What it's like to be pregnant....

I have to apologize that I haven't been updating the blog more! We've had a few wild and crazy weeks; I visited RI for a few days, we found out we're closing on the house at the beginning of December, and today is the halfway point of my pregnancy. So we've been unpacking suitcases, packing boxes, and I've been in bed almost every night by 9. Being pregnant is hard work! Ladies, you'll watch a lot of movies about being pregnant, but the most accurate by far is "Rosemary's Baby."

I'm not even being cute, I'm serious. Pregnancy is a beautiful miracle, but it's also a lot of throwing up, being exhausted, phantom pains, sudden bouts of hormonal misery, strangers trying to touch you, and being 40-70% certain everyone is plotting against you. Still, I love it! I'll post some belly pictures soon!

On Monday we have an ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby and then finally, FINALLY, FINALLY everyone can stop asking us.

That will be amazing. I can't even remember what it's like to go a day without someone calling/texting/writing to anxiously ask if we found out if the baby is a boy or a girl yet (as though we're going to cruelly keep that information to ourselves and dress the child in a shapeless sack until they go away to college, only then at last revealing their name, gender, and whether we baptized them or not). Movies and tv have folks believing doctors can find out immediately, (People were asking 1 month in, before genitals even form on a fetus) but it's actually only at 20 weeks that they can see with reasonable certainty. Until then couples face everyone they have ever met asking them daily FOR FIVE TRULY IRRITATING MONTHS.

The only exception was last weekend, when we were out with some friends and our buddy Kriangkrai asked me, "Have you two found out the sex?" And I mistakenly heard something WAY different, and proceeded to say something like, "Oh sure, better than ever!" To which our friends graciously exclaimed, "No, no, you misheard us!!!" before I could go on. That was a pretty hysterical reprieve to the gender conversation.

You can probably tell I'm not great at handling the questions that come with pregnancy. From family and friends, the questions are a little different, and I don't mind them of course! However, from strangers--and by strangers I mean to say every single person you see all day--the questions and responses are always the same:

Question: When are you due?
My response: April
Their response: APRIL?! BUT YOU'RE HUGE ARE YOU HAVING TWINS?

Question: Do you know the gender?
My response: No, we can find out at 20 weeks though.
Their response: DON'T YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED?

Question: What do you want more, a boy or a girl?
My response: We're cool with either, we just hope it's healthy.
Their Response: NO REALLY, WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT?

Question: How old are you?
My response: I'm 30.
Their response: GOOD THING YOU'RE HAVING A BABY NOW, BEFORE YOU'RE REALLY TOO OLD.

So, as you can see, these are less like questions and more like doorways to veiled insults. However, for every ten people asking these questions, there's one calling congratulations across a mall or saying "How exciting!" and smiling to me while pointing to my belly as they pass by. Those people are awesome, they've probably been there, and I'm grateful for them.

I'm most grateful, obviously, for the little moving being inside me, whom is now kicking and fluttering up a storm. I've been able to feel the baby move for about two weeks. Sometimes it's a gentle tapping, other times it feels like a cellphone on vibrate going off in my belly. (Some folks refer to it as 'butterfly wings', but I'm telling you: cellphone). And two nights ago after a yawn and a big, big stretch, there was a hard, startled kick in response. Apparently someone had been snoozing and did not appreciate being suddenly jostled. That has all been pretty incredible.

Ryan felt the baby move for the first time last week, and his hand goes to my belly often since. We'll be sitting together on the couch and he will pass his palm over my belly; when we sleep, he curls around me with one hand protectively over my stomach. Whether it's instinct or need I'm not sure, but that's a wonderful feeling too. Since I have gotten pregnant Ryan has cleaned the litter boxes and the rat cages, taken over vacuuming, and helped with dinner (even if it's just to order a pizza which now feels like the most blissful luxury in light of how tired I am sometimes). He's been such a supportive partner; no surprise there to anyone who knows him. Whether I'm ranting about drivers in Washington or sobbing uncontrollably over a Folger's commercial--

YOU GUYS, PETER'S HOME

--Ryan has been there to hug me, tell me I'm beautiful, and promise I'm not crazy. (Even when I'm totally being crazy).

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, REMEMBER WHEN RONALD MCDONALD WAS OUR BEST FRIEND? WHY DON'T WE TALK ANYMORE?

I've got to stop watching old commercials.... At least until April.

I can't wait until Monday! Aside from finally being able to grab everyone by the shoulders and scream "IT'S A BOY/GIRL ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU? DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND IT BACK?" Ryan and I are really excited to find out the gender so that we can stop referring to the baby as "it" or "this thing" or "you know, the person living inside my abdomen" and finally start narrowing down a name.

It's a truly exciting time!