8 months

This whole "I'm gonna have a baby" thing is starting to get very, very real.

• This month started the uncomfortableness that I was told about. The achy hips times ten. Leg and foot cramps. Back pain that doesn't go away. Baby feet in my ribs. Nerve pain in my tailbone. Trouble breathing. I feel VERY pregnant. But I like it! While these things are inconvenient and certainly no picnic, it's fun to feel pregnant and to know it's getting closer! The more uncomfortable I get, the closer baby gets. So bring on the uncomfortableness!
• Bending over is near impossible. When I do have to do it, I can feel my organs smooshing. Gross, right?
• She moves so freaking much! It's so weird! I wear a badge around my neck at work that rests on my stomach and more than once, she has kicked me so hard where it hangs that my badge has flown a bit into the air. It's hilarious. I can see her moving all around. She will make my stomach bulge out on one side. We can see where her feet are and head is sometimes. It's so much fun. We will lay in bed and just watch my stomach move. It's the best entertainment. 
• The movement is way different than before. While she still kicks sometimes, it's more that I can feel her move. I feel her roll around and all kinds of stuff. I love it.
• I want candy all the time. Candy bars. I love candy bars.
• I can't sit very long. 20 minutes max and then I need to stand. But then I can only stand for 20 minutes too. I need to constantly be changing positions.
• I love when people ask me how long until I'm due and I can say 8 weeks. THAT'S NOTHING!!!!!
• My limbs and butt fall asleep within minutes.
• I have been having super weird dreams.
• I dreamt about the baby for the first time two weeks ago. I was jealous of the women who said the dreamt about the baby all the time. I was excited to finally have a dream! Even though it was kinda weird. I was trying to breast feed her but she kept falling asleep. And then I had to go pump and teach my dad how to feed her because he was going to be my nanny and I was going back to work.
• Speaking of pee. I do that a lot.
• I'm always thirsty. Which is good because I need a lot of water. But then.. I pee more.
• I can't jog anymore. I was doing very light jogging up until a month and a half ago. Now it's terrible. I feel all my insides go up and then back down and all land on my bladder which of course makes me want to pee. I'll stick to walking from here on out.
• No stretch marks yet. Occasional swelling in my hands and feet. It comes and goes and it's never very bad.
• I remember back a few months people telling me any time I said I was hot that it was because of the baby. That wasn't really true until this month. Back then, I was just hot because I was hot. Nowadays.. I am ALWAYS hot. We have been sleeping with the air conditioning on for weeks and I feel bad for Nathan but even with the AC blasting at night I still wake up sweating. He carries our little portable heater around with him. So very thankful I will have this baby before it gets too hot!
• The hormones of the first trimester are back. I cry at the end of basically every TV show I watch. I am also really impatient and snappy.
• It's so hard to get up! Especially getting out of bed. I have to kinda roll myself over. It's funny.
• I have terrible congestion that I am told will last until the baby comes. I am a nose spray addict and I don't even care! The other night I couldn't find the nose spray before bed and I told Nathan that I would literally die right there right then if we didn't find it. Pregnancy might make me a little dramatic.
• My favorite thing in the world is when strangers ask me my due date or congratulate me. It sounds dumb I know but I swear I'm not just an attention whore. It just makes it all seem more real and exciting! I had people tell me that strangers, as well as friends and family, would be making super rude comments all the time. But I haven't encountered that at all yet. Knock on wood.
• I haven't had strangers rub my belly. People always ask me if I have. I have had people I know rub my belly, but to be honest, it doesn't freak me out. One time a former student saw me in the hall and rubbed my belly and THAT freaked me out. Sorry 9th grade boy, but you are not allowed to touch me.
• I am all approved for my maternity leave! It wasn't very hard considering I am due 2 weeks before the school year ends. I want to stay as long as I can so my students' education doesn't depend on some substitute I don't know. My last day of work will be the 17th. Unless she decides to surprise us early!
• Nursery is almost done. All the furniture is set up, it just needs some decorating, which is the best part!!

We are counting down the days and ripping the links off our paper chain. So excited for this little girl to get here!!