Pregnancy Update Overdue

I am 7 months pregnant and have mentioned the pregnancy probably only twice on the blog. I think during my pregnancy with Braewyn, I posted about every appointment! Poor neglected third child! Anyhow, I'm feeling farely well even with a fair share of crazy side effects. As with both of the other kids, I've had a head cold which leaves me with an annoying cough for a month afterward. Pregnancy + cough = bladder control issues + frustration! I think the cough is almost gone (praise the Lord!), but the last few days have left me with a sharp pain in the left side of my rib cage whenever I do cough. I'll ask about that on Tuesday when I go for my 30 week check-up.

The other thing plaguing me are vulvar varicosities. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? In layman's terms, that is vericose veins in the pubic area. I developed this while pregnant with Braewyn but thankfully they go away after delivery. They came back earlier in this pregnancy because of it being a pre-existing condition. The doctors just say try to stay off my feet as much as possible but how possible is that with a 5-year-old, 3-year-old and a puppy? (I know, the puppy is my own fault.) After actually praying for Jesus to help me find it, I found my VV support band in an unpacked box under our bed just last week. For the past two months, I've been sporting underwear and my bikini bottoms under pants. That was fun! The support band looks like a jockstrap with some lacey material sewn across the front. No matter the look, it works and that's what matters. However, even wearing it, I still can't stand or sit for long periods of time. Oh, the joys of pregnancy! If I stand too long (i.e. our three choir programs last weekend), my thighs go numb. If I sit too long (i.e. the two hours in BSF), my back end goes to sleep. Yeah!

People tell me I look "so cute" because my weight gain is only in my stomach (yes, God has basically strapped a 15-pound watermelon to my waist). However what scares me is the 10-15 more pounds I'll gain over the next two months and how I'll need a wheelbarrow to get around for the last few weeks.

Ok, all that said, we are having a new baby in a few months and I am getting more excited about that reality by the day. It has brought a new excitement to this pregnancy with not knowing if we're having a girl or a boy. We're still mulling over name ideas but have narrowed down Juliet as our girl first name choice. (Not as original as Braewyn but still has that princess ring to it! Plus a favorite character name from TV's "Lost" and "Psych".) We are still completely undecided on a boy's name so feel free to offer suggestions.