the honeymoon's over ...
Throughout my pregnancy, I've been eagerly anticipating the last month, just out of sheer excitement for the finale. But now that it's here, I understand why people call the second trimester the "honeymoon" of pregnancy. Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. Aside from my toilet bonding in the first few months, I have had an easy, relatively painless time thus far. And I am grateful for that. But the last few weeks? All I can say is ... UGH. The size of my belly. The pressure on my pelvis. One little nasty, throbbing varicose vein in an inconvenient location (yet thankfully hidden from public view). Lower back pain. Hip pain. Sciatic pain. My legs feeling like they are detached from my p

the waiting place
After a heartwarming baby shower at my sister's house last Sunday, I lay in bed, my mind racing. The last few months have flown by, and I still feel like I have so much to do to prepare for the little girl who will soon be living in our house ... that said,

If all else fails, tell her she's beautiful
That is the sage advice from our middle-aged, mother-of-three, doula turned childbirth preparation teacher. At the second meeting of our Kaiser "Preparing for Childbirth" class last night, she was trying to drill this into the labor support partners' heads. "She needs encouragement, and I don't me

meet ... woman of the Amazon
There's probably no natural process that alters one's body as rapidly as pregnancy. Your physical form is being quickly mutated ... in my case, from fairly slender girl to round, voluptuous Amazon woman. Sure, there are times I feel beautiful and one with my body, but as th