I love not being pregnant

Chris has a wise cousin who, with three kids of her own, offers pieces of wisdom or encouragement regarding pregnancy or parenting just when I need them most.  The first time I saw her when I was pregnant with Soren, I was halfway through.  I had already endured a very rough first trimester and a half and was already into the "hugeness" stage when I saw her.  I was uncomfortable and, honestly, I wasn't loving pregnancy much.

She hadn't known I was pregnant and my protruding stomach's announcement caused a lot of excitement and rounds of "Congratulations!"  I tried to keep talk of my pregnancy positive and upbeat, but when the usual pregnancy chit chat subsided, she turned to me and said, "I'm so much more comfortable now that I'm not pregnant."  That's exactly what I needed to hear.

She had given birth to her third child four months earlier and looked as equally relaxed, happy and healthy post-pregnancy and she did during.  At the time, I had forgotten what it was like to not have to go to the bathroom every half an hour, eat a decent-sized meal and not feel uncomfortably full, and not stop for a breather going up a flight of stairs.  I really didn't believe her, but she assured me it was going to be better, even when you're trading sleep deprivation due to fatigue and being too uncomfortable to sleep with up-all-night with a baby sleep deprivation.

Now that I'm not pregnant anymore, you know what, I can say she was right.  And I want to sing it from the rooftops.  I'M SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE (AND HAPPIER) NOW THAT I'M NOT PREGNANT! 

I still have a ways to go to feeling awesome though. I have a lot of weight to lose until I can feel good about the way I look and my physical recovery has been a frustrating process. I'm still feeling sore enough that I don't think I can handle more than walking for exercise.  Which is a bummer for someone who after nearly a year of not getting any type of exercise that would break a sweat wants to experience a runner's high again.  Sleep is slowly getting better, although eight hours of consecutive sleep feels like an unattainable goal.  But at least I don't feel like a zombie in the morning now that Soren is sleeping in longer than one-to-two-hour stretches.  And I'm not experiencing pregnancy fatigue.  Hallelujah for that.  When I was pregnant, I never felt rested, even with eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.  I'm amazed at how much better I feel now, even though my sleep is always interrupted and I consider six hours of sleep a good night.