Outside our window is a snowman! It didn’t actually snow, but it hailed incredibly for about 30 minutes and the children next door have gone outside to make their first snowman, about 3 feet tall with a variety of different hats. This could be a once in a lifetime experience. The sun will be out in a few minutes, for sure. The weather has been beautiful in the high 70s everyday. Our Caribbean tans have yet to fade. I’m careful not to get too much sun as I sweat even more than I used to, which is a lot, and I know neither me nor baby want to overheat. Also, many pregnant women have told me their skin was permanently scarred from sun damage while expecting. I always brushed aside everyone’s comments about what awful things happen to your body over these nine months, as I liked to think I wasn’t so vain as to care about what war wounds this incredible journey left me with, but I’ll admit I’ve been quite startled to observe some of these changes already. After investing in some ultra-strength Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, the midday stretching is more under control, but sometimes I forget just how little skin I have left to spare. A morning wide-armed yawn, or even my attempts to relive my synchronized swimming glory days while on holiday reminded me of how tight my tummy now is. Putting my hands on my hips is the funniest as my fingers can barely grab at anything and only cover about 1/3 of the distance they should! I’m grateful my belly button hasn’t yet popped, but it is tiny and has a hard ridge where it’s tightened and I’m quite sure one of these days it’ll no longer exist. The veins in my legs are the most startling. My kind husband and mother say they aren’t bad at all, but by the end of a long day at school, in the bright yellow light of our bathroom, they looked scary to me. They hurt too, and itch. I thought that might be dry skin also, but I looked it up and it’s normal for bulging veins to itch terribly. It makes me queezy to itch them too much. If only the ones in my arms were bursting for my blood tests! It’s now normal to wake up with a damp t-shirt, something that takes some getting used to. What’s more, Baby D gets to dictate how I sleep. It seems that sometimes no position will do. I’m now officially ‘la gordita’ at school now, but I’m proud of it. And, the movements are getting more pronounced now. Sometimes it feels like Baby is doing the Tic Tic Tac in the womb, an old Brazilian favorite of the Hare girls, other times it is clear he/she is just getting as comfortable as possible. And I’m happy to oblige. When I turn, so does he/she. When I jiggle, so does he/she. And boy, when I eat, so does he/she, or maybe that’s just a victory dance! Yey, I got her to gain another pound! From the beginning of the pregnancy, I’ve only gained 7 lbs, which is embarrassing to admit, but that’s only because I lost 15 with morning sickness in those first 12 weeks. I was a gordita before, for sure! The pounds are coming on quicker now. But, I wouldn’t trade even one of these things. I love that I get asked in the street when our baby is due now, and I love never feeling lonely on the long bus rides to and from my best, best friend in the world.
The great news of this weekend is that our condo is rented. I am very relieved as it was/is not fun watching our savings account empty out each month. My mother, more generous and diligent than ever, showed over 30 people before finally finding someone who wanted to pay the price, wasn’t a loon, and would move in before we go bankrupt. We are so grateful to her! We’re still waiting for the deposit and such to clear, but I’m confident… Anyway, it’s back to school again tomorrow and I’m dreading a 5-day week! All I want is June to be here and our baby to be in our arms!
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