Holy Moses, it's been about 5 weeks since I last blogged. And due to the fact that my phone is apparently inept at downloading photos onto my blog, this post will be pictureless. Visit my facebook page to see how big I am and other things in our life I've chosen to document via camera.
Since I last blogged, I have turned 29, endured finals week, passed A & P with the B I need to continue to advance in applying to nursing schools, gone to baby shower number 1, had two midwife appointments, gone to the library for the first time in forever to get some more biographies to read, and contemplated that I will ACTUALLY BE A MOM in a matter of weeks. Joe and I are flying to Minneapolis next Sunday to visit Joe's family for a few days during spring break. In the time that we are there, we'll be attending TWO baby showers. It is so flattering and humbling to have family or friends-actually, anyone- make a big deal out of our baby that is on the way.
In terms of the pregnancy, the third trimester hit with a vengeance. In retrospect, week 29 (the beginning of the third trimester) was only about 3 weeks away from finals week. And for the last 3 weeks of the quarter (weeks 29-31), the closer it got to my final on March 16th, the more wracked with pain my body was, and the more I slept when I should've been studying, and the more foggy my thoughts became. During finals week, the baby was resting on the round ligament (posterior to my belly button) and it HURT. I could barely walk, think, and anything that brushed against my abdomen hurt terribly. I tend to approach pain as a mind over matter opportunity and avoid taking pills, but this proved to be too much. If had vicodin or morphine on hand, I would've taken it, but all we had was measly old Tylenol (which actually did the trick). I've never been so unmotivated to study in my life. I can usually kick my own butt into studying when I need to, but the weeks prior to the final were the worst. I can't even believe I pulled off a B. More than one of my classmates commented on how impressed they were that I was studying A & P considering how pregnant I was. One of my classmates was about 6 weeks ahead of me with her pregnancy and, by the end of the quarter, all of us were crossing our fingers and hoping that she wouldn't go into labor before the final. Each week, the baby dropped a little more, and she had MY respect taking her finals at 38 weeks. I learned my blood pressure zoomed up about 30 points when I went to my midwife appointment on March 2nd, but my March 24th appointment showed that it went back down to 104/68-pretty normal for me. The day after I woke up after my final, my body had completely relaxed. The baby even got off my ligament. I could finally exhale and orient my life in anticipation of my baby. People have asked me since the first trimester if we have the baby's room all set up. Does money grow on trees? Maybe for some it does, but not for us. It surprised me that people were
earnestly asking that (if we'd gotten the baby's room all done, not if money grew on trees for us). This past weekend, we were blessed by our shower gifts. One gift from my parents was a newly refurbished changing table. Once upon a time, it served as the changing table for my siblings and me, and had been sitting in my parents' garage for almost 30 years gathering cobwebs and dust until my dad rescued it, fixed it up, and gave it to us. Our crib is a mahogany tone and so he stained it a similar shade (which turned out a mite darker than the crib), and installed brushed nickel drawer handles. I kid you not, it looks beautiful. I swear it even smells new and I would've thought it was ordered from a Pottery Barn catalog. So now we have TWO pieces of furniture in baby's room. We hope to get a rocking chair, an area rug, and some storage pieces too.
Welcoming a new family member- whether it be through preparing their room, praying for them with Joe, or imaging holding them in my arms- is a strange experience. Especially if we've never met this little person. All we know is that they will arrive sometime around May 14th, will be helpless and vulnerable, and I am hoping that that they'll have curly hair just like their dad's. My mother in law asks about every few weeks whether I think it's going to be a boy or a girl. I have to admit, I have my fleeting thoughts about that subject. One week I think it's going to be a girl and another week it's going to be a boy. But honestly, the answer to this question, just like the answer to most of the questions I am asked, is a resounding "I don't know!" or "We'll see!" I know people want to display an interest in this new adventure in our life together, and I've resigned myself to the fact that I answer the same questions over and over again. And that many of these questions are decidedly of a personal nature.
Inquirer: "Are you going to find out the sex?"
Me: "No, we want it to be a surprise."
Inquirer: "What?!! Well, I couldn't wait to find out. I'm much too type A for it to be a surprise."
Me: "Well, that's nice." (Our society has only been able to find out what sex the baby is prior to birth for about the last generation. And now, because we can find out, we absolutely HAVE to know. What did type A people do before this kind of technology? They had to wait, just like people have for millions of years.)
Inquirer: (incredulous) "How are you going to support yourselves once the baby comes?"
Me: "Well, we're going to do what we have to. Joe will continue to work full-time teaching and I'll have to work a double shift on the weekend sometimes so we can make ends meet." (Do we appear destitute to people? People have made do with babies with alot less than what we have.)
Inquirer: (looking at my food the waiter just served me) "Wow, you gonna finish all that? Pregnant women sure do eat alot."
Me: (embarrassed) "Um, yes. I was thinking about it." (Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women get hungry just like the rest of the population. When you spent vast quantities of energy GROWING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING with a metabolism of their own, you will get very hungry...guaranteed.)
Inquirer: (doing a once over on me) "So how far along are you?"
Me: "I am ________ weeks along."
Inquirer: "I don't know, you still could pass for being chubby rather than pregnant."
Me: (stammering) "Well...I think because it's winter and I am wearing a couple of layers, it makes me look a little thicker around the middle." (ARE YOU SERIOUS? Being told she could pass for chubby instead of pregnant probably goes on the top ten list of things you never say to a pregnant lady.)
So you get the picture. Why is it that once you become pregnant, your life is an open book to people to critique, offer unsolicited advice, and to ask (sometimes) bonehead questions? I never knew what to ask pregnant women before I got pregnant. Looking back, I really hope I never asked these types of questions. One thing I have had good fortune in is miscellaneous people rubbing my belly. So far, it's only been people (family or friends) that have touched my protruding belly without asking. (It's like pregnant women just BELONG to everyone else.)
No comments:
Post a Comment