Sunday, January 25, 2009

6 months

Well, I haven't blogged in awhile - and certainly not about the latest big change in my life. At first it was because one is supposed to keep it under wraps. (Of course at first is right when I was most eager to tell people about it.)

By the time we finally started telling friends and family that I'm expecting (at around the 3 month mark), the news already felt a little old. It was also strange that before close friends found out about it a number of random people like my dental hygienist already knew.

Now at six months, my belly is starting to make the announcement for me. Seeing as I'm mostly been bundled up for winter, my growing belly hasn't been so obvious underneath my bulky sweaters. But I get a little more obvious each week - and from what I understand the next three months will be all about forward expansion.

Someone asked me the other day if I enjoy being pregnant. I replied that I enjoy feeling my daughter move around. It's pretty cool to feel those little kicks and flips. But on a whole, I say I 'enjoy' pregnancy as a means to an end. I certainly wouldn't choose the achy back, the painful ribs, the tiredness and absent mindedness, the weight gain, etc if it wasn't for the anticipated reward at the end of it all.

Writing a thesis while pregnant has been a much bigger challenge than I'd expected. I heard that women's brains actually decrease in size during pregnancy, and I'm ready to believe it. I just don't feel like the same juices are flowing.

I keep plodding on, but I know that nothing brilliant is coming forth.

In my first three months I also slept an inordinate amount and could barely eat, so intellectual progress slowed to a crawl. Now I mostly manage to stay awake during the days, but aches and pains usually keep me from from sitting at my desk all day. I keep telling myself that it will get done; I've worked out a timeline with my supervisor and he assured me that if we can stick to it, I won't need a babysitter for my defense.... But then I was supposed to hand in a chapter on Friday and sent instead an apologetic email saying it would be coming on Monday.

I was asked the other day, as if it were the most obvious thing, if I already had everything ready for the nursery and a bundle of clothes for the newborn. I answered that the future nursery is still my office - and will be so until the thesis is done. But I got to thinking that it might be a good idea to start collecting a few of the necessary items.

So yesterday V and I went to Sears to check out baby things and create a baby gift registry as per some request. We did our wedding registry at the Bay and I got the feeling that I was disappointing the pretty young girls in the registry department with my lack of interest in china patterns or matching linens - and with 12-item wish list. The lady at Sears was much more friendly and didn't seem to have any expectations about how many items we should choose or whether we should be selecting everything in pink.

It was fun to walk around the baby section, looking at cute little toys, clothes, blankets, etc. We were having trouble figuring out the sizing so asked a woman pushing her one-year-old in a stroller. She kindly explained sizing to us, and also suggested not to get too much in the smallest size since her boy was already too big for it when he was born.

It was also good to feel like we're getting more prepared, and getting more of an idea of what to expect and what we might need. And after registering a number of small items, we purchased a bassinet/play pen. At least now if this baby comes early she'll have somewhere to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, all this sitting and typing has tired me out. Think it's time for a nap...