In the nursery with Iris Adella’s new dresser & a felt baby bow I made for her.

While the classic symptoms graciously eluded me in my first six months, I’m finally getting a few fun reminders that growing a baby can be hard work.

Here are a few of my favorites.

● I seriously drop everything that I pick up. I’ve heard about the pregnancy clumsiness that takes over, but was somewhat relieved to read that dropping things is a real symptom too. When pregnant, your joints actually loosen, meaning you have a weaker grip. To make this symptom worse, it’s already dreadful bending down to pick up each little thing that I drop.

● Sleeping has become an accomplishment rather than something I look forward to. A lot of the difficulty is due to Iris kicking up a storm lately, especially when I lay down for the night. It’s hard to get upset with this one though. In fact, I usually laugh because it often tickles and startles me. Falling asleep has also gotten harder as I’ve gotten bigger. Of course the one position you’re not supposed to sleep in is what you would think is best when you have a big ol belly – on your back. Supposedly, the best way to sleep is on your left side, so thank heavens for Katie who let me borrow her Boppy pregnancy pillow. It’s helped more than I could have ever imagined.

● More sleeping woes can be attributed to yet another symptom – peeing a million times a day! I did this before getting pregnant, so now it’s probably up to one billion times a day. I think that’s pretty standard.

● I’m starting to get a little shortness of breath and I tire really easily. If I stand for too long, all I want to do is lay down and put my feet up. The heat isn’t helping with this one either. I believe today was the hottest day in Fayetteville in over 10 years. My mom was pregnant with me during a terrible heatwave in Memphis, so I guess it’s only fair.

All in all, it’s still hard to complain. These symptoms are very much expected and they mean that we’re getting even closer to meeting our baby girl. Less than 14 weeks to go….