Really, Actually Pregnant

It seems a little more real now that I'm actually pregnant - it is the 7th month. I suppose this shouldn't really be a shock, but somehow it is surprising...or maybe it's just more believable that I am actually hosting a little living creature in my belly. Crazy. The kicking is amazing, definitely the detail that makes this seem so much more real. Kiyomi also felt the kicking pretty early - I think the week following the first time I was sure the odd little twitches in my belly were movement. Now, sometimes I see the baby moving around, too...which is a little like giant worms moving under my skin. It's a disturbing comparison, but it's the most apt I can think of. There is something a little Aliens about the whole thing; let's just be honest.

So, this last month I got a cold and discovered that a cold without any kind of medication really, really, really sucks. I had the most intense sinus pain - I couldn't sleep and was reduced to tears at about 3 in the morning for a couple nights in a row. Then, I called the birth center and asked if I really truly couldn't take anything. They immediately said that I could take regular antihistamines and decongestants. I'm not even a big medicator when it comes to being sick...but taking a couple decongestants does actually make a difference.

Thankfully, the cold has waned...and simply left a slight excess of mucus behind. And who knows, maybe that's just from being pregnant...because apparently being pregnant can cause just about anything. The last few weeks it's been a bit of back pain - and ass pain. I guess my ligaments and tendons are already hypermobile...so now they're sort of like sillypuddy...my tailbone is flipping and flopping back and forth like one of those freaky mudfish before they really get hopping. You know, just wiggling in the pudding-like mire. Anyway, that's how I picture my tailbone. And it hurts a bit.

Also, lots of heartburn lately. Wow, I am really hoping this goes away again after I give birth. Heartburn is really stupid. I chew gum constantly - it seems to help lessen the burning reflux feeling. So, I'm chomping away like a cow - driving Kiyomi crazy - and making my students look askance at me. "You're not supposed to chew gum, Ms. Adcock."

"Yeah, talk to me when your stomach now has a walnut sized space in which to digest...and what feels like a gallon of stomach acid."

I don't even tell THEM not to chew gum. What's with their crazy rule-enforcing ways?

A few of my students will rush to my defense in times like this. "She's got a baby in her belly, you should just shut up." That was my favorite. I'm not sure of the logic of this statement, but I wasn't opposed to the suggestion. The student being hushed really ought to shut up a bit more. I mean, out of 55 minutes, he talks for about 53... I keep thinking, does anyone talk to this child at home?

I also have a student who won't let me pick up the little books (just regular novels) we're reading. He says, "Don't strain yourself. Let me do it." And it's four little paperbacks. Interesting. Actually, sometimes mildly annoying, but I know he means well.

I willingly let them pick things up off the floor for me, though. I seem to drop more things now than ever, and I don't even attempt to pick them up. I just wait for a student to hop up and get them. Getting down and up is laughable now. I mean, I squat when I have to...but sometimes I just don't want to lose that much elevation.

I have Kiyomi picking up dropped items at home. I find it to be amusing. I sort of want to drop things on purpose. This isn't her favorite thing. However, she has been laughing at my attempts to see the upper part of my thighs - I was adjusting my pants without a mirror. She finds it to be hysterical and tries to trick me into attempting a look at my lower stomach or upper thighs. "Oh, you have a spot right there." I bend and strain to see what she's talking about and she laughs. I think there's some karmic punishment in store for her...and maybe that punishment involves picking up the trail of dropped objects I leave in my wake? I just hope it's not a totally non-sleeping infant because then I will suffer just as much.



I really can't wait to see a foot or a hand. (This is a CRAZY photo, yeah? I can't even imagine how they managed to catch this.) I really can't discern the different parts of the baby yet, but I am excited to feel the difference between a head and a butt, you know? (It's a pretty important distinction to make in general, I suppose.)

Now that she moves so much more, it's easier to talk to her...and I feel moments of impatience to meet her. Though, I really want her to cook a bit more. At this stage (week 25) she really does look like a little human. Her proportions are getting more baby-like and less freaky-fetus-like. I wonder if she'll have hair at birth? How amazing that she is actually a tiny little person.