We have been home from vacation since around midnight on Tuesday, but I'm finally getting around to writing.  I have finished all the unpacking, laundry, and restocking of our refrigerator, so I'm ready to resume normal life again after having been gone for a week.  Vacations are wonderful, but is anyone else ever thankful to get back on a normal routine again?  Or rather, is anyone else ever thankful to get their child back on a normal sleeping routine again?

We loved our visit to California - loved, loved, loved it.  I'll write more about it in some upcoming posts, but for now I'll just talk about what's most "present" on my mind as I sit here on the couch with two sleeping cats at 3 in the morning.  Pregnancy.  Because right now it's a little hard to forget that I'm pregnant.

I have a very active little dude hanging out with me 24/7 right now.  Now, tell me something.  Does every ultrasound technician mention how active the baby is?  Because during Ellery's ultrasound, they kept saying that she was a total mover, and that has proven to be true outside the womb as well.  The tech said the same thing about Abel - that he was moving so much it was hard to get the measurements she needed.  I'm sort of hoping this is merely a blanket statement said to all moms, because if it turns out I have two active babies, I'm going to be a little tired.  Also I will think God has a sense of humor, if He gave two very active people to a mostly lazy mom.

It's interesting being pregnant the second time around.  During my first pregnancy, everything was (obviously) so new.  And I didn't know if anything was normal, and didn't know what to expect.  This time, I sort of thought I knew what to expect.  For the first two trimesters, everything was basically the same as when I was pregnant with Ellery.  I felt pretty much the same, except that my symptoms weren't as strong.  Since breaking into third trimester territory, I've noticed some differences.

Number one: heartburn.  Never had it before in my life until the last three weeks of pregnancy with Ellery.  Little dude has decided to give me heart burn for the entire last trimester.  Thanks, buddy.  Number two: sciatica.  This lower back pain is sort of kicking my butt, and I feel like I'm already beginning to waddle out of pain, rather than necessity.  Or maybe not waddle, but definitely limp.  Fun.  And finally, the way I carry him.  I generally carry my babies in my ribs, since I have little to no torso space.  I'm still carrying this little guy pretty high, but also all over.  Ellery was all in my belly, but Abel is changing my body composition all over.  I know this because of how all my maternity clothes are fitting.  Here's the problem, is that I thought girls were supposed to be harder to carry than boys.  Like, I thought it was girls who stole their mom's beauty, and made the mama super uncomfortable.  That's why, when I found out this was a boy, I was thinking maybe my pregnancy would progress a little easier than my first, but that hasn't been the case.  This hasn't been a pleasant surprise.  I blame all the people who've said it's harder to carry girls.  They're all filthy liars.  Way to get my hopes up, jerks.  (Sorry, that's my tired, hungry, 3am self talking.)

Having said that, it really has been a fairly smooth, easy pregnancy.  I'm not meaning to complain; this is just how I'm feeling.  And this is my reminder that no pregnancy is typical, and each pregnancy is different, even in the same woman.

The wonderful thing is that this time, it's flying by.  On Wednesday at my doctor's appointment, she said, "See you in two weeks!" and I said, "Already?!  So...I'm having this baby soon."  Which is always a delight when you are in the third trimester and not as comfortable as you'd like.  I am in no rush, however, as I'm trying to simply soak up my time with only my girl.  Life is going to change dramatically for the Swenson clan come December, and I know things will get chaotic for a while.  Looking forward to it, but in no rush.

And now we've come to the end of this very pointless blog, in which I rambled about growing a human.  I wish I could promise that the rest of these October blogs will be more poetic and insightful, but the truth is they might be more more of my pointless thoughts.  So if you unfollow this blog, no hard feelings, 'kay?

Goodnight!