Layla's Dark and Foreboding Weblog

Let's start out with I LOVE BEING PREGNANT. So far, it's been a pretty good ride. Yeah, morning sickness sucks, but every pang of nausea reminds me that I have achieved what was so important to me. It reminds me that I am, indeed, knocked up. I'm winding down the first trimester, feeling good about things, taking part in pregnant talk with pregnant girls.

The thing that I don't like is that every pregnant woman, myself included, is an expert on pregnancy. If you have an opinion that you developed from talking to your doctor, and that opinion differs from the OB a fellow PG, then it's wrong. Straight out wrong. There is a huge group of people who choose not to vaccinate their kids. Not because they read about the possible links to autism, or mercury exposure, but merely because they saw Jenny McCarthy on Oprah for 8 minutes. Seriously, I am *terrified* of my child developing autism, but I'm also terrified of them getting mumps, which is seeing a resurgence lately thanks to people not vaccinating.

Fine. Don't vaccinate. Done. I think it's stupid, but it's your child, you know? But to tell me that my doctor is getting kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies because she strongly recommends I get a flu shot this year is just fucking stupid. This is the same person who said the op-ed author in the Times is also getting kickbacks for this article on germs. Let me be clear: I think we are too germ phobic in this country. Too many anti-bacterial wipes and not enough natural immunity. But, I say that with zero scientific training. None. I have more respect for the editor of Scientific Americans view on this than my own. Call me nuts.

That aside, let's go back to the awesomeness of gestation. I haven't been eating a ton, but I eat often. I'm not really craving anything weird. I haven't gained any weight yet, but there's plenty of time for that. I've taken to answering the annoying gender question "What do you guys want?" with "We're hoping for a unicorn, but we'll be happy with a centaur." Seriously, why would we state preference for something with only a 50% payoff? We will be THRILLED with either. We have names for both. No preference on my part whatsoever.

M is slowly becoming scared shitless of the prospect of fatherhood. Not that he's not going to be a bad dad, but that he'll, literally, break the baby. He's a big guy. At 6'5", 240 lbs of muscle and awesomeness, he is a clumsy fellow. Just this month he's ripped off a toenail slamming in into the foot of the couch, slammed his head in his own trunk, bumped his head more times than I could count, walked into walls, signs, mailboxes, etc. Given his propensity for accidents, he's worried that he's going to drop/break/lose the child. Nothing I say to the contrary will make him feel better. I guess time will tell.

I'll try to update more over the coming months, but honestly, I'm horribly annoying now. I talk about nothing else other than the miracle child bunking out in my womb. The 2nd trimester is looking promising though, as I'm now much more energetic than the first months of this pregnancy ("She's like a narcoleptic!" was M's line of the day). I'm starting week 11 on Saturday, and get my next sono on November 2nd. Embryo is now Fetus. Good times!