A Reason For Some Really Good Sleep

I absolutely love our bed and I wish I had taken the time to do this earlier. Tonight I bought several things that just made our bed heavenly. I am afraid that if I get in bed tonight, I will not get up tomorrow.

I have been using a Snoogle that my cousin and his wife gave me for my birthday. It goes everywhere with me. It has been absolutely awesome, but my big, fat belly is kicking it out of the bed every night. For the better part of this last week I have been waking up with it in the floor and not under me. So, I bought a body pillow tonight and I am going to see if I can hang on to that. The Snoogle will rejoin me after the baby comes because it is perfect for napping, feeding and proping up the baby.

Now, I did not stop with the body pillow. I bought a feather bed because I have always wanted one and it was on sale for a ridiculous price. I would be crazy not to buy it. I also bought a bed skirt because our bed sadly needed it to round out the look and if I was going to buy a bed skirt, I should buy matching shams. I also bought two new pillows. Our bed looks wonderful, feels wonderful and everything I bought was on sale which is even better.

So now I am looking at the list of things I need to finish tonight and I just can not help but think that maybe all of the reading I need to do can be done in bed. I hear a very fluffy and comfortable bed calling my name.

And this all started just because I needed a body pillow.

The Pregnancy Police

Now I want to know, who is in charge of this specific group that seems to be bent on making sure they tell you that you are killing your unborn child, or ensuring that your baby will be born with three ears or missing a couple of fingers or toes. Who gave this group dominion over all those pregnant and why can't they keep their nose in their own business? I did not become pregnant yesterday and I do know what I can and can not eat or drink.

Which brings me to the caring folks that sometimes work at Starbucks. Now first off, I have to say that I have been pretty good. I am drinking tons of water, I have given up lots of food that I love like shell fish, feta cheese and alcohol. All of this with no problem. But folks, I am telling you, I love my Starbucks. I am sure there is crack or something in it because I have not once considered giving that up.

So, I am still traveling and I have a pretty good travel companion- my boss. He is the father of two beautiful girls. He hold his wife up as high as he does his mother because she apparently was the perfect pregnant woman. And even he does not give me a hard time. If I have coffee one day he does not say a word. We were out of town for over a week and I ate a cheese burger at least five meals that week and he did not call my doctor or my mother. So, we still get along fine. He almost saw me get real mad one morning and it surprised him a little that I was as bothered as I was. On our way to a meeting we stopped at Starbucks and when I ordered the woman taking my order looked down at my stomach and said "YOU, DO want that decaf." Not a question, a statement. I generally go for the half caf so I thanked her and said I would have half caf. Of course she just looked at me. I noticed after I ordered she said something to gal making the beverages which was probably something about the woman burning her unborn child with coffee. Needless to say, that was one of the worst cups of coffee I have ever had.... Very surprising.

Then, there is the kind lady at Target. I love to shop at Target, I could go broke there if my husband allowed me to. But, I try to shop smart and one thing I like to buy there is Gatorade. It is significantly less expensive at Target. So, last weekend when I was there, I picked up two large bottles and all the other odds and ends I needed. When I was checking out the lady at the register looked at me and in a meek voice she said, "You really should not be picking those up." ARGH!!!! I appreciate that everyone has the interest of an unborn child in mind, but good grief, I have not stressed over everything I eat, how much weight I am gaining and holding my breath anytime I walk by someone smoking just to kill my baby by picking up a 3 pound jug of Gatorade.

Unless I see a pregnant woman throwing herself down a flight of stairs, I think I will keep my comments to myself.

The Truth About Babies and Marriage

If you have no interest in babies or how they could change your entire life, then these posts just won't be any fun for you. Now, if you are a having a baby or thinking about having a baby you might find this to be some very valuable information.

I guess I can start by saying that I am absolutely thrilled about my little bundle of joy that is on the way and scared to death at the same time. I am also beginning to think that my girlfriends are far too sweet and afraid to step on any toes to so boldly throw some of this stuff out in the open. I hope I am not the first to say that the moment you find out that you and your beloved are going to be parents, everything and I do mean everything changes. Your spending habits change, your plans for vacation, your season tickets, your nights out with friends, your date nights, your sex life, your conversations and your interactions with each other and your family. I may have left something out, but trust me, just because it is not listed does not mean it is not changed by the expected arrival of your first baby.

At first just out of fear and the weird factor your sex life will change. You may feel sick all of the time, because let's face it, morning sickness sometimes lasts all day. Or, you are going to be dog tired, you may not feel attractive or the thought of your child being present during such an intimate act might seem a little weird. So on that note you have to ask yourself if you have any memory of your folks having sex while you were a fetus? No, I did not think so. And it is a good thing. Otherwise we would need a lot more shrinks in this world.

Your spending habits immediately change and you will think about it. You stop buying those awesome strappy sandals and you start looking at maternity clothes. Old Navy summer clothes become automatically removed from your list. And yes you will hate it when you first realize it. Because let's face it, unless you have an endless amount of money maternity clothes are not going to be that stylish. You bypass all the fun skirts and tops at Target and walk straight to the maternity section of the store, just wondering if you could go up a size or two and still get away with that great pair of slacks you passed on the way.

One of the things that will change the most at first is the way you think- about everything. I realized that the way I think about my career, my free time and plans for my life were all changing. I was about to become someone's mom. That was a pretty big realization to come to. Being silly, making mistakes and forgetting things suddenly seems even more irresponsible to me than it did before. I was becoming a mom which meant that I should know how to make a peach pie from scratch, how to bathe and diaper a baby, what every cry meant, where the hammer is at all times, what needs to be cleaned and what is ready to wear, what is for dinner and where anyone's keys are at any given time. That is not too much to ask of any mom is it?

One other thing I have had to come to terms with is the Reproductive Vessel Syndrome. I am honestly amazed at the ability my body has to change, support and carry the growing life of a baby. The one thing that has been more difficult to get my hands around is how different I am to the rest of the world. For the most part I feel like myself, the way I felt before I was pregnant. The mirror reminds me that I am not the same. I get teased a little at work about being the "Round one" or "The Tick", cute I know. Everyone wants to touch a prego belly which is fine if I know you- strangers keep your hands off. That is just not cool. And maybe I have not identified this feeling correctly, but the Reproductive Vessel is the only way I know how to describe it. Now my sister absolutely adored her pregnant body. She found full excitement in the round belly that she developed and she even felt sexy. Sexy is not even on the radar for me now. And I have a difficult time imaging that I will ever be looked at as sexy again. That is just pregnancy hormones talking, I know.

My overall feeling is amazement, excitement and anticipation. I have done a lot of things in my lifetime, but I have yet to give life to another human being. I can now add that to my list. I am excited about getting to know my little bundle of joy and seeing him grow, what he will like and what he will do. And I am anticipating the process of labor. I have heard different things from my friends and they try to tell you what it is like, but I guess an experience like that is difficult to really put into words. But as my baby's daddy and I see it, our mommas did it, our friends are doing it, so I can too. I may not enjoy labor, but as one of my girlfriends has said, it is totally worth it.