A breath of fresh air.

I swear, no one warned me that one of the greatest nuisances of pregnancy would be the inability to breathe. Instead, all I heard about was the other afflictions that seemed to pass me by: morning sickness/nausea (I had none), food aversions (none), strange cravings (again, none!), swollen ankles and wrists (still none!)... and the list goes on and on. But since the first trimester, I have been plagued with a stuffy nose like it's allergy season 24/7. And since about week 20, I have also been struck by breathlessness when I'm talking, walking, or eating. Granted, I knew this was something to expect later in pregnancy, as the uterus compresses the lungs - but with two babies, it just meant that this happened to me much earlier. But now, I'm missing the days of my 20-week breathlessness, because as the babies get bigger, it now feels like pregnancy-induced asthma - if there is such a thing. Now, I wake up in the night not just because I have to pee constantly, but also because I feel like I'm suffocating. And poor Joe - I'm sure this isn't doing much for his sleep either.

So now, I'm dreaming of days when I won't blow my nose all the time, and I can take long, deep breaths again. Of course, allergy season will really be upon us soon after the babies are born - but I'm sure it will be better than this. :-)