I Have a Soccer Ball In My Belly.

"How are you feeling?" is by far the most common question I get lately as my belly grows. And grows. And grows.
"Do you know what you're having yet?" is the second. The answer is: We are hoping for a human baby. OH, you meant the gender! We are keeping that little tidbit private until our gender-reveal shower in July!
I will answer the first question however, with two simple words: Belly Problems. My body has been changing rapidly (at least it feels rapid to me) and dramatically over the last two months. I consistently misjudge how far I stick out in the front. For example, here are the things I've run into lately-- some of which I have LITERALLY run into:

• When Trying on an Ergo Baby Carrier: We were in Babies R Us and I noticed a big old hole out the bottom of the thick belt around my non-existent waist. I got really worried, thinking, "Isn't the baby going to fall out??" Luckily Casey, who often functions as my brain when I'm tired at the end of the day, reminded me I indeed have a significant baby belly. After I give birth that will hopefully go away. Then the Ergo will fit, and voila, baby won't fall out the bottom of the thing.

It, of course, fit Casey just fine and dandy. What's in there, you ask? A 7 pound bag of beans. I knew that would come in handy someday.

•  When Making Food in the Kitchen: While chopping, pouring, or stirring I often find something gets in my way when scooting up close to the counter. Oh yeah. It's that inflated belly with the cuteness inside. Learning to be careful, especially when scooting at a higher speed.
• When Expecting My Body to Feel the Same Despite the Fact My Uterus Is Now the Size of a Soccer Ball: Yes, a soccer ball. Let's just pause for a moment and think about that. Isn't it weird my insides haven't exploded all over the place already, and that the other organs are so polite as to just "scoot out of the way" for the uterus? The uterus must be some big cheese of organs for this sort of royal treatment. Of course there are issues as far as how much I can eat at once. Small meals and more often is the way to go... I've found. Also, the muscles have already gone through some major changes and stretching, which involves some (sometimes a lot of) discomfort. Did not expect that to be my number one complaint, but when you think about the physical implications of pregnancy, maybe I should have!
• When Not Expecting to Feel Heavier: NEWS FLASH!! The belly is heavy. I know, I know, it's gonna get worse (why do people say that kind of stuff anyway? That's like saying "you just wait until you have the swine flu" to someone who has a cold). But it doesn't change the fact that it feels heavy now. I'm carrying around about 18 extra pounds total at the moment, not all of that belly. And it makes me exhausted a good amount of the time. Especially during small jumps in ballet class, which I'm still enjoying attending.

After ballet class at 25 weeks. 

So how am I feeling? In a nutshell, tired. I've found I can choose TWO major things to do during a day. That's all. I try to squeeze in three and it feels like I've run a marathon. I often look at the picture of myself as Sugar Plum Fairy up on our mantel and think, "HOW IN HOLY TARNATION DID I DO THAT?!?" So please don't be insulted if I tell you I can't make it out... I must have already been to Ikea and gone grocery shopping. Or vacuumed, and then gone out to the store to find a shirt that actually fits my huge belly.