34 weeks

One of my friends mentioned that I haven't put many pictures of my baby belly on the blog, and I told her it was because we've hardly taken any! With Madeleine, I took pictures every week, but I guess the novelty has worn off, because I think this time I'll be lucky if I have one for every trimester. But here is one from last week, when I was 34 weeks along. Please ignore the mess in the kitchen - I think Madeleine and I had just finished making a batch of banana muffins.

This pregnancy hasn't been too dissimilar from the first in terms of symptoms; I have mostly only had to deal with fatigue, heartburn, and occasional lower back pain, so I feel pretty fortunate. This baby is definitely more active than Madeleine, but I figure that's because they have more room to move around. I haven't kept track of my weight gain at all, so I can't compare that, but I do feel like this baby will be bigger than M was, and my midwife (the same as last time) seems to think so as well. I haven't really had many cravings this time, but I do enjoy the pickle-avocado-cheese sandwiches that I loved while pregnant with Madeleine, and my ice cream consumption has significantly decreased. 

However, because my life is just so completely different this time and the novelty of pregnancy is gone, it feels quite different. It feels longer, and more uncomfortable. I think I'm complaining more - in fact, I must be because Steve has several times said "So I guess we're only having two kids?" But it isn't that I wouldn't want to go through this again - it is still an amazing experience (with a pretty wonderful end result) - it's simply that I've realized how different it will be each time, even when the pregnancy itself is pretty similar.