pregnancy is wonderful!

everything is going so well.

i can't believe how differently i feel now. i can't really say that i was enjoying being pregnant during the early weeks. i remember dealing with the nausea and wondering how women voluntarily go through multiple pregnancies. at the same time, i felt a bit sad because i'd always considered myself to be a maternal type of person and expected to absolutely love pregnancy.

i was relieved to read in a book that it is in the second trimester that many women begin to experience the blissful feelings often associated with pregnancy. and that has certainly been the case for me. i feel great. much more energetic- i am really active, riding my bike and walking every day.* i am very happy and both greg and i are just so excited about becoming parents and finally meeting our child. we can't wait!

*for those who are concerned, my doctor and books i've read insist that the more physically active a pregnant woman is, the healthier she will be and that usually, staying in shape leads to an easier labor & delivery. not only that, they are now finding that babies born to very active women are healthier and have better developed brains. they suspect that it may be due to being jostled in the uterus, which encourages more muscle movement in the fetus. for more about this, check out Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. i only point this out because it has become clear to me that this is all very different from the common understanding of years ago, when people used to assume that it is a time to take it easy.