The secret code

I made eye contact with another pregnant girl on campus today.  There's a certain camaraderie that exists between pregnant women, especially third-trimester pregnant women on college campuses.  Like a secret code.  We communicated to each other with our brief eye contact and friendly little smile and half-nod.  It was like we both said, "You're having a baby a few weeks before finals too? That stinks. Good luck." Or maybe like, "Do you also have to pause to catch your breath every 30 steps?" or "So how do you enjoy being a classic BYU stereotype?"

I remember one of my first days of school my freshman year.  I had class in the SWKT, in one of those big auditorium classrooms.  The first thing I noticed was how many married people were in my class.  It was so weird! I thought, I can't possibly be old enough to go to school with married people. This is too weird.  I remember sitting in a seat and realizing the guy sitting next to me had a wedding ring on.  The whole class all I could think about was, am I not supposed to sit here? Is there some unwritten rule that you don't sit next to married people? Does he think it's weird that I sat next to him? It wasn't on purpose! It's the first seat I saw!  The other thing I noticed was how many pregnant women were waddling about on campus.  I distinctly remember thinking: that will not be me.  

Not that I wasn't excited about marriage and kids, but just watching some of those women shuffle to their classes with their heavy backpacks and largely protruding bellies didn't look ideal.  I almost feel bad telling this story because I think about how happy I am to have my own protruding belly, heavy backpack, and yes, very distinct waddle.  I definitely didn't think I would be here while I was still in college, but I feel so lucky that I am!

At 34 weeks I am:

-Sleeping about 1 1/2 hours at a time

-Going through Tums like they're sour cream and onion Pringles

-Always craving sour cream and onion Pringles

-Unable to eat anything citrus (it burns my throat too bad and makes my ever-present heartburn increase to an unbearable level)

-Reading about a page every couple days out the book "What To Expect When You're Expecting," and then getting too scared, having a little breakdown, and making Blake read the rest.....only to repeat this cycle every 3-4 days.

-Stressing out over not having a name yet.

-Using three very strategically placed pillows to sit comfortably at a chair and avoid the constant stabbing pain in the middle of my back.  (Middle of my back? That is the weirdest spot to have back pain.  How does that even happen?)

-Nesting like a crazy person (read: the inside of my fridge is seriously SO CLEAN!) 

-Getting a lot of funny stares from freshmen on campus
-Hoping that the non-maternity shirts and pants I've been wearing will shrink back to normal after this pregnancy.

And another picture, because every time someone pulls a camera out, I instinctively turn to the side to give them the classic pregnancy shot.  Sign #432 that pregnancies last too long. Six more weeks, come on baby!