That's why it's called a shortcut. If it were easy, it would just be "the way".

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

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!

Saturday, April 08, 2006

I'm Due

It's been awhile, right? You're not even sure why you clicked to come see my link because you were pretty sure there would be nothing new here, correct?

I don't blame you. I've been missing for almost...what...2 months? Well, I promise I have the best excuse ever. (Not that I really need one for blogland anyway.)

I'm 13 weeks pregnant.

So the last two months I have spent barely able to do what I am supposed to do in my life. It was a struggle to get out of bed, pretend like I wasn't sick and proceed to complete everything I am supposed to do as a modern day woman. For a while, I was wishing I could live in the times of "Gone with the Wind" when it was improper for a woman to do anything while pregnant. Ah! Those would be the days. Unless you were like Scarlett and had to get out to run the sawmill. However, that would not have been me. I would've gratefully accepted the bed rest and pampering.

For those of you who have never been pregnant or never will be- the people who tell you that they love being pregnant are lying. Well, I assume they are because my whole body revolted against me. I had no control. I was miserable for a while. I was constantly either tired, hungry or sick or maybe all three at once. Everyone wants to know if I am excited. Sure, in some respects but for the most part, I don't want to think about or talk about being pregnant because if I ignore it, I feel better! So quit asking, please. Am I looking forward to squeezing out a head and shoulders out of my cooter? Not really. I don't like pain per se. Am I looking forward to be dazed with a lack of sleep for the next year after my child is born? Worrying about crummies and germs like I am an OCD patient? I am not looking forward to figuring out how to get out of debt or rearranging my house and selling a bunch of my stuff to make room for a baby.

But there are a lot of things I am looking forward to. Like my husband getting to be a dad. I am probably most looking forward to seeing my baby's eyes for the first time for some reason. I am excited to find out what kind of personality the kid is going to have and what things in life they decide to put their heart and mind to doing. I have already started to register for stuff like diaper bags and breast pumps. It's amazing how much some of this crap costs. For plastic and rubber suction machine, we're talking $250. What kind of crap is that? But the shopping is already fun. No names are picked out yet. It's hard to think of names for a kid when I still can't quite imagine the fetus as a real child. I think I will do better once I find out if I am having a boy or girl. (Oh yes, I am a find out kind of person. I can't even wait until Christmas Day to open presents.) When I find out if the person arriving in October is a boy or girl, I think I can imagine them as a person with a personality and ergo a name. Then I can start decorating the room and picking out baby stuff accordingly. My grandma already sent me the cutest bibs. I can't believe an actual person is going to be wearing them. They are so small. The neck opening is only about the size of my upper arm. Craziness!

Now I am feeling much better. I'm at the tail end of the first trimester, so the sickness has abated. (Thank God!) Last weekend was the big gala of concerts, skateboarding, giving away a free car and all over funness. It went off perfectly. Couldn't have asked for better.

So now I am trying to figure out if I should go take a nap or clean the house. The weather is perfect, the birds are chirping their little heads off and everything in the world seems to be pretty close to perfect.