34 Weeks

Yup! It's amazing how fast time passes especially when you're pregnant while working full-time and chasing after a toddler.

I've officially entered the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy: my hips, my back, and my feet are constantly sore or in pain. My wobble turns into swagger as the day progresses. This baby sits so high up that I'm pretty sure my stomach is squished into my significantly smaller chest cavity. I can't sleep on my left side (as doctors recommend) because baby girl seems to enjoy putting an elbow or a knee right up against my heart. But when I sleep on my right for long, my right hip and thigh get numb (yay) and curiously my left leg often cramps.

To make matters worse, I've got this violent cough that keeps me in pain during the day and awake at night. I've been coughing so much and so hard for the past few days that my entire body feels as if I've just completed the Iron Man: rubbery knees and muscle pain everywhere! This is also probably the only time I dread being a teacher. I can't finish a sentence without coughing my lungs out while watching my students' faces turn into horror and/or disgust. And, in the year 2012, I'm teaching in an tech-enhanced classroom with a traditional blackboard. Even though I've personally been avoiding using the board, the entire room is covered with white and yellow dust -- a great way to irritate my already-weakened respiratory system.

I can't imagine what the baby hears or feels when I get into a coughing fit. Whatever it is, though, I'm sure she doesn't appreciate it. Otherwise, she wouldn't be kicking like crazy just when I thought I'd finally be able to fall back asleep after a coughing fit in the middle of the night.

I'm seeing my ob tomorrow morning to see if there's anything I can do to keep this cough under control. After all, Baby girl is not due until the end of February. I still want to enjoy what I have left of this pregnancy and my job.