Even though many significant events in my life took place over a three-week period (sleep-away camp, for example), the fact that I theoretically only have three weeks left in this pregnancy has me feeling a little wistful. I can’t believe it’s almost over.
While attendance had been down in my prenatal yoga class in recent weeks, today the room was full of big beautiful belly women; most of us in our third trimesters. I’m going to miss my membership in this club.
Am I crazy? For the past two weeks, I’ve definitely been feeling the effects of carrying this big belly around. Sore legs, sore feet, sore back, pubic symphysis pain, general tiredness. And then this week, suddenly I feel good. Still big, but I have energy, I’m happy, I’m getting things done.
I commented on all of these things in yoga class, during that first part where we go around the room and each say our name, how many weeks we are, and what is going on with us. I said I thought maybe the hormones were driving the boost of energy as nature’s way of helping us finish nesting.
The teacher had a different take. She agreed that the upswing in energy is a common third trimester phenomenon, but she thinks we get to feel good at the end so that we will feel fondly about being pregnant, and thus want to do it again.
Uh oh.
After our class, the studio offers a post-natal yoga class. So there’s these two parades that cross paths on the stairwell — new moms with babies in car seat caddies and slings squeezing past moms-to-be, each of us admiring the beauty of the others’ babies — in bodies and out.