Are we there yet?

Apparently we have entered the phase during which people think I have given birth but not told them.  On my WTE March 2012 app there are plenty of women who seem to be having the same issue – lots of people checking in to see if anything has happened yet.  Now just for the record I don’t mind this – again, I’m touched anyone cares.  But it is kind of funny, in the world of Facebook and e-mail and smart phones, to think that anyone could be out of the loop about ANYTHING at any time.  My sister called to tell me her stepmother has been checking in with her a lot to see if anything has happened.  I said next time she should tell her I had the baby two weeks ago but we all forgot to tell her.  Just kidding.

Tonight my Mom Guru friend is coming over to walk me through cloth diapering.  She sent me some links to YouTube videos on the subject, and I watched them, so I already feel more informed – I at least feel like I know how to actually put one on; the prep and washing and accessory part I’m still a bit muddy about.  But I did feel myself panic slightly while watching the videos, I won’t lie.  I’m starting to feel about cloth diapering the same way I feel about breastfeeding – best for baby, check, best for environment, check, best all around, check, but a HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS.  There’s just so much lingo – “pre-folds” (looks like a piece of cloth to me), “all-in-ones”, “inserts”, huh? Hopefully I will get the hang of it and just integrate it into my daily life and that’ll be it – and lord knows most cloth diaperers except for maybe the most hardcore probably do a combo of cloth and disposables as convenience dictates.  But right now it’s extremely daunting and I’m exhausted just thinking about it.  So, not only do I have to deal with postpartum hormonal weirdness/bleeding/vajayjay yuckiness/exhaustion but also at the same time have to deal with first time breastfeeding and all that entails AND cloth diapering and all that entails, and all of this RIGHT AWAY, like, within minutes or hours after he’s born, no break for mommy?  Then I remember all of our ancestors did this and without anti-bacterial sprays and cute little cloth diaper covers and lactation specialists.  At any rate I do have a package of newborn disposables for those first few days if I just can’t deal, and I swear if I discover my water bill is more than a diaper service I may just go for the service.  If it’s about saving money and actually costs me more money, then what’s the point?

Was able to get my butt out for brunch, the post office, the grocery store, and TWO, count them, TWO birthday parties last night.  I didn’t know if I’d be able to survive yesterday, but I did, even though every step felt like I had a giant medicine ball resting on my bladder.  I swear the only way I made it through was lots of iced tea and sugar.  It was not a good GD diet day for me.  Not at all.  I would like to say I can resume hiking or yoga…but I think I’m kind of done with both of these things for the duration.  My wrists and hands hurt too much from carpal tunnel to be able to do anything yoga related (especially the endless downward dog poses – no thank you), and somehow I just don’t feel safe hiking right now when even walking is very unpleasant.  Since every time now they take my blood pressure it’s kind of high, and then I sit for a few seconds and it drops back to normal levels, the NST nurse suggested last time that clearly I do better when resting and probably shouldn’t be exerting myself too much.  My response was, “works for me!”

So next week’s calendar is still full of stuff, but then after that it’s eerily blank.  It kind of reminds me of when I used to sneak and read my mother’s old diaries, and there was one from when she was pregnant with me (would LOVE to get my hands on that now) and then the day before I was born was the last entry and the rest of the book was blank.  I think this set in my brain at a very young age that having a baby is the end of your life.  Well, your life as you know it, anyway.  I prefer to think of it in the terms verbalized by comic Wanda Sykes upon having twins, “Now, I know I used to say kids ruin your life.  And they do ruin your life.  But they give you a new life.”  Works for me!