So I read in one of my ‘guide to pregnancy books’ that vivid dreams are pretty common. The most recent one I had included TinyD running away from me right after he was born. Never mind that he was a newborn, somehow he could sprint like an Olympic athlete and was running down the hospital corridor, sans clothing. Briefly disturbing, but also kind of funny. I’ve never seen a baby sprinting down the hall anywhere, but I’ve actually seen adults running naked down a hospital corridor (yes, more than once. No, I don’t recommend it as a method of checking out of the hospital).
Hmmm…. OK, now that I’m entering the 3rd trimester (starts sometime in the next few weeks, or maybe now, at 26 weeks?) the whole reality of TinyD arriving is starting to hit. Never mind that he’s been kicking quite a bit, so it’s not like I can forget he’s there, or that it’s getting really obvious that I’m pregnant, so that no one is shy about asking me. But the practical things, like daycare vs nanny, finding a pediatrician, getting nursery furniture, etc are starting to seem a bit urgent to complete. This fills me with concerns like “What if I can’t find a daycare or nanny and have to quit my job after umpteen years of school and training?” or “What if we don’t get our baby furniture on time and TinyD has to sleep in a laundry basket, like one of our cats?” Fortunately, there is more than one infant care day care in the county and some of my friends with babies have recommended pediatricians, so I think things will work out.
I read “The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy” which I picked up during our loooong airport layover coming back from vacation. The author is very funny, to the point where I would laugh out loud while reading it, drawing stares no doubt from the people around me. It covers lots of pregnancy topics, from conception to post-delivery and addresses a lot of the concerns pregnant women might have. It encourages readers with a bun in the oven not to get a radical new haircut in the third trimester as you will still look incredibly pregnant, but will now have a pixie haircut to top it off. It also had good advice about pregnancy clothing (share with your friends). While not quite as thorough as some of the 400 page pregnancy guides, it’s still well worth reading.
Scariest-looking pregnancy book on the shelf? ‘The Complete Organic Pregnancy’. I only read the back cover of it and then had to put it down. It has sections on how to avoid polluting you and your baby with your face cream and makeup (What? Lead-based makeup went out of style 200 yrs ago, what else could it be?) as well as a lot of info about toxins in food and pretty much everything around us. I already have enough paranoia about fish – is this the fish with lots of omega3’s? or lots of mercury? – so I think this is not the right book for me.