Likes & Dislikes

Since this blog is really taking the place of me keeping a pregnancy journal, I decided I needed to make a list of my likes and dislikes of pregnancy:

DISLIKES (in no particular order)

1. Shopping for maternity clothes....especially when you're only 5'3"!

2. People who think it's okay to touch your belly without asking. And when they do ask and I say no, because that's my right, they act upset or offended.

3. When other mom's tell you a story and it begins with "I hate to tell you this but....". Actually, this is only a 'sort-of' dislike, because I do like hearing all the details, no matter how bad they are!

4. Not being able to bend over. Or forgetting and trying to bend over....it hurts!

5. Trying to put on socks with your foot propped up on the opposite leg. I still haven't figured out how to do this...my socks always end up crooked! Which leads me to #6.....

6. ....not being able to wear socks because your feet get swollen. At least it's still sort of warm enough to wear sandals or flip flops all the time.

7. Not being able to really hug Brad like I could before. Sometimes when you have a bad day, you just need a big hug, and it's hard to do with a torpedo belly! So we've resorted to the sideways hug....it'll have to do for another few weeks.

8. Being grumpy/mean at times when it's completely inappropriate. Like at work. Or when Brad (or anyone, but it's usually him) is being totally nice, but I just can't help but find one little thing to complain about because I think I might explode.

9. Being emotional with no explanation whatsoever. Like when we were watching one of the last espisodes of Scrubs. It's a comedy and I'm bawling!

10. Trying to figure out just how we're going to do this whole parenting thing and keep my marriage and all my other relationships going at the same time. People have been doing it forever, but it's just all the unknowns that get to me.

11. Not knowing when I'll go into labor, where I'll be when I go into labor, if/when my water will break, if Cliff will come early or late, etc. I'm a planner - the anticipation is killing me!

12. My family not being able to be at the hospital when he's born. But I'm going to need those extra couple of days with my mom once we get home! It's a trade off!

13. Working through two different busy seasons at work - one in my first trimester and one in my third trimester. We didn't plan it very well!

14. Going to the bathroom.....all the time!

LIKES (in no particular order)

1. Being able to share with other moms what it's like to be pregnant. Like knowing how it feels when the baby kicks, rolls, has the hiccups, etc. I think it's given me a stronger connection than before with my mom/sister/family/friends.

2. Having Brad feel Cliff kick and seeing the excitement on his face.

3. Having an all-time excuse to be tired, to eat more than normal, to be grumpy, to be emotional, to get out of doing something, to leave somewhere early, etc.

4. Knowing that in a few weeks I'll have this little miracle that we've been talking about for so long, and wondering who he'll look like (my guess is an Engle).

5. For 9 months, you don't have to worry about sucking in your gut! That's one thing that I'm really going to miss....not worrying about if I have a muffin top, or if something makes me look fat. As Brad told me the other day - "you're super duper pregnant, who cares!"

6. Keeping secrets! We found out we were pregnant when I was about 6-8 weeks along, but we didn't tell anyone until I hit the 12-week point. It was easier than I thought, and kind of fun that Brad and I were the only ones that knew. And keeping Cliff's real name a secret has been the most fun! I thought I would be really bad at it, but so far so good! It's funny how many people try to guess the name....or try to get one of us to slip and tell. We've pretty much had the name picked out since before we even knew if it was a boy or a girl, so I'm really proud of both of us for keeping it in this whole time!

7. When people ask me how I'm doing, it's like they really mean it since I'm pregnant. You know, you always say in passing "How are you?", but most of the time it's more small talk than anything. It's kind of nice that people actually want to know how I'm feeling. At least that's how I take it!

8. People don't seem to want to stand too close to me. Like I'm contagious or something! Except the other day in the elevator, this woman was definitely standing way too close to me for no reason....it was so weird and awkward! I've also noticed that people hold doors for me more often, and the funniest thing is when people walk through the revolving doors in my office building more slowly because I'm going through at the same time. I can still walk, people, I'm just pregnant!! haha

9. Going home after work and putting my feet up....and letting Brad cook dinner! Not that he doesn't cook dinner most of the time anyway, but I usually help him (or try to!), or at least sit in the kitchen and talk to him while he's cooking. But the last few weeks, I've had an excuse to just go lay on the couch. Might as well use it while I can!

10. This whole 'before the baby comes' deadline thing has been great! I made a list early this summer of all the things that "needed" to be done around the house before the baby gets here. Thanks to Brad and my parents, most of the list has been crossed off! We still haven't painted the hallway, but we did buy the paint! My guess is it's not going to get done until probably next summer sometime. Which is fine with me....I don't even want to take that on right now!

11. Seeing the amount of patience Brad has had with me while I'm prego - it can only mean he'll have that same patience with the baby, right?

12. Knowing what a great dad Brad is going to be....and hoping that I can be a great mom! We've had some pretty good examples, so hopefully we can follow in their footsteps!

13. Baby showers! We were lucky enough to have one in Indiana thrown by my family, and one in Colorado thrown by Brad's family. And another one this week - Brad's work is throwing us one on Thursday. They're so much fun!

14. Buying baby stuff....it's expensive, but who doesn't like to shop? Especially for cute little boy stuff!