Exhaustion

I am 29 weeks and I had a prenatal appointment today. It went really well. I found out that I'm anemic, which explains why I've been so tired lately. I'm glad that the exhaustion can be treated with iron supplements and not just giving birth. I hope that once I start taking the supplements I'll have more energy. Please pray for me to have enough energy to finish up my school work. My papers are due two weeks from today and the exhaustion is making it really hard for me to think clearly. I wrote a paragraph the other day that resembled a rope made of three strands - different topics all twisted together. Ack!

The Belly, IV; Sleepy Mommy

You want pictures?! I've got pictures! Here's Sarina, 28.5 weeks pregnant.

Something happened a couple of weeks ago. We think that maybe Micah is too big to fit back over Sarina's pelvis anymore ... and he sort of just "popped" out. And out popped Sarina's belly too! It really was an amazing change and seemed very sudden (though perhaps it was happening gradually and we just didn't notice).

Micah being bigger, Sarina notices him moving a whole lot more often, and I've had the opportunity to feel him more too. Yesterday, Sarina was sitting on the porch and called me out to feel Micah moving around. He was pushing hard enough to make my hand move! Fortunately, this doesn't actually hurt Sarina.

With all his movement, I decided to say hello, with very interesting results. Immediately after my "Hello, Micah!" all motion stopped. I think that he might find my voice a little startling, as this wasn't the first time that this happened. Who knows what is going on in that little baby mind, but it does seem that he doesn't know what to think when I talk to him. Very amusing.

Sarina has just three more weeks before her papers are all due. Being a mom and a student looks tiring, doesn't it?

Crazy Baby

A couple of evenings ago, Micah was just plain crazy.

At the time, Sarina and were up watching a little TV (Style Network!). I was taking a break from the nearly non-stop writing I've been doing, and Sarina was taking a break from reading for one of her classes. All of a sudden, Micah just starting pummeling Sarina. After the first four or five strikes, she called me over to see if I could feel him too.

It was like Micah was using Sarina as a punching bag. It was incredible! I sat with my hand on Sarina's belly for five to ten minutes, and the barrage was constant. At one point, I thought I felt more continuous pressure against my hand, perhaps from an arm or leg. Pushing on it to try to determine what it was, Micah got struck Sarina again, surprising both of us and making Sarina jump a little bit. I gave him a little talking to about his behavior toward his mother, but had to leave it at that; it's rather difficult to put your unborn son in a time out (haha).

Sarina is 27 weeks pregnant now. 13 to go!

How I'm Feeling

We haven't posted in a while. Brett and I have been very busy with school and the pregnancy. For a while my ligaments were killing me. As the uterus grows, the ligaments attaching it to the pelvis stretch. Initially, the baby is too small to rest on the pelvis so his/her weight is on those stretched ligaments. This = OUCH! Our typical day during this stint in the pregnancy went something like this:
help Sarina out of bed, go to school, come home, make/eat dinner, do some homework, massage Sarina, go to bed...repeat
People who hear about the massage are usually like, "Oooo, massage. So sexy." Let me tell you. This was no sexy massage. My muscles were all knotted and tense - it was painful! If Brett didn't massage me then I was in so much pain the morning from my ligaments...yuck.

Anyway, that's over now because the baby is big enough to rest on my pelvis. Woo! But now, I feel big. Most women I talk to really want the pregnancy to be over and want that baby out during the last month. I have about three months to go and I'm like, "OK, when's the baby coming?" I'm ready to be done. I'm heavy and slow and awkward. I can't carry stuff. Everyone is very nice asking me questions about how the pregnancy is going and being supportive. But sometimes, I'm thinking, "I'm more than a pregnant lady! Don't you want to know what I think about Tertullian's treatise 'On Patience'?" I'm also cranky. At about 9pm I'm not quite ready to go to sleep, but I'm incapable of having a normal conversation. Poor Brett. Sometimes I crank at him, but I'm working on that.

For the most part, this has been an easy pregnancy. Micah is pretty chill in utero. He moves, but he doesn't keep me awake at night. His movements aren't painful although sometimes when he moves my belly feels really tight. I'm not sick anymore so I can eat anything I want. However, sans pregnancy I have a great metabolism so I can eat anything and not gain a pound. Now, my body is hyper-drive storage center. I've gained a lot of weigh, already more than the recommended 25-30 pounds (who came up with that number anyway?). But, what's a girl to do? It'll all come off with breastfeeding.

So, that's how I'm feeling.

Oh yeah. Micah is due July 11th. Here's the timeline until then:
April 19th - present candidacy questions and statement of faith to session
May 11th - final papers and finals are due, but classes aren't over so I still have to go to class
May 24th - graduation!
May 30th - present candidacy questions and statement of faith to CPM
June 2nd-3rd - move
June 4th - go before Prebytery to get candidacy approved

That's not to mention all the other things that are going on in between all that stuff. Whew!