Week 29 - Hello, sciatica, my old friend

Had to let the buckles out on my Berks and I get gimpier as the days go by. I'm getting twinges of sciatica, which was so bad during my first pregnancy I had to quit working during my seventh month. And here we are on the eve of a new seventh month, and those painful flashes shooting out of my hip are bringing back those memories. My belly is heavy, and sadly, I am not avoiding stretch marks after all, their jagged red streaks appearing along my under-navel belly region to join their silvered cousins from another pregnancy long ago. But my total weight gain so far is only 22 pounds. Will I explode during my last three months, though, or will I continue to gain sanely?

The napmonster has returned, but isn't as debilitating as it was first trimester. Now it's 1-2 hour naps instead of 3-4 hour naps. And I seem to have made it through the worst of the heat wave, but not without some blowback to the rest of the population. I'm still taking everything personally, finding myself irritated when I don't have the money to do something when it used to be I'd just accept it and move on, or finding myself insulted when people make light of how far out in the country I live. A huge busload of people that includes some professional friends of mine are a scant 8 miles down the road at a winery I've been meaning to visit, but knowing I could go there and get the tasting/tour for less than $10 really made me question whether I should shell out $40 to go spend a couple of hours there with the busload when... I don't need the bus. As it was, the napmonster attacked me right around the time everyone would have gotten there, so... I'm lame. Again. But also annoyed that it takes a $40/head special event to get people to come out to my neck of the woods. It would be lovely if a couple of people would organize some carpools to come back out here during the prettiest season of the year, since it's been really difficult for me to get out of the valley even just to get to work since getting pregnant. Whine, whine, whine. I know. I should get used to the changing dynamics of my social life. It's going to be this way for a while.

We did get out for a spell last night to hang out with some friends of ours who are getting ready to move to Alaska. I think I'm more wired for those smaller, more intimate meetups these days anyway. The 46" waist is very heavy hanging off that back, you know.

The baby feels awesome, even if I wish he weren't digging into my ribs and my bladder at the same time. Every now and then, he'll rotate such that the head is right in the pocket where my gallbladder used to be. It hurts a lot, but is also funny to feel his head right there, as if I could cradle him right off. He never stays there for long, though. He seems to be settling toward more head-down stuff. I just hope he stays there.