Yes, I am ( )....

Parenthesis. Many of the people I work with do not say the word "pregnant" because it has bad social implications in their culture. In the last week or so people who have wanted to inquire about my status have looked at me, pointed and made parenthesis with their hands. This avoidance of the word strikes me as hilarious. I told a gesturing colleague that I wanted to be an exclamation point, but it was already taken so I had to be the parenthesis. I told someone else that I didn't want to appear confused all the time, so I didn't pick a question mark. Humor is apparently for my benefit only as these jokes appear to get lost in translation.

Someone else refrained from the gesture and asked if I had something growing. Probably super inappropriate on my part, but I said, yes I do I have a mass growing rapidly inside of me. She apologized profusely and all I could do was laugh. I told her she didn't need to apologize and that I did not have a something, but a someONE growing inside of me.

My principal says that I am with child. I find this phrase funny too. I wonder if in a few weeks or months, instead of parenthesis I will be more { } or even [ ]. Stay tuned for pregnancy-related humor, updates, and what not.

22 weeks, also known as 5 1/2 months

That means that we have about 3 1/2 months to go. We still have a lot of work to do. But our little baby will at least have a crib to sleep in, it should arrive in another two weeks or so. Time is going by quickly and sometimes I am overwhelmed by all that we have left to do.

A few quick updates:

I am home sick. I spent a lot of time this past weekend around a lot of my allergens (cats, dogs, and scented candles) but I cant take the medicine right now. I am hoping that the sickness is just my body being slow to recover from the allergic situation. I feel guilty about missing yet another day of work since I was out so long but I can't drag myself in there and hang out with no heat all day long when I already don't feel well. Aside from the current respiratory ailments, I am feeling okay.

I am still eating fairly frequently and have my monthly check-up/ weigh in this coming Friday. I am still taking the anti-vomiting medicine. I would like to try to not take it but I don't want to vomit either. So far I am able to manage the heartburn by taking one extra strength chewable pepcid per day. I feel large.

Speaking of large, I bought a new pillow that is supposed to support both my back and my belly. It is a lot bigger than I thought. Greg describes it as an anti-husband pillow. I have been trying it out for almost a week now. I am not sleeping necessarily any better with it than I was without it. I think I like the idea of it more than I actually like the pillow the itself.

The baby is increasingly more active and the kicks/punches are stronger. Most of the time, I like the feeling of the baby moving inside of me. Greg certainly loves when he can feel the kicks and punches. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, but it would be worse if the baby wasn't moving.

Excuse me! (Vent)

Really, seriously, do not touch my belly! Would you even think about touching my midsection if I wasn't pregnant? Probably (hopefully) not! Unless you are my husband, my midwife, or under four feet tall, my baby bump is hands off, especially if I do not know you!!

Someone at work told me I looked fat today! I think, again, if you are not my husband or my midwife you have no business making that comment to me. Who says that? Would you say that if I wasn't pregnant? This was how the day started. We had a teacher breakfast today in honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. I was excited to see an abundance of fresh fruit. I had strawberries, grapes and a banana on my plate and a mini cranberry muffin. This rude person has her plate loaded up with eggs, sausage, quiche and other items. She went on to imply that maybe I wanted to take a little less food. I gritted my teeth and explained that at my last weigh in 2 1/2 weeks ago, I was only back to my original weight. I think if I gained another 5 pounds between the last weigh in and the one I have next week, that the midwife would be overjoyed.

And anyone who really knows me, knows that I am very self-conscious about my changing body. Somedays, I am able to embrace it and other days I just want to hide in sweats. If you don't know me very well, why would you even say that I look fat, regardless of whether or not I am pregnant? I am not fat. I am carrying a baby. Greg reminds me often that my changing shape is beautiful and I try often to remember that and even say it to my self.

I was really offended. I tried to shake it off but just couldn't.

Tomorrow is my first prenatal massage and I am looking forward to that!

And now for the half time report!

That's right folks, we are half way there today! The baby is now the size of a cantaloupe! (Ok, is it just me or does that sound pretty large to anyone else?!) I continue to have my good moments and my not so good moments. Unfortunately, I continue to need to take my medication to keep food down. I only need it once a day instead of once every 4-6 hours, so that is progress. I was hoping to not need it by this point but my body and baby have other plans. I do find that I feel best when I have some food every 2-3 hours and I continue to try to drink plenty of water.

When I went to the midwife last week, we were both excited that I have finally made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Last weekend I had a nasty head cold and when I asked the midwife if there was anything I could take, she suggested warm lemonade with honey. That sounded disgusting then and now. The weight is different though. The shape of my body is dramatically different than it was. When I lost weight at the beginning of the pregnancy, I don't know where I lost it from, but I certainly know where it is going now as it comes back!!!

This past week, Greg and I went to the hospital for a tour and to meet the doctors and midwives that may be taking care of us during the birth of the baby! On some levels it was really great to see all the facilities and be able to get some of our questions answered. On other levels, it was totally an anxiety producing experience for me. It made the whole idea suddenly seem so real. I was freaking out a bit in the auditorium while we waited for the presentation to start and Greg and did his best to calm me down. That night I had horrible nightmares about the baby and taking care of her when she arrived.

A few other updates:

• I am feeling lots of movement, more and more as time goes by. Hopefully Greg will be able to feel it soon too.

• Yes, we have a name picked out! And no, we are not telling what is. Even if you are lucky enough to guess correctly, we are not telling you if you are correct or not.

• No I still haven't figured out my work situation just yet, but time is getting closer. I have a may 1st deadline for that

• Holding my friends' new baby yesterday made both Greg and I even more excited to meet our baby!