By far the most common craving of pregnant women is not to be pregnant. ~Phyllis Diller

I am not usually one to complain a whole lot. I realize that things could be so much worse. I am grateful for my life, my family, my pregnancy and everything else that I have. Having said that, I am going to take this time to bitch a little. Just a little. Okay maybe more then a little, but my husband will be grateful that I got it off of my chest here.

The visit to the vet with Daisy is costing us much more money then I had feared. I was anticipating a few hundred dollars and that was me trying to prepare myself for the worst case scenario, hoping that I would be relieved when they told me something less. Our grand total is closer to about $700.00 or $800.00. Yay.

I spent about $120.00 at the initial visit catching her up on all of her shots (minus the rabies), her heartworm test and whatever else they do to rape us of our hard earned cash. Then, after examining her teeth, I was given a quote for some much needed dental work of around $375.00. Then after discussing the situation with the vet about Daisy and her reaction to the rabies shot (see last blog), the vet informed me that if we wanted to forego the shot, we would have to do what they call a "rabies titer" where they take her blood, send it off to a lab, then test it to make sure she is still protected against rabies. I know from my own research that the shot stays in their system for up to 7 years. Thats right... 7 years! Which explains why her reaction seems worse each year. So why then, must we keep giving our beloved animals this shot, one right on top of the other year after year? I am sure it has something to do with money, but what do I know? Whatever the case, the estimate for that was about $187.00. Then there are her heartworm meds and flea drops to top it all off.

I am going to have to get her dental work done as soon as possible. One of her teeth is causing her alot of discomfort and it is making her breath N-A-S-T-Y. I am not exageratting here. It reeks. I am hoping they will let us do the dental work before the rabies titer so I can put that off for a while. As long as I possibly can really, as I see it completely unnecessary anyway (oh for about another 6 or 7 years). And obviously she needs her heartworm and flea meds right away as well.

Then there's the ongoing delightful roller coaster of my pregnancy symptoms.

It hurts when I poop. It's really, really painful. Apparently, this is a side effect of the prenatal vitamins that I take. It makes me cry. It shoots stabbing pains up through my body until I want to claw through my skin, just to distract my attention. And this, ofcourse, is when I am lucky enough to poop at all. I called my doctor yesterday and she told me the names of a laxative and a stool softener that she would like me to start taking. She would like me to take them both. Both. And most likely for the duration of my pregnancy. I went by the drugstore yesterday to pick them up and was tickled pink when I realized they were going to cost me about $40.00 per month.

Then there's the acid reflux, but I think have ranted enough already in previous blogs about this.

I have been working out. I really have. I have some maternity dvds, I have been hiking and going on walks (my walking buddy, Toni can vouch for me). I have been trying to eat pretty healthy and curb my sweet tooth. But alas, my ass is still growing. Right along with my thighs. All over really. I just keep telling myself to not worry about it, that once the baby is here, my body will go back to normal (for the most part), and breastfeeding will help me lose the weight quickly as well.

When I was shopping for some clothes last night, I was checked out by a little pregnant girl that looked like she was about 7 months along and hadn't gained a pound anywhere but in her belly. Am I a terrible person because I wanted to smack her? Just reach right over the register and smack her right across the face? I told myself it was because she was 12 and I was 30. Whatda gonna do? Its biology.

I am normally a pretty friendly person, but these hormones...

Thank goodness, I have so many friends that have been pregnant recently. I have been graciously lent so many clothes, that I have hardly had to buy any at all. And that is a very good thing, because maternity clothes are ridiculously expensive. I am a bargain hunter. I like to buy my clothes usually on clearance or on a really good sale. I very very rarely can bring myself to pay full price. I love Goodwill. But I am finding that it is very difficult to bargain shop for myself right now. I bought 2 maternity shirts yesterday on clearance and my total came to $43.00. These were on clearance!

Every morning when I wake up, and for the first few hours of the day, my hips hurt. They are sore from all the extra weight I am carrying, which is weighing down on them while I am sleeping. During the night, the hip I am laying on will start hurting so bad it will wake me up. Then I turn over onto my other side and fall back asleep until the other hip wakes me up. For obvious reasons, I can not sleep on my stomach. If I sleep on my back, this can cause a myriad of problems with backaches, breathing, my digestive system, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and a decrease in circulation to my heart and my baby. This is a result of my abdomen resting on my intestines and major blood vessels.

This morning I had a bloody nose.

I honestly couldn't tell you if I have ever had a bloody nose in my entire life. Apparently, all of the new, larger amounts, of blood moving through my body can cause these sorts of things to spontaneously occur. Oh it was gross. Really really gross. Allison, from American's Next Top Model, would have totally wanted to make out with me.

I am only 5 months pregnant. I still have 4 to 5 more to go. My stomach isn't even that big yet. What is my 8th and 9th month going to be like? I am not going to lie. I am a little worried about this.

I know it is all worth it.

It is all worth it.

It is all worth it.

I do know this. I am sure of it. But I was hoping that, like my friend Anrazel , I would LOVE being pregnant and would not be so uncomfortable. I am beginning to think that I am not going to be so lucky.

So there ya have it. And somehow I feel better.