Week 22
At week 22, I am starting to not only look quite pregnant, I am starting move more slowly, particularly when I sit down or get up from the seated position. I find looking at myself as I pass by store windows on the street an uneasy experience because I have never seen myself that big. The weight gain is scaring me a bit as well as I feel it is starting to speed up. I found this calculator and it seems like the weight gain is still quite well within normal range, though (http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/encyclopedia/x/Weight-Gain/).
I am 55% through my pregnancy, which means that I still have quite a bit bigger to get! Rubbing tummy oil on my belly is now a daily ritual, along with general tight feeling. My belly button is starting to look a bit funny. It’s not popping out yet but definitely looking shallow and funny.
I am already starting to feel my brain being rewired. I have been feeling extra alert and energetic mentally, but I am having some brain farts — the kind that involve having a word at the tip of your tongue but forgetting the exact vocabulary for what you want to say. I am convinced that this is not a sign of me getting dumber, though people often speak of this “mommy brain” as if having children is a legitimate excuse for lower IQ. If that is the case, that motherhood made for dumber mothers, I doubt the human race can actually survive as well as it has. There is a reason that the the more fierce of the species is female! It’s probably more likely that the so called “mommy brain” as it refers to the mental dullness is actually a result of sleep deprivation — that I will buy.
The reality is starting to sink in… and there is lots to do to prepare. James and I will have to start taking classes for childbirth and parenting.