Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Working Ma Blogs

I've been feeling so guilty about this pregnancy thing because I just haven't been journaling much. This may be the only time I ever experience the magical feeling of a parasite tapping politely at my insides, and all I'm doing at night is lying down next to Esteban each night and waiting until he stops playing with his phone so we can cuddle and sleep. But I've been doing so good with blogging over at Eat the Yolk that maybe the trend will continue here!

I still have four months left on this pregnancy journey, and there are little miracles that happen on a regular basis that I don't want to forget. Like, today, I lay in the bathtub, and for the first time I could see my stomach ripple as the baby fussed inside. Also, for the first time, I couldn't see my lady parts from a reclining position, so that is.... something.

One thing that has surprised me has been how seamless it is to work and be pregnant. It's kinda fun, in fact. My now-visible tummy inspires other women to tell me about their pregnancy and birth stories. For most women it makes them happy to think about these things, and that brings unique joy to days that are otherwise laden with accreditation concerns, grading student work, and worrying about that guy I dropped and whether he'll show up all mad to class with a banana cream pie to slam in my face.

The men react a little differently. The ones with older children beam with the recognition of bouncing babies ahead, who talk about how tough their wives were in the delivery room. They almost seem happier than the women, in a "I remember the first time feeding my daughter! I also remember the first time I did an olly on a skateboard. It was rad. See you later!" kind of a way. It's kinda cute. Male students have even been prompted to ask questions that are probably way more personal than they'd ask otherwise: "How far along? Five months? Whoa. Are you OK? My sisters were so much bigger than you at that stage!"

(Cue pregnancy anxiety, cue "am I gaining enough weight??" concerns)

(Body as a common space.)

Another interesting thing about work/pregnancy is a very faint sense of protectiveness and care. In the college environment, people are generally very sensitive and liberal-minded. This is awesome. But there has been just a hint of "She's pregnant so I should react this way." One way this manifests is with food gifts. Someone has made me a pie; I've been brought chocolate cake; a student schlepped his grandmother's homemade pan de muerto from Tijuana. This trend, I will say, is pretty amazing and welcome. This, and maternity jeans I hope continue after the little seal pup is born.

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