Nowhere Else to Go but Out!

I have recently started feeling big for the first time, even though I don't look big yet. I have started to feel more pressure higher than I ever have before, up near my ribs. I already find it harder to take a deep breath sometimes, or have to catch my breath a little more often! Also, when I bend over, I find now there is a huge bulge there that restricts my former mobility. I think at this point, my uterus has expanded up almost as much as possible, and now there is no where to go but out! The stubborn muscles which been keeping my belly compact, slowly will have to loosen and make more room. I'm already going to have to get some longer shirts pretty soon, now many of them just hang straight down from the front and do not stretch down enough to touch my pants again (but at least still are covering me for now). In the first half of pregnancy the baby goes through the most dramatic changes, but now in the second half I get to undergo the most drastic changes.

I think I am carrying this baby low. We will see for sure as I expand, but I noticed recently the part of my belly protruding the most is below my belly button (my belly button was more centered on the bump two weeks ago, not any more). Speaking of my belly button, it is now basically flat and purple in the center. I was measuring my waist at my belly button before, but now I will measure where it sticks out farthest.

My 28 week belly pictures will be posted tomorrow! I am ready for my appointment as well. I'm not looking forward to my glucola breakfast chilling in the fridge, or the subsequent blood work, but I am looking forward to hearing my baby's heart beat again at least!

By the way, our weekend outing was quite nice. Michael and I listened to books on cd on the drive out to Pittsburgh and though I normally don't like listening to talk when I'm driving, I really did find it could be interesting and make the time pass. It is like watching TV with your imagination. We enjoyed seeing the family, and I wore the green shirt that says "baby" on it my mom got me months ago since I figured a lot of the relatives that don't usually see me wouldn't automatically guess I was pregnant, or might not want to ask. The shirt is still a little baggy on me, but I now have enough of a bump now to fill it out. We stayed with Michael's sister in Columbus on the way back, and that was also nice.