babies babies babies

maybe people know this, maybe they don't, but there are babies being made all over the place! it's crazy!

I just found out last night that one of my good friends is pregnant, which is exciting for her & her beau & me for selfish reasons. a few old friends who live far away have had babies in the last year & it seems we keep up more now than ever because of it--discussing baby things that no self-respecting, non-baby having, single person would be interested in. but they are far away. I've made a few new friends with babies but I don't see them much. mainly because we have babies & they are hard to schedule around. this is sometimes hard & sometimes less hard. lately it's been easier because mina is so engaging & fun. I am so busy playing with her that I forget I haven't talked to a grown up in awhile.

now, I was a nanny for a long time before having mina, and I also taught preschool, was a camp counselor, taught poetry in schools, etc. etc. so I've been around babies, kids & their parents for a long time. I thought this would prepare me for being a mama, but no. I was amazed at how little I absorbed about pregnancy, labor & delivery, breast-feeding & a lot of other kid-related things . really, the biggest thing that struck me during pregnancy was how little I knew about it beforehand. in the movies if someone goes into labor, you know it because their water breaks & then they jump in the car & have the baby 5 minutes later after pushing for about 30 seconds. who knew that most people's waters don't break, or that you have to deliver the placenta after the baby?! gross, I know, which is probably why no one talks about it. I don't think I found out until 2 months before giving birth & let me tell you, I was shocked. I mean, they don't mention that on a baby story! wtf?

the only reason I can think of is that women who have never been pregnant can't really even begin to imagine what it is like actually being pregnant. I remember when my friend ariel was pregnant with her son in germany, I read through a non-technical pregnancy book (girlfriend's guide) to get a glimpse of what she was going through. it was eye-opening, to be sure, but it actually sunk in, when I was going through it myself. I guess it's really because it's a hard thing to really imagine. even when it's happening, it feels like it couldn't be happening. I mean--hello, there is a person growing inside of you that didn't exist before & eventually it will have to come out & then grow into a walking, talking human being that will be tied to you for the rest of your lives!!! that just seems totally insane on about 7 thousand levels.

you know when people say that there's a secret club that you join when you have a kid--it's the club of people who are basically weirded out by the fact that somehow they created life & now that life is taking over the world & they haven't slept in months. okay, that's maybe not the secret parent club. maybe that's the secret parent club who used to take acid when they were younger. I know there is that other parent club of people who find all this totally normal, you know, just la-di-da about the whole process. those people freak me out & I generally don't talk to them though.

more will be said on this, I'm sure...