state of the nation

I kind of can’t believe how much bigger my belly has gotten in the last three months. (for comparison purposes)

  • Baby – 14 1/2 inches long and kicking like crazy. She hates my other organs for some reason–maybe she feels they threaten her precious uterus.
  • Body – I embody womanhood. Right?? RIGHT????? I have to keep telling myself that.
  • Hair – I got a hideous haircut before we went to California. If only I had read this part of my new favorite book: “A very pregnant woman who wants to cut her hair is not really looking for a new hairdo, she is looking for a new, nonpregnant, look, and I’m afraid that’s too tall an order for a haircut.” Live and learn, I guess.
  • Puke – Only sometimes when I brush my teeth.
  • Heels/Lust for Life – Check. It’s become a point of pride now. I MIGHT have gone to a movie last week wearing scrubs, sneakers and a hoodie, but those reports are unconfirmed.
  • upping our Google count for “knobs”

    I’ve been working on painting our hand-me-down crib and dresser white to match the new side table for the baby’s room, and I wanted to get some knobs for the drawers that would tie everything together. I decided on some cut glass knobs from Anthropologie, and while I was there I couldn’t resist these letter hooks.

    I am afraid buying decorative knobs might be addicting. Now I want to replace all the drawer pulls and doorknobs in our house.

    Remind me–why don’t we live in Canada?

    “Working moms get a yearlong leave after they have a baby, and receive 55 percent of their salary during that year. This is a government benefit, and women are entitled to the same job or a comparable one when their leave is over. Many companies supplement this benefit with additional dollars during maternity leave.”
    link

    research

    The labor stories of other women are alternately hilarious, reassuring, and terrifying. Here are a few I’ve read lately:
    Mighty Girl
    Superhero
    Dooce
    Fussy
    Here’s what I know:
    1) Women have been doing this for thousands of years. My body is made to do this.
    2) I will be giving birth in a hospital, not at home with a midwife whose idea of an amenity is shaping the umbilical cord into a heart.
    3) The epidural is my friend.
    4) Blake and Sarah and my mom and dad got me through the end of the marathon. They can get me through this.