hello, third trimester

somehow, inexplicably, i have reached my third trimester of this pregnancy. the last ten or so weeks have been so absolutely joyful and delightful, they almost make me want to do this again. i'm not going to say this out loud to my husband because he would just laugh and laugh before reminding me that i barely ever got out of bed between mid-October and mid-November and that i also spent christmas day laying on the floor of my in-laws bathroom and that seventeen weeks is a very, very long time to feel as if you have mono-food poisoning-a hangover-the flu. like labor, you forget the wretchedness of hyperemesis gravidarum once it has passed.

but the last weeks? these last ten weeks have been a baby-cooking dream!

here a few practical things that have made my second trimester awesome:

+ the body pillow. i busted that out a few weeks ago, and even though tovi tries to share it at night, and even though it takes up SO MUCH room in our bed, nothing compares to the comfort it provides.

+ the foam roller. i get occasional bad spells of sciatic nerve pain. tovi makes sure that some foam roller time (even if i hate it, i know it's good for me), and that has helped a lot. (ok-- i should be honest. i have only done this like twice because i hate it-- it's really painful. BUT it's been helpful each time and i should be grateful to my husband for encouraging me to use the foam roller)

+ this is my favorite stretch mark prevention oil, recommended by my friend tara who is my go-to gal about these kinds of things. it's spendy, but one bottle has lasted me through two pregnancies.

+ i am reading '7' with a group of girlfriends (which i highly recommend that you do). the basic premise is to examine seven areas of excess (food, clothing, possessions, media, spending, waste, stress) in our lives, strip them away, and let God fill that space in. we "fast" from each of these areas for a week. one of these areas was clothing, so for seven days, i only wore seven items of clothing. these pants from old navy and this shirt from the gap have been my favorite maternity items lately, so wearing them over and over and over wasn't so bad. that said, maternity dressing has been so much easier this time around because i have shamelessly begged my friends to let me raid their closets. thank you, friends! there is no need to go out and buy a lot of new clothes, and i will joyfully return the favor or pay it forward.

+ in general i try to limit my use of home and skin care products that have a lot of chemicals. my skin has been kind of bonkers during this pregnancy, but this line from sw basics has been a good fit.

i'll probably rue publishing this post, being all braggy about how good i'm feeling, but i know these days are numbered regardless. by next week i'm sure i'll be eating cheese and crackers at 2am and sleeping in our rocker. hello, last trimester!