The journey begins...up a hill in the freezing cold in the middle of the night.

o, a little over 12 weeks ago I found out that Kyle and I were going bring a new life into this world. I'm just as excited as I am nervous. Now, at a little more than 15 weeks pregnant, I finally realized that there is so much crap that no one ever tells you, nor can you read it in a book. That's why I'm here -- to share my journey, but more importantly to tell you the truth about my pregnancy, which so far doesn't have a whole lot to do with "pregnancy lady glow" and wonderfulness.

Last night my girlfriends and I went a full-moon hike at the National Arboretum. It was advertised as a "four-mile long, mildly strenuous hike" that would be a "magical trip through moonlit gardens, meadows and woods." What they don't say is you'll be moving at the speed of light and won't get to see anything in the fricken dark! Oh yeah, and you're not allowed to talk so that the others on the hike "can just enjoy nature" -- at the speed of light and in the dark! Since it's the middle of winter, we headed out well-layered (after a detour to Jill's condo to get more clothes) and ready to enjoy the night...that is after I'd gone to the bathroom for the third time in 45 minutes!

As we started, there are a couple of items that need to be addressed: It was really too cold for this undertaking and there was not a clearly agreed upon pace between the Shrek-sized tour guide and the regular-sized, diminutive in some cases, women on the hike. The guide was well over six feet, and what looked like a stroll for him was a course in speed walking for the rest of us. And, my newly pregnant and out of breath body rejected it immediately! He had us take the first hill like we were on the Bataan Death March. I don't know about anyone else, but I moved as fast as I could and still fell to the back of the group with the one-armed guy (the other was in a sling) responsible for the flashlight and monitoring the back of the group. He insisted we only had one or two more hills in the hike. At the time I thought, "that's one or two more hills that I might need someone to carry me." I don't say anything, but if one could get a glimpse of my face, they'd see I was definitely rolling my eyes. Whose ideas was this again, and what in heaven would possess me to agree?

What does this have to do with being pregnant? Well, as it turns out, pregnancy takes all the fitness progress a woman has made and throws it out the window! I was huffing and puffing like we were running a marathon. And for the record, I'm not out of shape, but I sure as hell felt like it, especially carrying me, the baby, a backpack filled with pregnant lady essentials (snacks and water), wearing two shirts, two pairs of long thermal underwear, sweatpants, gloves, a hat, and a jacket. If I had nuts, I'm sure I would have sweated them off...running up the mountain on a mixture of road, snow, and mud. Maybe the baby has them...and now I've encouraged stinky male behavior.

At least after my hot shower, my wonderful fiance let me sleep alone in the bed with all the pillows now required for me to sleep in the "right" position to protect the baby...a story for later, and just one of many things people don't bother to tell you before you get pregnant.

Cheers!