Peer pressure is something I knew I’d have to think about soon enough. What I didn’t consider is that it could have an effect in utero. I’m pretty sure that the following things are good examples of Baby Girl’s susceptibility to peer pressure:
Example One:Â Baby Girl heard that lots of women have trouble sleeping during pregnancy due to aching joints and just being uncomfortable overall.
Exhibit A: I slept like a rock when I was pregnant with Liam. This is not to say that I didn’t have aches and pains or that I wasn’t uncomfortable, because I was, but I do remember people being amazed that I slept through the night, usually for about 9 hours, without waking up for any reason. I was dead to the world.
Exhibit B: I have had approximately 4 solid nights of sleep in the past 22 weeks. When I was newly pregnant I’d wake up to go to the bathroom and realize that my mouth tasted awful and that I was nauseated. For a while there I’d just wake up for no apparent reason and it would take hours to fall back to sleep. I’ve moved on to feeling like someone took a baseball bat to my hips, knees, wrists, elbows, and back. As a result I wake up aching about 10 times per night and the first several hours of the day can be painful.
Example Two:Â Baby Girl heard that other fetuses hiccup regularly and that their mothers can feel it when it’s happening.
Exhibit A: I’m not sure I felt Liam hiccup at all in utero. If I did, it certainly wasn’t memorable.
Exhibit B: Baby Girl heard PJ mention while we were shopping on Sunday that her Sylvie hiccups several times a day. At that point I hadn’t felt Baby Girl hiccup at all. This morning at 7am, Baby Girl decided that it would be a good time to practice, which she did for a full half hour. Baby Girl, however, didn’t hiccup in the way that’s described in the baby books, with what’s supposed to be a gentle thumping. No, apparently this child has inherited her mother’s obnoxious hiccups, because these puppies rivaled her kicks and punches. The only reason I knew that they were hiccups was because they were rhythmic and regular.
Example Three:Â Baby Girl heard that many moms experience Braxton Hicks contractions before giving birth.
Exhibit A: I’m fairly certain that I only remember one instance of Braxton Hicks when I was pregnant with Liam, and that was after having been away from home for work for several days and was probably linked to exhaustion from sleeping (or not sleeping, as was the case) in a foreign bed, stress, and not having had enough to drink. I remember having to go outside and walk around for a few minutes and they went away and didn’t come back.
Exhibit B: Baby Girl also heard PJ ask me on Sunday if I was having Braxton Hicks contractions yet. Apparently BG took this as a challenge and decided that I should experience them for about 11 hours yesterday. By the time I finally fell asleep last night it felt like any abdominal muscles I might have left could possibly have been ripped from my body. If only these things were helping to tone anything visible…
I’ve decided that no one’s allowed to speak out loud of any pregnancy irritations/uncomfortableness/issues in my presence — it’s just too much of a pain (quite literally). For now she can’t tell what I’m typing, so e-mail’s still safe, but I’m not counting on that for too much longer…