Pregnancy, Week 22: The kid perfects new tricks and I start wearing flare jeans

Last week my delightful unborn child both impressed and annoyed me when he delivered several well-aimed kicks directly to my full bladder. As he is practicing this new trick more and more each day, it becomes less novel. Instead of marveling at how strong his tiny little legs are, I now tell him to chill the heck out while I speed walk to the bathroom.

He is also learning to hang out in positions that I don’t find terribly comfortable. I’m sure it’s just one big warm, soothing happy place for him in there, but for me- the actual owner of the uterus he is currently inhabiting- it is not always happy nor soothing. I’ve taken to answering his prodding and jabbing by prodding back. This usually gets him to ease up a bit when he’s been throwing his entire weight against one interior wall of my still-new-at-this body. Even now, we are both learning compromise.

There are a lot of things that I thought I’d be able to live without while pregnant- emergency ice cream, maternity jeans, online pregnancy forums. And while I haven’t yet turned to the internet for advice instead of asking women I know and trust, I have caved on the ice cream front several times.
Could I muscle through the cravings? Yes.
Do I want to? No.
Do I feel like I am going to die a horrible death if my husband doesn’t drive me to 7-11 and let me buy ALL the frozen dairy I desire? Yes, sometimes.

And despite those extra ice cream trips once in a while, I can still fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans quite easily. Sure, when I button them it feels like I’m punching my child in the face, but besides that they fit great! So I thought I wouldn’t bother with maternity jeans…and then my lovely sister-in-law gave me a few pairs that were too long for her.
I tried them on.
Before I even looked in the mirror I thought, “Oh please look cute, because YOU ARE SO FREAKING COMFORTABLE.”
I may never wear regular jeans again. Even after giving birth, who knows, I may stubbornly continue to wear maternity jeans between pregnancies just because of how delightfully comfortable they are.

Yesterday as I was getting dressed in my new super-comfortable actually-really-cute maternity jeans I realized that I hadn’t worn flare jeans for years. I had a brief moment of panic where I wondered what sort of shoe one was supposed to wear with flares. After a moment I decided it probably didn’t matter, and that it would be best to move on with my life instead of panicking about footwear.

And that’s what it’s like being 22 weeks pregnant.

Comments

Pause Before You Post: Representing yourself responsibly and honestly online

When I was about eleven years old I went to summer camp for the first time. Before my sister and I left, my mother talked to us about something. She explained that we needed to mindful of our behavior at camp, not only because it is important to be kind and respectful, but also because we would be a representation of both our family and Christ to the people around us. That stuck with me. Now, with so many of us daily browsing and posting to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and blogs such as this, our representation is no longer limited to the people we are around in person- it is far-reaching, even global at times. It is certainly a far more widespread representation of yourself to post on the internet than it is to say something in person; on the internet, the dozens or hundreds of people you are connected with may see it. That is an enormous audience. I feel very strongly that we need to be mindful of that audience, of that re...

Girl, Your House is a Mess

Recently someone on Facebook posted something that bothered me. I didn't fly into a rage and comment viciously- I've been working on not commenting right away- or at all- when something bugs me, because often firing off a comment in the moment isn't most gracious ( more on this here ). But I've been thinking about it, so here we go. This post was about moms with messy houses, and how there is no excuse for one. People commented largely supporting this- asserting that messes are the result of laziness on the women's part, and that unless you are disabled in some way, you have no excuse. "Especially stay at home mom's," one woman, a stay-at-home mom herself, said, "I want to ask them what they do all day." Another comment agreed that the more time you have at home, the more time you have to clean, and therefore less possible reason why it should be messy. In general, it seemed agreed upon that a few books on your floor for a short amount...

Parenting Adventures: Already, I'm Wrong

I lay in bed five days ago, staring up at the dark shapes that the shadows made on the ceiling. It was the fourth night since Judah had been born, and I was realizing something: Already, I am wrong. Before our first child was born- this tiny blessing that we have had for just over a week now- I was certain of many things. I made plans. I confidently stated that our child would never co-sleep with my husband and I, because it was just too scary- and besides, we had a perfectly good cradle for him to sleep in instead. And yet now I found myself cuddled up beside the most precious human being I had ever seen, as he slept deeply (and safely) between Arthur and I in our bed. Before he was born, I said I’d never give Judah formula. And while I am sticking with breastfeeding, I cannot deny the fact that at 4am three days into motherhood I cried and wanted to give up. I have realized in these short nine days of Judah’s life that many of the things I was certa...

Sarah Anne I Am

Search This Blog