Thoughts on Pregnancy

 I have hit the 6-month mark in gestation. I'd like to say that means I'm two-thirds of the way done, but actually, *psych!* pregnancy is 10 months, not 9. I don't know why we say pregnancy is 9 months; maybe it averages in all the preemies.

So far, I have to say first trimester is the worst. Constant nausea, and too early to tell people why you feel terrible. Mark likes to point out that I never threw up, but nausea is terrible all on its own, so I didn't find that comforting.

Second trimester has less nausea, but also less energy. Like, I was running 2-3 miles a day up until 2nd trimester. Now I'm running 1 mile a couple times a week, but as of this week I think even that is going to stop because the 2 times I ran this week left me with such pain in my pelvic area--and that's even with a belly band thing to try to support the extra tummy weight--that changing positions hurt all day.

Also, I'm not a fan of the nighttime leg cramps. These are charley-horses unlike anything I've had before--the cramp is so intense that I can't stretch my leg the other way without some assistance from my other leg or an arm. Like, it just won't move on its own, as if the muscles of that leg are in a revolt from the rest of me.

I can tolerate the frequent urination. Yes, it's annoying that basically anytime I stand up, I have to pee, because there is this pressure on my bladder that won't let up. But one of the miracles of pregnancy, I think, is that I can pee basically whenever. You need a drug test? Can do. Oh, you want some urine infection screening? Not a problem.

I haven't really experienced the eating-a-lot thing or any cravings. Basically I feel things are pretty tight in the stomach area already, so putting more stuff in there doesn't sound appealing. That doesn't explain the cravings, but honestly I don't think anyone understands the cravings, so I have no pretensions of discovering the reasons behind them.

And by the way, societal reactions to pregnancy are messed up, and I'm not even planning on talking about pro-choice or job discriminations or other legal issues. When a complete stranger rolls down her car window to shout at me, walking on the sidewalk, to ask if I'm having a girl, I think that shows a weird sense of entitlement into others' lives. Not that I was offended, but it was just so weird. 

And finally, the creepiest body change so far has been the belly button. I have an innie, but it is now working it's way to an outie, and it just does not feel like my belly button. I know that obviously it couldn't be anyone else's, but on a basic body-instinct level, my fingers do not recognize my navel. It is alien.

So in the midst of setting the framework to create my baby's own belly button, I have to say I am ready to get my own memorial-to-my-umbilical-cord back.