My Strange Pregnancy Habits

It just occurred to me recently that pretty soon, some of the behaviors that feel so "normal" right now won't be so normal any more within a few weeks, because the reasoning behind them will be gone!

Here are a few of the odd habits I've developed during this pregnancy.

{let's play: spot the hairbands}

Wearing two hairbands on my right wrist at all times. Now, for some people, this is a normal, everyday sort of habit. But I've never been the hairband-on-wrist type. I usually wear my hair short and I prefer not to have it up in a ponytail. However, I decided that pregnancy was a good few months to try out longer hair and at the same time, having hair touching my neck suddenly gained the power to make me feel nauseated or overheated at a moment's notice. I need to always be able to throw my hair up if necessary. Hence, the two hairbands--the second one is in case the first disappears. It happens to us all. Must be prepared.

Waking up between 4 and 5 to eat first breakfast and then falling asleep again. In the first few months this was a vomit-prevention technique...that didn't work very well, but hey. Lately, it's more of a reaction to the fact that I wake up starving by that time in the morning, but yet, not really awake enough to start my day that early. I wake up again, usually before 7, and eat again. Actually, last night I woke up at midnight to eat, and the night before that it was 2 a.m.

Side hugs. Granted, I'm not much of a hugger at all. But usually, someone as close to me as, say, Angel, warrants the occasional real hug. No more. All side hugs.

Walking to the front of our apartment complex to be picked up instead of walking to our car. This route means I have to endure 5 fewer speedbumps than I would otherwise have to deal with. There's still speedbumps all over this island, but I can't avoid them all--at least I can avoid the ones in our parking lot. The walk from our apartment to the front is probably about equal to the walk from our apartment to the car in distance. It dawned on me recently that I'll stop doing this pretty soon and just walk to the car with my husband like a normal person.

Taking a thermos of cold water and snacks with me whenever I leave the house. I don't like to carry things around with me. Up until I started driving, I never even carried a purse, I'd just put cash or keys or whatever I needed in my pockets. In adult life, I've given in to the need for a small purse, but lately, it's more like a whole bag with my cold water and a green apple and chips or sunflower seeds or whatever snacks I think I may need to have on hand. Cold water is my magic cure-all if I ever start feeling bad, and avoiding hunger is my goal, so I try never to be caught without either my drink or my snacks! At church, at the hospital, on any errands--I have these necessities with me.

Not going to Angel's races. I look forward to cheering at his races again soon! I hadn't missed a race in our entire marriage up until this pregnancy...and I haven't been to a single race since June. I feel like I've coped well with the physical discomforts of pregnancy...as long as I'm at home or in a comfortable environment. Angel's races require early wake-up calls, and are often starting well before sunrise in muddy parks. Parking is always limited so there's usually a long, dark walk, crossing streets and making sure you don't stumble on drains or broken cement to get from the car to the starting line. There won't be any chairs for spectators, and if there are bathrooms they will be overcrowded, muddy, and more than likely they will be squat toilets. In my healthy state, I can deal. But lately...sorry honey, you're on your own. He even got 8th place and a trophy in his most recent 10k, which according to his fancy watch was actually an 11.2k, but I wasn't there to see it.

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Funny to consider how "normal" will look so very different in a few short weeks, and a whole new set of everyday habits will be established!