Belly Button
Every Friday, I get “Pregnancy Updates” from two different pregnancy websites. I read through them quickly, mentally checking off what I am going through. It mentions nausea and I say to myself – HA! I have nausea. Back pain? Yep, I have that, too. As I go along, I read certain things out loud to Daniel so that he can know what’s happening to Zoe and me on any given week.
A couple weeks ago (week 23): “It says here, we should be reading out loud to the baby.” So that night Daniel read from “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” doing funny voices for all of the characters and entertaining me. I think Zoe was entertained too. I rubbed my tummy and could feel her kicking and moving about. She would get especially active when I would start laughing at her dad. She seems to like it when I laugh. Either that, or she’s moving about trying to get me to settle down and quit shaking. Hmmm.
Not everything they say happens when they say it will because, you know: everyone is different. I think I’m lucky. For instance, I have not yet had my feet, hands or face swell up. Yay me. I’m expecting it any day now, but the brief reprieve is cause for celebration in my book.
But sometimes I get bothered by not being in sync with their timetables.
Back around week 20, the updates started mentioning the popping out of the belly button. At first, this freaked me out. I liked my belly button the way it was. What would that feel like? I was relieved that I wasn’t going through this yet. But as time went on, I started obsessing over the lack of pop. At our detailed ultrasound, I got very serious and asked the tech if it was normal that my belly button was still an innie. I wanted to know if there was something wrong with me. Sensitive woman that she was, she hit my shoulder and told me to stop worrying about stuff. And then she hit my shoulder again. And then once more to really drive that message home. It didn’t really work. While I’m not really worried, I still obsess over it. For the past five weeks I’ve been checking my belly button status every morning and night. In the evenings, while Daniel and I sit and watch “House” on DVD, I pull my shirt up and inspect my tummy progress. I can feel where the baby is. I can see small stretch marks here and there. I feel like there is a beach ball down there, but my belly button remains the same*. Actually, there are days I think it has become deeper. Sometimes I stick my finger in my belly button and then when Daniel doesn’t expect it, I stick the same finger in his to measure the difference in depth. Usually, I become distracted with how much fun it is to pick on my husband and I forget about the popping for a bit.
The fact is: this is all new and sort of surreal for me. I am in awe of every little thing that happens. It’s hard for me to grasp how much time has already passed. It seems like I was just taking the pregnancy test, and now I’m in my sixth month. I’m getting nervous. I think it’s easier for me to stress about my belly button than worry about the labor and delivery. When my belly button does finally pop, I’ll have to find something else to worry about. Ideas? Nevermind.
* FYI: Some women pop early. Some don't until their 30th week and beyond. It's all dependent on the individual. The rational Keely knows this.
A couple weeks ago (week 23): “It says here, we should be reading out loud to the baby.” So that night Daniel read from “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” doing funny voices for all of the characters and entertaining me. I think Zoe was entertained too. I rubbed my tummy and could feel her kicking and moving about. She would get especially active when I would start laughing at her dad. She seems to like it when I laugh. Either that, or she’s moving about trying to get me to settle down and quit shaking. Hmmm.
Not everything they say happens when they say it will because, you know: everyone is different. I think I’m lucky. For instance, I have not yet had my feet, hands or face swell up. Yay me. I’m expecting it any day now, but the brief reprieve is cause for celebration in my book.
But sometimes I get bothered by not being in sync with their timetables.
Back around week 20, the updates started mentioning the popping out of the belly button. At first, this freaked me out. I liked my belly button the way it was. What would that feel like? I was relieved that I wasn’t going through this yet. But as time went on, I started obsessing over the lack of pop. At our detailed ultrasound, I got very serious and asked the tech if it was normal that my belly button was still an innie. I wanted to know if there was something wrong with me. Sensitive woman that she was, she hit my shoulder and told me to stop worrying about stuff. And then she hit my shoulder again. And then once more to really drive that message home. It didn’t really work. While I’m not really worried, I still obsess over it. For the past five weeks I’ve been checking my belly button status every morning and night. In the evenings, while Daniel and I sit and watch “House” on DVD, I pull my shirt up and inspect my tummy progress. I can feel where the baby is. I can see small stretch marks here and there. I feel like there is a beach ball down there, but my belly button remains the same*. Actually, there are days I think it has become deeper. Sometimes I stick my finger in my belly button and then when Daniel doesn’t expect it, I stick the same finger in his to measure the difference in depth. Usually, I become distracted with how much fun it is to pick on my husband and I forget about the popping for a bit.
The fact is: this is all new and sort of surreal for me. I am in awe of every little thing that happens. It’s hard for me to grasp how much time has already passed. It seems like I was just taking the pregnancy test, and now I’m in my sixth month. I’m getting nervous. I think it’s easier for me to stress about my belly button than worry about the labor and delivery. When my belly button does finally pop, I’ll have to find something else to worry about. Ideas? Nevermind.
* FYI: Some women pop early. Some don't until their 30th week and beyond. It's all dependent on the individual. The rational Keely knows this.
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