De Due Date for baby Deux is just about upon us. Tomorrow, in fact. But no real signs of imminent baby yet. Maybe s/he is waiting for you all to give your "are you in labor yet?!" questions a rest. I jest, I jest. I know everyone means well. But I am a cranky, Michelin-man of a woman who sometimes thinks it's fun to joke about how close I am to giving birth and sometimes just wants a cookie. It's safer to pony up the cookie from the get-go, for the record.Another favorite question: "Are you ready?" I am supposed to say, I think, "Yes! I want this baby out! I am soooo ready!" The real answer? Eh. I am scared of having two kids. I know it will work itself out. But I fear it, and I believe that fear is legitimate. I am increasingly uncomfortable, but am not in any severe pain or anything. Things are really doable right now, and even when they're hard, I feel equipped to deal. Once new baby is here, everything is up in the air again. How will I get Edie to nap? What wrinkle in time will allow me to care for both a two year old and a newborn while maintaining any semblance of a managed household? When will I have time to reanimate my meager career? The answers will make themselves known, but only after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. I'm ready but bracing myself.
Edie and I went to the East Nashville Farmers Market today to pass the afternoon. And also to shake the baby loose on some of my neighborhood's many hills while en route. After buying some berries and a juice, we sat in the shade for awhile and chatted with some other moms. And I got the same questions. With a fun twist, though, from a man who overheard that I was going to give birth at home, causing him to wonder aloud whether I gave birth to Edie "standing up? Or squatting, or whatever?" This is definitely one of the more intimate questions I've gotten from a perfect stranger / non-medical professional, and it filled the air with a delightful awkward silence. I told him that I was in labor for 30 hours, so I'd had time to test out many variations, thanks. On the upside, the prospect of my pregnant state leading to more public questions of this nature did make me feel a little more ready to get un-pregnant.
In my nine month plus with Gretchen, I clearly recall people asking, "You have not had her yet?" There are many hostile answers that come to my mind almost thirty years later--I don't recall if I let them slip out at the time. Here are possible versions.
ReplyDelete1. Yes I had it. Just didn't lose much of the weight.
2. I had one, but her twin is still in there.
3. Had what?
4. In my family, we carry them one physical year. That's 12 months. (when a person asks a question like that, their cognitive ability should be question. thus the one year = 12 months.)
Those are good, mom. Can we add for when people say "you look like you are about to POP!" the response of conjuring up your most concerned look and saying "that's not how it works. you know that, right???"
ReplyDelete