I Like to Be Called Mama (Not Prego)

**Warning- this is a self-absorbed post by a pregnant woman all about herself and pregnancy in general.**

One of the interesting things about being pregnant this week is finding myself in a new circle of acceptance with people. Maybe it's just having something in common with them (them beng moms) or maybe its because they now have a new audience for their old stories of when they were pregnant and had newborns.

Regarldess of the reason, it's fun because these are people I never said much to beyond "Hello" and "How are you doing". I'm getting to know them in a new way, and it's kind of a private way but most women go through it so it's not so private because its universal.

The worst thing this week about being pregnant (next to the aches and pains and headaches) is my inability to sleep past 4 am. I despise mornings. Can't really find a good reason for them to exist. No matter how late or early I go to sleep, whether or not I have taken a nap the day before or gone without one for a week, what I eat or don't eat I cannot seem to get any shut eye past 4 o'clock in the morning. And I'm not drinking coffee due to the fact that I am petrified of having a hyper-active colicy baby with indigestive problems because I had to much caffine. I can't take sleeping pills because I can't take any medication. This new life due in six months is apparently very fragile so I must now be sturdy. And being sturdy means that I have to grin and bear my worst bout of headaches without Excedrin, experience shin splints and growing pains in my legs and hips all over again.

The upside is this kickin' metabolism that I haven't had since I was 18. I eat and eat and eat somemore and my stomach is getting bigger, but I'm losing weight everywhere else. To date, I am two pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I go see the doctor next Monday and I'm hoping this isn't too big of a deal. I eat so much that I don't know what I could do to gain weight. I mean, for crying aloud, I am taking straight oil for my vitamin E. Forget putting potatoes in it and calling it french fries, it's just straight oil. (Not vegetable oil but still not pleasant.) I go to a holisitic doctor and the oil is supposed to help with my itching and dried out nose. Also, as my stomach protrudes more I am hoping it aids in skin elasticity for minimal stretch marks. (Did you know that only 10% of women DO NOT get stretch marks? My mom was one so I'm hoping to follow suit.) And lastly, there's the pleasant subject of the perinium tearing and I'm hoping (really, really hoping) that doesn't happen either.

So this is pregnancy. I might have told you the most fun part (besides having new friends in the secret "Been There Done That (Pregnancy) Society" I didn't know existed as a non-pregnant woman) is registering for gifts. I can't resist looking at a million and one things manufacturers make for babies and new moms. It's shopping, people but on a whole new level. I realize that I am going to have to cut corners in my budget now. I might actually have to pull weeds instead of paying a company to come and spray them. I already found a suit for a little boy (like 6 months) that costs $70 and the kid will grow so fast I'll be lucky if I would get 2 uses out of it. So I'm already having to tell myself that I'm gonna hafta have a wee bit of self control if I don't want to go bankrupt in the first year of the child's life.

I guess that's one thing I had a bit more together in my life before I have a child, my finances. My grandma said, "If you waited until you had enough money to have a child, you would never have a child." That might be true, but I still would be more comfortable if I knew that I didn't have to control my spending when looking at baby stuff. I mean, I watched E! (the channel) and the celebrity baby bonanza that is happening in Hollywood right now and they have no problem dropping $200 on a stupid shirt I could probably find at WalMart. Does money grow on trees at the Emmys or something? Do they secretly have money trees in the green room there?

I realize I am rambling and this post is too long to keep anyone's interest but it's amazing how much I have on my mind lately. That's the best part of blogging, siphoning off some of these thoughts that swirl madly in my head.

Oh, and I have to go get a form for a tax filing extension today. Boo for taxes!