Les Mis

Aching back. Oh, the back of aching misery. Why, oh why, oh why... Well, I know why. I'm carting around more in front than ever before and despite the exercise I've been getting, my body is having a hard time keeping up in any kind of comfort. So every day I have a sore back.

And a cough. I've been coughing for two months. Apparently this can happen. And my heartburn is constant. I eat Tums like candy. The Tums container says eat 5 per day. I tell the Tums container to mind its own business.

This is really getting me down, I won't lie. I wake at night almost hourly because in my sleep I roll over onto my back, which is uncomfortable and wakes me up. This doesn't leave me feeling entirely refreshed in the morning.

I'm heading into my third trimester soon, roughly around my 30th birthday. What is now a cute bump will turn bulbous and frightening and what aches I feel now will no doubt grow into something more insidious  I have no idea why women say they enjoy this. I really don't. Perhaps it comes from trying without success for awhile, or maybe the psychological joy is taking over and clouding everything else out, or maybe women who are done birthing babies just plain forget how awful it is to carry one to term.

And to put this in perspective, I'm young and healthy. I'm 24 weeks and I've gained 12 pounds. I have no complications to speak of, no risk factors being monitored. This pregnancy is normal and uneventful. And here I am, feeling like a pile of disjointed discomfort.

Being pregnant is not for the weak. Hell, being a woman is not for the weak. Oh man, I am having a rough time with this.