Pregnancy Woes

When I would see a pregnant woman I would sometimes have feelings of wishing I was pregnant too. I would think how I missed the whole experience and how "fun" it was to be expecting - the growing belly, feeling the baby move, the excitement of waiting for the birth of a new baby. And I would tell people how pregnancy wasn't bad for me, that I really enjoyed it. I've now realized that I must've blocked out the memories of how pregnancy really feels!

*I'm about to do some complaining, so if you'd rather not read it, here is your warning! :)

It's not all bad, of course. It was still exciting to find out we'd be adding to our family, still amazing to feel the baby start to move inside me and still neat to watch my body change (up to a certain point anyway)! However, I need to just have a few minutes to whine. For the last month it's been difficult to sleep (to say the least) with the multiple trips to the bathroom all night and having only 2 positions that I can sleep in - left side or right side, alternating between the two every 20-30 minutes. I have horrible heartburn, which I've never dealt with before, even though I take medicine for it twice a day. Many times it's hard to walk as it feels like I'm carrying a bowling ball between my legs that's trying to work its way out. I have back "spasms" throughout the day that feel like I'm being electricuted up and down my spine. My hip sometimes feels like it might break with one wrong move... *I was born with hip displasyia which left my legs different lengths and one messed up hip, which I think makes the back and hip issues more prevalent in my case. And the headaches that have been going on almost the whole 8 months are about enough to drive me insane.

So maybe I forgot about how miserable it can be (in the end) or maybe it's because this is my 5th time and my body just doesn't handle it as well as it did 13 years ago. Probably a little of both. I am getting my tubes tied when this baby is 6 weeks old and will put the pregnancy era behind me, forever! And part of the reason for this post is so I can come back and read it when those feelings of wanting to be pregnant creep up again in the future! Also, if anyone hears me saying that I love being pregnant you can kindly tell me to go read my own blog and come back to reality :)

A Night at The Movies

Last night my husband and I went to a movie (all by ourselves!). We saw Courageous, which was wonderful and highly recommended. We rarely go to the theater, mostly because we never have a babysitter and also because I hate spending that much money on one movie that I'll soon be able to rent at Redbox for $1. But, the opportunity arose thanks to grandma, and we were excited to have a little date night.

So we were in the theater enjoying our outgrageously priced popcorn and pop about 15 minutes before showtime. It looked fairly empty when we got in there but filled up nicely by the start of the movie. We sat on the end of a row, leaving one seat between hubs and the aisle so he wouldn't have to share an armrest with a stranger (he's not big on public places full of people in close proximity). There were 4 seats between me and the next closest couple. About 7 minutes into the movie 2 old women walked in and came right for our row. Now, one would assume they would choose the seat right in the middle of me and the other couple, leaving an open seat on either side of each woman, but no. The rather large and not so quiet woman plopped right down next to me, stepping on my purse and knocking my extra napkins out of the cupholder beside me. Then she asks me if the movie started yet (again, not so quietly) and I tell her yes, this is it. She mumbled. She was nearly snuggling with me once she got comfortable so I spent the majority of the next hour and a half leaning close to hubs. Ok, that's not so bad, but still. I often get more irritated with people than I probably should, even moreso when pregnant. But some people are just... irritating! Throughout the entire movie she made "hmmm" noises - when something was sad, or funny, or a good point was made. Even worse though was how she would state the obvious, out loud, as if we needed her narratives to understand the story. I tell you what, had the movie not been so good I might have walked out. Or maybe if I wasn't afraid of hurting feelings, even those of irritating people I don't even know, I would've switched seats. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I saw her eyeing my popcorn (she had none) and my puppy chow that I brought in my purse, the purse she almost STEPPED on!

I know I sound like a spoiled brat, maybe even downright mean. That's not right, but it's how I felt! All in all, we both (my husband and I, not the old lady) very much enjoyed the movie and are thankful we were able to go see it. Next time maybe we'll leave a seat in between us open just in case somebody decides to cozy up next to me - I'll just scoot over one chair and voila! Problem solved. *Why didn't I think of this yesterday??

They're Not Ready!

I'm not an expert at parenting, not by a long shot. But I do know one thing - if you let your kids "date" at an early age it will only lead to negative outcomes. Trust me, I know this from experience. It makes me sad (and almost sick sometimes) to see 12, 13 & 14 year olds hugging on the opposite sex and talking about who's the new girlfriend/boyfriend this month or even week. It makes me even more sad when this behavior is actually encouraged by the parents! Do you like seeing your child completely focused on a boyfriend or girlfriend? Does it not bother you when they they are depressed from the latest breakup? At that age they have no idea what being in a relationship really means and I don't believe that even if they did intellectually understand what goes into a relationship that they can emotionally handle any of it. We all know that these kids will not end up together in adulthood, so basically they are just wasting their time and lots of energy on "flings". And the sooner they start "dating", the sooner they will do things that should only be done by adults in marriage - this is a proven fact.

My son is not happy about having to wait until he's at least 16 to start dating and brings it up once in awhile with the argument of "everyone else is doing it". I tell him I feel sorry for the kids whose parents don't care enough to at least try and prevent their kids from getting caught up in the boyfriend/girlfriend drama, but I DO love him and want only the best for him. And because I know personally the heartache that can last for years and years due to choices made at these tender ages, I want to do whatever I can to spare my kids from having to deal with that.

*I'm not trying to point fingers at anyone in particular so please don't take it that way. I just had to share my feelings on the subject as it's been on my heart for quite some time.