with Princess, especially since it only took seven months of trying NOT to get pregnant for it to happen. Then I managed to actually carry her to full term (and beyond!) and deliver a healthy beautiful baby girl. Now I'm pregnant again and this time, it took exactly one "oops" moment to conceive. Apparently getting pregnant is not an issue for me.

Unsolicited Advice:
When possible, borrow maternity clothes from a friend or relative or buy them at thrift stores. They're not cheap and you only wear them for a short time really (even if it feels like forever some days) so why spend an arm and a leg on them?

Someone's Going to be a Big Sister!

It's been 8 weeks since I found out. Hubby didn't want to tell anybody, so I decided to abide by his wishes. But now it's time to let the cat out of the bag. Baby #2 is on its way! I'm 12 weeks pregnant now and everything has gone well. I got to hear the baby's (strong and easy to find!) heartbeat at 10 1/2 weeks. We had a little scare around 6 weeks when I had three days of small amounts of bleeding, but that stopped, and then the morning sickness kicked in to reassure me that I was indeed, pregnant. Unlike my last pregnancy, when I craved potatoes in any shape or form, this time I'm craving cheese. Which has done wonders for my pregnant digestive system. Have I mentioned I hate chugging Metamucil?

My due date is April 27th although I know from experience (Princess was 2 weeks late and had to be induced) that a due date doesn't mean much. My sister, the one with a son 6 weeks older than Princess, is also expecting a baby in April. Hers is due two weeks before mine. So, if she goes a week late and I go a week early, we could save the relatives a trip to the hospital and kill two birds with one stone. But I know better than to count on that happening.

I'm nervous about adding a second child. I'm looking forward to having a baby again and am more confident this time because I know a lot of little tricks that make taking care of a newborn easier, or at least bearable. Of course, there is always the chance that everything that worked with Princess will irritate this baby immensely. What I'm nervous about though, is taking care of a toddler and a newborn. Especially since the toddler is very possessive of me and her toys. If I hold another child, she has a meltdown and tries to push them off my lap. Because Princess adores babies so much and is such a good little mother to her dolls, I think she'll love her baby brother or sister unless I'm holding him or her. Which could be a problem because newborns require a lot of holding. This time, I have a sling I plan to use which should help at least some, especially since I will breastfeed this one as well.

When I was pregnant with Princess, I didn't really start to show until I was over halfway done with my pregnancy. This time, I was wearing maternity clothes by 10 weeks. The fact that I'm a little pudgy around the middle and am wearing maternity clothes has made it a little harder to keep the pregnancy a secret. I thought I'd kept it a secret from most of my coworkers at the bed and breakfast, but apparently they had it figured out anyway.

My doctor told me that it's normal to show sooner with the second baby because your stomach muscles are already relaxed from the first pregnancy. No offense, doc, but that one was kind of obvious. Even though I lost all the baby weight and then some, my stomach never quite looked the same as before pregnancy. And by the way, although I was pleasantly surprised at the way the weight just kind of disappeared after having Princess, I hold out no such hopes for this one. If it does happen, great! But if it doesn't, I understand that it can be much harder to lose the weight the second time around.

Just a note to the person who left a comment on my last post about the pacifier saga-I will try to blog about how I got Princess to eat and stopped stressing myself out about her weight. However, just in case I don't get to it, leave another comment with an email address or something and I'll definitely talk to you about what's going on with your child. That way I could answer your direct questions better instead of just writing broadly about the subject. I know how rough it can be and I know it realllllllly helps to talk to someone who's been there.

The Dog Days of Summer

Actually, I lied in the title for this post. This summer has been surprisingly cool. When we went to Wisconsin last weekend, I had to bring sweatshirts and jackets for everyone which I usually don't even think of packing for a trip in mid-July. But I'm not complaining. I've never been a big fan of sweating profusely. In fact, I moved out of my parents' house when I was 17, not because I wasn't getting along with them, but because my best friend had invited me to move in with her family and they had central air while my parents' house was poorly equipped with a small window air conditioner.

The summer I was pregnant was great. Everyone told me how hot I was going to be, but I was freezing the whole time I was pregnant and never really got much use out of my summer maternity clothes. In fact, every time I complain about being cold now (which is often) Hubby asks me if there's some news I'm keeping from him.

When I was around 3 months pregnant, we moved into the basement apartment of a friend from church. The back half of the apartment is built into a hill, but in the front we have a huge covered porch. Anyways, the lady upstairs is always warm, and so she turns down the central air until she's comfortable. However, as we all learned in science class, hot air rises. Therefore, on top of the basement being naturally cooler since it's built into the hill and geting absolutely no direct sunlight due to the covered wraparound porch, when it's cool enough upstairs it is frigid downstairs. It's typical for most people to add a layer or two when they venture outdoors in the winter and shed a layer (hopefully not two!) in the summer whether they be indoors or out. Not us. Due to the glacial temperature in my house, I vastly underestimate the outside temperature when selecting clothes for myself and Princess in the morning. When we go outside, I'm always surprised at just how hot and muggy it is and find myself hastily shedding layers or going back inside to change from long sleeves to short. Princess's summer wardrobe of adorable sunsuits and shorts has gone untouched for most of the summer because even when it's warm enough to wear them outside, it's not warm enough inside. Sweaters and sweatshirts the standard uniform in my house.

I am definitely enjoying summer and dreading winter. I love that Princess can play outside this year. Last summer, she was using the army crawl as her main method of travel, and that wasn't exactly conducive to being outside on the rough cement or in the stain-producing grass. Winter is nice for about the first week. After that, bundling up in 18 layers to go outside, driving through near-blizzard conditions to get to work, testing the car brakes on the 4 inches of ice covering the road, and dealing with weekly frostbite all become a tad annoying. Minnesota is not a good place to live if you don't care for driving on treacherous roads. However, summer isn't much better in that aspect because of the relentless road construction. Like they say around here, "There are only 2 seasons in Minnesota. Winter and Road Construction."

Unsolicited Advice:
Even in the middle of summer, the weather can still turn cool in the evening. I always keep a spare sweater in the car for Louise just in case.