By Holly Olson.
*** WARNING: This post contains no political content whatsoever. Read on at your own risk. ***
I admit that when I found out I was pregnant with Baby Olson-Pagnucco (BOP), I became quite curious as to whether people would start to treat me differently. Would people hold the door open for me? Would they give up their seat on the metro for me? Would drivers at the Intersection of Death (IOD) let me cross the intersection without nudging their cars up my butt?
As I suspected, the answer came back a resounding NO. No passes for the pregnant lady, thank you very much. This is DC after all, where everyone has places to go, people to see, and little time to show any extra courtesy to a pregnant lady. I recently heard about a new show called ‘In the Motherhood’ on ABC, and in the premiere, the story line included a woman who faked a pregnancy to receive preferential treatment. Obviously, this story was written by a Man, because I don’t believe that this happens in real life – at least not where we live.
Even in my own home, I don’t get much of a break. The vision of me lounging around on the sofa while my husband fans me and feeds me grapes is only that – a vision in some alternate reality. Instead, I find myself still doing my usual chores, cooking dinner, and yelling at Adam to stop blogging as midnight rolls around. And those pesky D4 debates did not help my cause. [Note to the politicians: Could you please not hold any more special elections? I am tired of seeing my husband disappear three nights in a row during the work week because you all need to have campaign debates.]
And so rather than the universe stopping to revolve around me, I find that it continues on, just as it always did. Instead, what I find is that my life is now filled with A LOTS. I have to go the bathroom, A LOT. I eat, A LOT. I am tired, A LOT. My belly has grown, A LOT. You get the picture…
As the big day approaches, we are trying to get ready as countless parents have done before us. We ordered the crib, set up the baby registries, and are scheduled for lots of baby classes at Holy Cross Hospital. There is the ‘How the hell do I make it through labor class’, the ‘What do I do now that he is out class’, and the ‘How do I prevent him from electrocuting himself class’ (i.e. baby safety). Somehow I couldn’t convince Adam to attend the breast feeding class with me – he wanted to go to a D4 debate instead. Go figure. [Note to assorted politicians: Adam WILL be attending baby classes throughout April and May. Tuesday nights will no longer be free. Please adjust your schedules accordingly.]
There are also the usual worries: will there be any complications during delivery, will he have any health problems, will he terrorize us both with endless crying. Adam is particularly concerned about all the diapers that he will have to change. I am concerned about whether he will try to blog while changing the diapers. But such is life.
All in all, things are going pretty well (knock on wood). BOP continues to grow, and as far as we know, he is healthy. He moves around a lot, and I am sure that if he could take a mini-laptop into the womb with him, he would be typing out his daily updates on Facebook. So keep us in your thoughts. Only 2 more months, and out he comes – get ready world!