I’m staring down 35 weeks and the question I hear most these days is, “how are you feeling?”

The honest-to-god truth is, I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered. My recollection of this point in my pregnancy last time is one of pure misery, and looking back through my archives that seems to be pretty accurate. The swelling was in full swing, I wasn’t sleeping, my heartburn was crippling, every party of me was sore, and we were experiencing an unusual heat wave that kept me feeling big and sweaty all the time.

As of right now, the baby has dropped and so the lady parts have gotten a little more sore and swollen, but I’m not sure if it’s because I expected it or if it just isn’t as bad, but the pain doesn’t bother me as much this time. It’s an occasional ache rather than a constant pain.

I haven’t slept in 2.5 years and that certainly hasn’t changed now, so the deprivation doesn’t feel as awful this time…although I would be elated if my toddler could give me a break and at least revert to his occasional wake-ups rather than his current 2:00am party schedule. Spending two hours in the middle of the night trying to get him to settle down is not conducive to maintaining sanity. 

My doctor told me early on to control my heartburn with Prilosec and so I’ve been a devoted user of that from the beginning and it’s still doing the job. While I can feel the heartburn ramping up a bit (just as it did last time) it’s nothing I can’t control with an occasional midnight swig of Mylanta.

Some very mild swelling has started because I can feel my wedding ring is just a bit tighter (I can never tell that my face is swollen until I get done with pregnancy and look at pictures and wonder why no one told me I look like I ate myself and shouldn’t be allowed in public), but it’s nothing compared to last time and it might actually have more to do with the fact that I love sodium and hate water. I am definitely not getting enough fluids.

I’m not sure if this is an easier pregnancy (the first trimester certainly wasn’t) or if I’m just more prepared for what’s coming and how to combat it (or if it’s the fact that I’m at this stage in an unusually chilly March/April rather than the heatwave of May/June), but all in all I’m actually feeling pretty good. And considering how much more is expected of me this time around, it’s pretty lucky I’m not in pregnancy hell. I’d imagine toddlers aren’t quite as tolerant of you laying around on the couch moaning about how sore you are as husbands are.