John Who?

Let me tell you about my new favorite person. His name is John Braxton Hicks. You might not have ever heard of him, but he is actually the nice fellow who described the uternine contractions now lovingly referred to as "Braxton Hicks contractions". Now, I know its not fair to "shoot the messenger" as they say, but this just has to be blammed on someone. I don't even have a reasonable defense as to why I choose him, but really, think about it... who's left? If there was some scientist named PMS I would probably hate him too.

As you might have guessed, I have been blessed with this pregnancy symptom the last few weeks. At first I had no idea what they deal was, but in my birthing class the nurse talked about them more in depth and I was like "yup, thats it". Up until today I haven't really been bothered by them. I mean, yeah they were slightly annoying, but not painful. And I viewed them as just a natural occurance that let me know Maggie Claire was growing and doing well. Well, today that changed. I started getting PAINS while I was at work. I have to say that it kinda freaked me out. When you are pregnant, the last thing you want is a pain. Every twinge sends you (well, me anyway) into a whirlwind of thoughts about all the possible worst-case scenarios. Now being a generally pensive and creative person, you can imagine the thoughts racing through my head. Not good. So of course as soon as I got home, I googled. Apparently, most of the time these contractions are more uncomfortable than painful, but they can cause some discomfort in some women. Lucky me. I do have to say that I feel much better knowing that these CAN be painful and that these harmless contractions are probably the culprit. Usually googling medical information only makes me more paranoid, but in this case I think it has put my mind at ease a bit. I do have a doctor's appointment coming up in two weeks so I'm planning on just mentioning it in passing and getting a little verification... (no, I'm not calling them. I refuse to contribute to the running pole I have mentioned numerous times before)

In addition to my new accomplice on this pregnancy adventure, I also have to take some time to discuss my seeming inability to multi-task. I suppose I am one of those people who likes to focus on one thing. I can give it my undivided attention and make sure it is done with absolute and utter perfection. My job does not bode well with this type of OCD-ism. I am constantly juggling 10 things at one time and I get so flustered. I often wonder if people standing there watching want to laugh. I mean I like my job, but when it gets hectic of course the first thought racing through my mind is upsetting someone. When I have three people checking out, two checking in, two on the phone, and 5 new patient charts spread out in front of me waiting to be put together I worry about EVERYONE. Is the person waiting getting upset? Is the person on the phone getting upset? Are the hygienists getting upset? Its a never ending cycle. I know I am only one person, but I always expect to be SUPER one person. It is physically impossible to do all of those things at once, but I somehow expect myself to grow 8 more arms at get it all done. (On a side note, wouldn't that be cool though?... If you could regenerate arms the way octomom regenerates babies or something?) Anyway, with that being said, I still love my job, I just wish I was "Super Octo-Arm Woman" to do it some days.

So basically between my new bud John, my daily superhero transformations, and the ongoing lack of sleep, I am EXHAUSTED! However, I have to say that at the end of the day and I look down and see that belly, it is ALL worth it! I still smile when I see that growing mound where my flat stomach and belly button used to be. And when MC starts moving and I can see my stomach actually bouncing out like I am carrying a super size, bass blaring speaker instead of a baby, you can forget it. A huge grin spreads across my face and I remember what all this is for! So while I suppose I have put a negative vibe with this post, I am truly happy that I get to experience it! Contracting uterus and all!!! :)