Third Trimester

I really can't believe I will grow much bigger than what you see above, but when I talk to mothers I always receive the same reaction and they all say the same thing: "Oh, you just wait..." YIKES! is what I think about that.  I am big now. So big that, and I know it sounds funny, my belly bumps into things all the time. I really hope that Zoe Lu's reflexes are developing with ease and she is quickly learning how to protect herself inside my uterus, for I am not much help from the outside.

 See that crazy hair up there? And, I even brushed it before this photo. I have no idea what is going on with my hair. I did just get it cut and it is a bit straighter, but still weird. The cool girl who cut my hair repeatedly commented on the "new hairs" I have around my forehead. I hadn't really noticed those before, but I do have a lot more "fly-aways" in the front now too.

The fur on my arms is still growing like a forest fire. I just have no idea what to do about that. I was really close to shaving my arms the other night, but thankfully I resisted the urge. I just told myself that it would probably grow back even thicker. Probably true, right?

I complete week 27 on Tuesday. According to the books I was supposed to stop reading (for they really freak me out) I am just starting my third trimester. This is the final stretch, the last few miles of my marathon, the last couple waves of the session...the end is now in sight. Well sorta..., December feels like a long time away.

Cesar, Zoe and I are flying to the States on Wednesday. Zoe doesn't have a passport or a visa yet, and I am really excited about sneaking a half Latina into the country without any documentation. I used to dream about sneaking Cesar into the States in my checked bag, but we went the legal route and he has a tourist visa. Zoe Lu, on the other hand, doesn't have legal documents. I just hope she stays quiet from when we land in DC until we depart three weeks later.

This is easy now.

Yup, easy breezy. All the books I have been reading and stopped reading seem to focus on lots of bad things and feelings that should be happening, and I used to dwell upon those chapters. But, I have discovered that what is missing oftentimes is the good and fun parts of this feat. (And, boy, I sure have changed my tone, huh?)

I have completed 25 weeks and I feel great. In fact, if it weren't for reflective glass I would totally forget I am pregnant. Physically, I feel unstoppable. Now, I don't have Wonder Woman powers like some women have told me they experienced, but I really do feel fine. I would like some Wonder Woman powers though...

 I walk a lot, practice yoga, swim, bump into things and do have some anxiety about the future. But, I have inherited a strong affinity for needless worry from my mother, so I chalk my anxiety up as one of my mother's faults, not due to the pregnancy. I did freak out recently because a day and a half passed and the very, very strange fetal movements I now feel stopped, totally stopped. I had a great routine going and always felt Zoe Lu during Shavasana (the calm section that ends a yoga practice), immediately after eating and when I put my feet up on the wall before sleeping.

So, after an uncomfortable 30 hours I freaked out and called my doctor and took his (and my sister-in-law's) advice and drank some OJ, laid on my left side and Zoe made her presence known. She just must have been chilling for a few hours, and maybe I should learn how to chill a bit too. Maybe.

Oh, and, this is funny. One day I was walking back from the local surf beach and feeling a bit down because the waves were perfect and I long to be on my surfboard, but, anyway, I was just walking. Walking and thinking about nothing and suddenly...BOOM! I just fell down. My knee hit hard and my palms struck some gnarly rocks. It didn't hurt too bad, and I have a cool scab on my knee now. It was just so weird. I just fell. All I could think about is how the only thing I am supposed to avoid is falling. So, yeah, I fell.

As you can see, I am undoubtedly pregnant now. And, I have some new ground rules for the general public when you see a pregnant woman and feel overwhelmed to make a comment:

1. Never inflate your cheeks and pretend to be eating food. 
2. Make absolutely zero comments about her size.
3. Never say anything about what she is wearing (or not wearing).
4. As she eats (even ice cream for the third time that day), do not comment.
5. Do, please, look at her face when you talk to her. 
6. If she doesn't want to sit down, do not insist (but, thanks for offering her a chair).
7. If you are man, never claim to understand how she feels.
8. If you are a mom, share that secret "I totally understand" look with her.

What else is new?. . . Oh, hair!
I have an enormous amount of hair on my arms and should shave my legs twice daily. I have read that the hair on my head should look amazing now, but I didn't get that part. In fact, my head hair has this new fizzy, dried out, circa 1991 at-home perm look. And, lots of my head hair falls out, despite what the books say about it not falling out now and clumping out after birth. I just hope that once Zoe Lu makes her appearance the insane amount of hair on my arms departs. If not, I will start to dread it.

And, I have a funny line of hair straight down the middle of my belly. I don't know why, but that line always makes me laugh. I think I am tickled by the perfection and furriness of this line, and I have no idea why it is there.

So, hairy arms in tow, I am off to walk for a bit and soak up some afternoon sunbeams. I just hope I don't fall down...