27 weeks

I am now in the last week of my 2nd trimester.  In less than 13 weeks Baby Jake will be here!  I am so thankful that the last 27 weeks of my pregnancy have been really good, and now I am mentally and physically preparing myself for what's to come in the next couple months.  On Tuesday (exactly 27 weeks pregnant) I woke up, felt great, got dressed, went to my internship, went to class, and by the end of the day I looked down and realized that my belly had grown significantly (was it there that morning?!).  If I didn't look pregnant before, I certainly look it now!

I am also now starting to experience some pregnancy symptoms.  First of all I have chocolate on the brain...I can't get enough of it!  True, I've always been a chocolate lover but this time my cravings feel stronger.  I also have some lower back pain.  Then early this morning I woke up to a very painful cramp in my right calf.  It actually woke me up and I found myself half asleep exclaiming, "Ow! Ow! Ow! My right calf! It hurts!"  I stretched it, Chris massaged it, the pain went away and I was able to go back to sleep.  I felt comforted having Chris, my ever-so-calm husband, right there soothing me.  I have to admit it did scare me a little...if I reacted that badly to a leg cramp, how will I do when I start having contractions?  When I got up for the day, I took Laila on a nice early morning walk and could not help but think about it.  But instead of worrying, I found myself enjoying the fresh air and all the beautiful scenery we were passing.  We walked by the elementary school down the street and saw all the kids getting dropped off...I imagined walking Jake to school.  We walked past Heritage Park, which currently has a pumpkin patch...I envisioned taking Jake there.  Walked by all the nice houses in the neighborhood...I pictured us taking Jake trick-or-treating...I realized that the inevitable pain that I will have to endure will soon be forgotten after our baby joins our world.

Another important realization I had in the last week is that pregnancies last 9 months for a reason.  In the beginning I was not as excited as I am now.  I think my fear of giving birth overshadowed my excitement.  But somewhere along the way my feelings evolved as my belly grew bigger.  Now I can hardly wait til January!  I just pray that the 3rd trimester will not be too miserable to enjoy.  Most importantly, I hope that the baby continues to grow healthy and strong.