I thought I was going to be bored

Bed rest isn’t nearly as lazy and boring as I thought it would be. Not for my brain, at least.

No worries, blog fans. I don’t do much of anything. My most strenuous activity is probably heaving myself out of bed in the morning and at nap times. I actually have avoided laying on the couch because the heaving from there is that much more difficult.

Laying down flat at all really makes life much more difficult. I swear my muscles (and hip/leg/pelvic joints) go on strike each time I’m down for any period of time, and PB&J all stack on top of each other, making my belly look (and feel) all sorts of weird. The poor baby (or babies, if I’m on my right side) on the bottom of the pile doth protest much, and I get lots of kicks and then someone trying to escape around to my back. That’s only when I’m actually laying.

Getting up is the worst. I have to sit at the edge of my bed for a couple minutes to try letting gravity move babies back into a comfortable upright position, and this usually takes place on top of my bladder, which is just dying to break free. Then I have to actually stand, and the 10-foot walk from my side of the bed to the bathroom is done with shuffling steps in great pain. Finally, I can pee. On my cracked toilet seat.

(Oh, you didn’t hear about that? Yeah, Gigundo here cracked a toiled seat. Rob tells me he stood on it to hang a cabinet above the toilet the week before and that he likely started the crack, so that made me feel a little less hefty.)

I’m going to talk with my OB to make sure I’m right, but I’ve decided that reclining in my darling Betsy is just as good as laying in bed – maybe even better since I’m not getting myself all out of breath and uncomfortable.

Yesterday was a huge day for my pregnancy. I hit 27 weeks and crossed into the official third trimester. Babies born from this point on have much fewer breathing problems because their lungs are pretty much ready for breathing. PB&J still need to stay inside to cook for longer, but we’ve been able to increase their chances of survival by nearly 20 percent from the night we had our consultation with the NICU doctor.

Talk about a huge sigh of relief, right?

Another big milestone yesterday was the appearance of the first stretch marks on my belly.

Stop right now if you’re going to console me for these “ugly” marks. I do not consider them ugly. They weren’t there until yesterday, and I consider them a blessing – just another reminder of how much growth PB&J have been able to safely accomplish without fighting the outside world.

If I had delivered at 25 weeks when I was in the hospital, I might have been free of stretch marks, but I also might not have my three sweet babies.

What’s hilarious is the marks are mostly off to the right side of my way-low abdomen. That’s the part on me that definitely carries the most weight since both girls are on my right, and I’m carrying lower than I am high.

The marks are logical, and they’re a testament of my growing babies. I love them.

Plus, after all we went through to even get here in the first place, do you think it’d make sense for me to complain about something as silly as stretch marks? I’m no super model, so I have no problem sacrificing some vanity in the name of family.

So, I’ve covered the heaving and the uncomfies and the stretching – what next?

Oh, yes. The nursery. Another of my brain tasks has been planning and plotting the completion of what will be PB&J’s bedroom. We now have all the furniture in there, and all the clothes have been washed and hung (although some are hanging on the guest room bed, waiting for the armoire to be equipped with hangability – we ran out of room in the closet!).

All that’s left are getting into place the crib mattresses (which will arrive this week some time), hanging (dictating, on my part) the various pieces of wall art and deciding on some last-minute organization. I stop in for a quick peek and brain refresher each time I use the bathroom. I try to imagine juggling three screaming babies and what would make for the easiest grab-and-go of the various baby items.

I can’t wait to declare that everything has a place, and everything is in its place – just ready and waiting for the three little ones who will eventually displace as much as they can reach.

I can certainly wait for that, but the thought of it makes me grin like a fool.

Voting ends today for The Bump’s best fertility blog and best multiples blog – two Mommy Blog Awards categories for which I am a finalist. Give What the Blog? a final push with votes today, please – the links are in the sidebar. That $50 Pottery Barn Kids gift card would be put to GREAT use! xoxoxo