Perhaps it is mere coincidence, but Aaron and I have noticed over the last week we have had one extraordinary customer service experience after another.  It’s almost shocking.  People have been so nice.  It got us thinking…what is different, why would everyone be so nice? Could it be the belly?  Are people really that much nicer to pregnant women, or perhaps in my case REALLY pregnant women.  I didn’t really notice it so much earlier on in the pregnancy.  Mamas chime in.  Were strangers nicer to you when you were pregnant?

Hi Everyone it’s Zimmerbaby. I’ve recently started playing a little game I like to call bounce. Basically I use my arms and legs to push off and bounce downward onto the spongy thing my head rests against. It is loads of fun. Occasionally it will elicit a strange noise that sounds like “Ouch”! But i’m not sure where the sound actually comes from.

Ok, now waddling is one thing.  But clumsiness seemed to me to be a stupid excuse that pregnant women made for themselves.  Perhaps it still is.  But I swear something strange is going on.  I am normally a very anal person, especially when it comes to eating.  As my stomach has grown so has my ability to spill food on it.  I don’t know what it is.  I try so hard to be careful and I end up with food on my stomach ALL THE TIME!  It is so annoying.  I used to make fun of Aaron because he is such a sloppy eater.  Now the tide has turned and I’m way worse than he is.  I don’t get it.  On top of that, I drop things all the time.  I drop my phone, my water bottle, keys, everything!  I also bump into doorways and corners a lot but I always did that.  It’s possible I’ve just come in to a particularly clumsy phase in my life right around the time that I became pregnant but I feel like it is more than mere coincidence.  Either way it is quite frustrating and slightly embarrassing.  Spray & Wash and I have become good friends.

I have begun to waddle when I walk.  For some reason I believed that I would not need to waddle when I walked as a pregnant person, despite the fact that most women waddle when pregnant.  I’m not really sure why I thought this.  For a while, I have tried to avoid the natural desire my body had to sway slightly from side to side.  It actually takes some concentration and effort to walk straight. It really is more uncomfortable to try to walk straight than to just walk naturally swaying the way my body wants to.  I know that scientifically, our bodies waddle because our hips and joints are expanding in preparation for the oncoming delivery.  I suppose I considered myself a scientific anomaly. As my body continues to grow and every little thing becomes increasingly more uncomfortable and challenging, I’ve decided to give up the fight and embrace the waddle.

I am so fortunate to have Aaron in my life.  He cooks for me when I’m too tired at the end of the day, pretty much everyday. He lets the dog out so I don’t have to get up.  He rubs my back when it hurts.  He fills my car up with gas.  He changes the cat litter.  He carries anything and everything heavy around the house so I don’t have to. He doesn’t complain that the snoogle and I take up 2/3 of the bed every night. He even ties my shoes because it is so hard to reach.  I can’t imagine going through this journey without him. He is my rock. For all of the small, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness he performs on a daily basis, I am forever grateful.

Hello from Zimmerbaby!  I’m doing well this week.  Kicking and punching as usual.  You know I think I’m starting to put on a little weight.  My arms and legs are starting to look a little plumper these days.  Hopefully I won’t put on too much or  think my cave might pop.  I seem to be running out of room.

I believe there should be special warnings for pregnant women on TV.  I’m not talking about labels on alcohol bottles, food and medicine.  They should warn us before showing a particularly sappy love drama, a story with a sad ending, anything with puppies or children dying or gruesome scenes of women in labor.  My crazy hormones make it so easy to cry at the drop of a hat.  I cried this morning on my way to work listening to that Taylor Hicks song Romeo and Juliet. Seriously.  And its a happy song.  A warning would have been particularly helpful prior to the series finale of ER tonight.