Whine & Cheese

What are we doing these days? This is the perennial question from family members, and likely a sign that we have, 1) been too busy to keep in touch as much as we would like, 2) curled into fetal position and prayed for the morning sickness to abate, or 3) all of the above. Okay, so no one else in the house is pregnant (unless Dh isn't telling me about the first male pregnancy), but it's true that when Mom is out of commission, things don't run as they should. Fortunately, the kids seem to have somewhat adjusted to this new mother-figure who no longer runs every day (too much energy), is more irritable (when nauseated, which is always), and spends A LOT of time on the couch moaning. Okay, I'm not moaning. I'm actually probably sunk into a fiction book trying desperately to forget I'm starving, I'm nauseaus, I'm full, I'm nauseaus, I'm tired, I'm nauseaus, I'm ready to be done having kids...blah, blah, blah. Both my mom and MIL warned about pregnancies in your later child-bearing years: your body doesn't heal as fast, isn't as energetic, etc, and you have a family to run, the list goes on and on. It's not that I didn't believe them, it's that I never thought I would be having a FIFTH kid. Let's face it folks, Dh & I were all up and ready to adopt (and still are should the time be right) after Bub. And then out came a Domba, then a Shrimp, and a little Mini-Me. And now this one. And a couple months ago I found out I have a minor genetic mutation that leads to greater risk of recurrent miscarriage and clotting disorders. Can you say m-i-r-a-c-l-e? Still, I hate early pregnancy and am VERY excited to hit second trimester where you aren't quite as nauseas, your belly-blubber is seen as a baby bump (if only they knew, I've been "showing" for years now), and there is a little more energy in the old bod. I'm left with one lingering question: how in the world do women bear children after 40 and survive the pregnancy??
(To alleviate the pathetic tone of this post, I thought I'd post one of my favorite signs of spring: a house in the neighborhood has hundreds of these purple crocus that pop up in their grass. The pics don't do it justice, but it looks like a virtual fairyland in the sun.)