Moving around is getting to be tougher. I bought a new pair of shoes that blessedly do not have any laces or buckles that require me to bend over and deal with them. 🙂 Also, now you can easily see from the outside when the baby is shifting around on the inside. It’s definitely strange to look down at my belly and see it moving when I myself am sitting perfectly still.
So I think I’m starting to experience the “nesting urges” that you’re supposed to get while pregnant. Organizing the baby’s room and getting all the things we still need is incredibly appealing these days–it was really hard for me to wait for Darren before starting to sort and put away all the stuff we got over Christmas. It was like the collection of objects stacked in the crib was emitting a siren song: “Put us away! Don’t you want to come in here and sort through us? It’ll be awesome! You don’t need to wait for Darren, even though you promised you would! Come on…”
Also, cooking is so much fun right now! I spent several hours in the kitchen today making a huge batch of seitan (most of which went into the freezer to be used in future meals), a potpie, and cookies. Then I wasn’t even done eating dinner before I started looking forward to what I’m going to make for dinner tomorrow. Somehow, pulling random things out of the pantry and freezer and using them to make something delicious is the awesomest thing ever. It’s much more satisfying if it’s just stuff you have lying around that would have gone to waste without your smart and inspired idea to make something with it. Apparently thrift is a good seasoning, or something.
It feels reassuring on some kind of primal biological level to see that we will be able to provide for our child. The concrete evidence is stacking up (nursery that contains actual furniture and clothing for the child, kitchen full of thrifty and nutritious food). It’s very comforting.
According to What to Expect When You’re Expecting, our baby now weighs about a pound and a half and is roughly the size of a standard letter (except thicker, I’m assuming). Holy cow! I can’t quite believe that a creature that size lives INSIDE ME. Except that now I can feel her moving around in there, so that’s interesting. When she gets really wiggly, I like to make up little guesses about what she might be doing: practicing her soccer moves? disco dancing? Pilates?
It’s also notable that as of next week, she would have a 50% chance of surviving outside of the womb. I keep telling her to stay put until she’s good and done, though. I really am happy to extend my hospitality to her until April. After that, though, she will need to move out of her current home. Her lease will be up.
I’ll post a new belly picture soon. I took one a few days ago, but it’s already out of date, since I am continuing to expand at an alarming pace. Can I really keep getting bigger for another four months? Apparently I can, but the idea is a little scary.
The story so far is as follows:
1. Several weeks ago, I peed on a stick and saw this:
2. We figured out that our baby should arrive sometime in the middle of April 2009. Of course, it’s hard to predict exactly when Junior will decide to emerge, but mid-April is the ETA.
3. Almost two weeks ago, Junior’s heart started beating! Holy crap!
4. So far, being pregnant is kind of like having your body taken over by an alien. Foods that I used to like suddenly sound disgusting to me (I have to restrain myself from making “Blech!” sounds all the time), and I feel sleepy a lot. Seriously, I slept for 13 hours last night and then took a nap this afternoon. Wow. This is all just too weird and exciting.
Dispatches from Babyville 