Some Amusing Musings - and a Reminder to Respect the Pregnant Woman in Your Life

Hard to believe it's been a full four weeks since I last blogged and that mini-Beard is that much closer to making his/her debut.  This post, true to the "stream of consciousness" nature of my cerebral process, has no real rhyme or reason but is just a collection of some of my thoughts lately and things that have happened since I last wrote.

FIRST and most joyous of announcements, my dear friends Rachel, Kyle and their daughter Harper have successfully welcomed their little Maela into the world as of yesterday afternoon at 12:30.  Rachel and I have had quite the journey of being pregnant together.  From the night at the Varsity Theatre in November when I attempted to buy Rachel a vodka tonic only to be met with puppy dog eyes that signified her new status as "knocked up" to the moment of panic four weeks after that when I called her with my own news of a positive pile of pregnancy tests, she has been my road dog through this whole thing.  And because the fertility gods smiled upon our group of friends, our lovely friend Lisa joined the pregnancy pact 10 weeks after me.  We are all 10 weeks apart and celebrating Rachel's little one feels a little like tipping over the first domino - THEY'RE ALL COMING DOWN!  Rachel started the trend off with a brave, unmedicated water birth and was sitting around eating cookies with us hours after her birth.  Congratulations, my love, Maela is a rockstar.

Another great celebration - I just found out today that my friend Tricia who has been tirelessly in the adoption process to bring her little one over from Haiti finally has this little angel in her arms.  This has been a long journey but I am so excited for her and little Saraphina.  Look at these gorgeous ladies!  Can't wait to meet her :)

We have been doing our fair share of celebrations as well these past few weeks.  We had three different showers and have felt like B-list celebrities.  The first (which I don't have any pictures of, for some reason...probably cause everyone was too busy being awesome) was thrown by future auntie Megan and uncle Caleb.  Instead of your typical baby shower, we decided to spice it up by having a silent auction to raise money for our doula costs.  The auction "items" were not items by any means but rather some significant roles in our child's life including the rights to giving our child their first beer, the rights to teaching them how to drive a stick shift, picking out the baby's Twitter handle, picking out our family's first Christmas card outfits and pose, etc...  We had so much fun and sincerely hope our guests did as well.   A huge thank you to Caleb and Megan and their families for putting together such a unique shower for our unique little family.

Another super aunt/uncle duo, Mindy and Charlie, hosted our second shower for Dan's side of the family.  For many many holidays we have surrounded other members of the family to celebrate new baby arrivals (LOTS of babies in this family! :) and I will admit that it was a bit surreal that it is now our turn.  I kept having to remind myself that I was the pregnant one and that our baby would be the next to be passed around at Thanksgiving.  Ours will probably stick out though because he/she will be a brunette in an array of blonde beauties ;).  This shower was also awesome...in general, friends, baby showers are awesome, seriously.  I never thought I'd get so excited about baby gear, but alas, I have crossed over to the "other" side officially.  Here's a particularly good picture that captures our excitement.

Just last week I was treated to a shower hosted by my mom's group of friends...aka the "WGs".  That stands for "wild girls" and no, it's not just a clever name...they really are wild and regularly get kicked out of restaurants or at the very least get dirty looks for raucous behavior :)  These women have been in my life since I was a wee tot myself.  I had so much fun with them.  Baby did too.  Mini-Beard decided to put on quite a show towards the end and kick around for all to feel.  This kid takes after Mama in his/her center stage tendencies.  I did also eat 2 cupcakes so the performance may have been sugar-high induced.  Alas, I felt honored to share the uterine gymnastics with these women and am especially grateful to Sue who is currently fighting breast cancer like a boss, yet still pulled out all the stops to throw me a shower I'll never forget.  Love you ladies!

Sue feeling the triple sau cow my baby was performing....ignore the dude in the back, WTF?

Here's a random thing that I found entertaining...

There's this picture in the bathroom next to my office.  And although this may create a mental picture that makes you uncomfortable, it's worth noting that this picture was the picture I stared at like a deer in the headlights after watching my pregnancy test turn "positive".  Just this week I realized the coincidental nature of this photo...I mean, could it be anymore "birth-y"??

Puppies and babies....seriously.

A funny thing happened on the way to the checkout....

Really weird things happen to you when you are large and pregnant.  So the other day I was at Trader Joe's purchasing tofu (some of you who follow me on Facebook have heard a snapshot of this story).  For fellow tofu enthusiasts, you all understand how tofu is sold most commonly - tightly packed in about 2 cups of water.  Well, I picked a package off of the refrigerated shelf but failed to see that I picked the one with a faulty packing job.  The plastic wrap was cut and as I innocently whisked the tofu into my cart, all of the tofu juice water fell to the ground between my legs.  I chose to wear a skirt that day.  I spent the next 2 minutes explaining to all of the staff and patrons in my vicinity that I was not, in fact, going into labor after a broken water bag but that the faulty tofu was the culprit....awkward.

Here's some specs and a pic for week 31 (I'm still in disbelief that I'm already in the 30's).  In general, I've had the sneaking suspicion that the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy is long gone.  I'm starting to feel big...like real big.  I've got odd rules about eating at certain times or napping at certain times which makes me feel more like a toddler than a grown adult but I'm ready to ride this out and more ready than ever to face the reality of a baby being at the finish line of all of this!

Editor's note : I just realized from this angle, it looks like under the "Reading" category that is says "just farted Baby Catcher"....in fact, it says "just finished Baby Catcher".  Maybe I'm the only one that sees that but in case I'm not, I thought I'd clear that up.  But I could dedicate an entire post to.....well, never mind.

And now a reflective, philosophical note...

I wanted to end on something else that has been on my mind lately that I think everyone deserves to  hear about.  Something that I did not understand until I was facing mama-hood, myself.  Loving a child, whether they are unborn, newborn, currently awaiting adoption, or full-grown is simultaneously the most natural/effortless thing in the world and also bone-chilling to your very core.  Since I only have experience in the "unborn" child world, I will tell you that not a day minute goes by where I don't wonder about the well-being of my baby and from what I hear, that doesn't go away any time soon.  I have heard so many stories in recent months and even recent hours of mamas who were facing some scary situations with their children and a new part of my heart that I didn't know existed aches for what they are facing or have faced.  I truly did not understand how much of a mind/body/soul workout it is to care for a child.  I think twice now before I look at a mom or dad who appears to have "everything"- healthy kids, smiling face, hair done - because I know there was undoubtedly a time in their life when they faced the daunting monster of The Unknown.  

I could dedicate an entire post to the power The Unknown can have over otherwise rational humans when it comes to loving children (or really just living life in general) and I certainly don't want to come across as Debbie Downer at the end of such a positive blog but I, myself, often need a reminder of the "balls" it takes to love someone.  Women are amazing.  Seriously.  I've watched women in my life endure the scariest of circumstances with grace and courage and know that the blueprint for me as a mama couldn't be more inspiring.  Scary moments pass, worry fades, and what's left is pure, raw, uncontrollable love which can only be likened to how "in control" of your emotions you felt as a horny teenager back in the day (and even that is a weak comparison).  To all the mamas facing The Unknown (you know who you are), know that this time of intensity is temporary and the answers are always in your own thick mama skin no matter what is happening around you.  To all the mamas who have faced and defeated fear, you are my heroes.  And to everyone in between..go hug a mama/papa and tell them Carise told you to :).  This shit is real, man.

Lots and lots of positivity and love to you all.....I cringe to think at how stretched out I will feel the NEXT time I blog :)

Love, Dan, Carise & Mini-Beard (and of course, Dakota and Monti)