Third Trimester Ups and Downs

Last night I had heartburn that exceeds any sort of heartburn I have ever heard about. Is it possible for heartburn to feel like Braxton-Hicks? I've had heartburn before...in the area of my heart. This was a pain that started in my heart and traveled down through the entire surface of my belly into my hips.

I was freaking out a little, wondering if I had done something wrong. Paul did not help. He asked me if I had cooked my lunch turkey enough and then wondered aloud if we would know the baby was in distress before it died. He had had a lot of wine.

I ended up sleeping at an incline, with my upper body propped up on two pillows (SO not my style - without a belly, I sleep on my tummy with no pillows). Every time I tried to lie back down, the heartburn ripped through the front of my body. What's the deal with that??

It doesn't help that I've started reading Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives, by Annie Murphy Paul. I had been interested in the book since I read a review in the fall, and my Susie gave it to me for Christmas. Now that I've started it, this is not a book I think I need to read. It's intense. As you can imagine from the title, it's the sort of book that makes a pregnant mother feel like there's no possible way to do enough for the unborn child.

I love being pregnant. I feel like I want to keep doing it so I can do it better each time. However, my pregnancy style is sort of the same as my toddler parenting style: I can (and should) only do so much so that my child can learn and grow without my constant intervention. So as a pregnant lady, I'm not always the best chooser of baby-enhancing foods. Sure, I try to eat the best meals possible: I aim for protein and vegetables, I've reduced my gluten intake a ton, I've cut juice and fruits because of the sugar, and I feel like a saint when I eat orange vegetables. But I've also got a sweet tooth and a need for carbonated beverages. So when I read about how my food choices now can affect my baby's predisposition for heart disease later on in life, I sort of feel like taking a butter knife to my eyeballs. Instead, I remind myself that I don't eat McDonald's and that I'm trying my damned best.

In other third trimester news, I'm on a short break from work, so given the extra time at home, I just want to nest, nest, nest. Today I bought my first box of infant diapers. Now I want the baby's room painted, I'm shopping for new cribs and bedding, and I've got the urge to organize every closet in the house. I actually scrubbed the top of the fridge today.

Four weeks from tomorrow is the last day of school before the long March break, which means that four weeks from now is when my summer "vacation" starts. Then, watch out Martha Stewart. Can I hold out until then to get my nesting on?