The train

I had my second doctor's appointment today, although it was much less dramatic than the first one. We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat easily--it sounds like a tiny train. Dr. Locke had to keep moving the machine because apparently Baby Anderson is a bouncy little thing, constantly in motion. Staylee believes it has already adapted his habit of pacing. I like to think of it as a tiny pinball, gleefully bouncing off of its surroundings.

For the most part I am in good shape. Dr. Locke says I am dehydrated, so I have to up my water intake. All in all the appointment was over very quickly and apparently this is how most of my appointments will be. We will find out the baby's gender at the end of May (for those of you who have asked). I know some women claim to "know" what they are carrying--but I have no clue. Of course, I wouldn't know what it would feel like either way, would I? So we will just have to wait and see.

Cravings and other weirdness

There are some strange misconceptions about pregnant women and cravings. Some of them seem to be part of the culture (ie. pickles) and others just assumptions people make. And most of them are not true.

For one thing, no two pregnant women crave the same things. I haven't had any cravings for pickles and ice cream doesn't appeal to me at all. Another thing about cravings, or at least mine, is that they are not stagnant. I may crave something one day, but once I have it I'm pretty much over it.

As for my own personal weird eating habits, I think they are pretty tame. I like to eat saltine crackers with mild salsa, but I have always liked that. I sat and ate a jar of pickled beets the other day, about 12 in all, so I guess that is pretty weird.

I think the thing that struck me as being the strangest was that I had to buy all new lotions. My mother-in-law bought me all these dessert scented lotions for Christmas that I can no longer use. I had been using Creme Brule, but one day the smell hit me and I wanted Creme Brule so badly--it was all I could think about. Of course, Midland is not exactly the place to find Creme Brule, so that made that craving particularly difficult. I finally managed to get some this past weekend and I don't want it anymore, although should I use the lotion again, who knows. I'll stick to Cherry Blossom, Gardenia, and Peony for the time being.

The only thing I really crave continuously is milk. I love it--ice cold in my San Diego zoo Panda glass. It's so good. It also helps with indigestion, something I have grappled with in the late hours. I am also craving fruit (watermelon especially) and salad.

I think one of the biggest changes has been my super sensitive sense of smell. I have never had a good sense of smell so this is an interesting change. I have nose to rival my beloved Perdita. This can be good, but with more aversions than cravings it can also make me sick when I have to inhale unpleasant smells (a man on the plane last week smelled of refried beans and I thought I was going to be sick). Shopping for fruit is really fun because for the first time I can pick out all those smells you are supposed to check for to determine quality. Strawberries, peaches, and nectarines smell the best.

My hormones have apparently kicked in because my emotions have become more erratic than ever. I can cry for an hour about absolutely nothing. Most days it feels like people are doing things just for the sole purpose of annoying me. And my internal censor seems to have broken down--I can hear myself being a bitch and I just can't stop it. Mostly I just want people to leave me alone because there is a good chance that completely unintentionally they are going to say something to irritate me. Rationality and pregnancy are indeed strange bedfellows.

Imelda Marcos was a baby once

In my wildest dreams I never imagined the amount of crap there is available for babies. It truly is staggering. I mean, there are hundreds of different kinds of bottles, pacifiers, wipes, diapers--it boggles the mind. Baby Einstein makes two play gyms, one basic and one aquarium model. For ten dollars more your baby can experience sea creatures and a squishy mat. Does this mean your baby will be smarter? Or will be afraid of water if you go with the plain one? Who knows?

I think the thing that really gets me about baby stuff if baby clothes. Most of it is so pointless. I have known babies that had closets full of clothes and shoes before they were even born. Now I understand it is human impulse to buy tiny clothes because admittedly they are very cute (well, some of them) but logic dictates this is generally a waste of money. It would make much more sense to me to buy a few onsies and sleepers in assorted sizes to prepare for the baby and leave it at that.

First of all, babies are born all different sizes. So all those cute little outfits in size newborn or 0-3 months may not even fit baby when it's born or baby will grow out of them in like a week. Second, unless your baby is a Brangelina offspring, there isn't a good chance it's going to be photographed in public that often. More likely those pictures will be little candid photos that you won't have time to dress the baby in cute outfits for. It also blows my mind that people still make baby clothes without snaps. Why would you put your baby in something that will require you to completely undress them every time you need to change them?

But even more inane to me then buying tons of baby clothes just because they are cute are buying shoes for a baby. Any kind of shoes. Most babies hate shoes and it has been proven that it is better for your baby to learn to walk barefoot. I think a collection of cheap socks that can be lost is much more valuable than a pair of tiny Nike that will most likely get lost the first time they are worn and the baby tosses them off.

Granted this is my first baby, but it would seem to me that there are so many other things a baby could use like diapers, a high chair, a play yard, a car seat, a savings bond that would really help them get a good start as opposed to some overalls with a duck on them.