I used to get bulk emails about home decoration and photography and the latest sales, now I get emails entitled, "100 foods that can harm your baby while pregnant." I recently got this pip of an email, which is helpful explaining the fire that is often scorching my throat, but is not the most sterling example of prose ever penned by the good people at whattoexpect.com. I especially love the part about my, "now gigantic uterus, which has taken over (my) abdominal cavity." I suppose it is true-- if any other organ in our bodies grew as exponentially as a woman's womb does during pregnancy, something would be seriously wrong.


"Many of the early pregnancy symptoms you thought you'd put behind you are coming back to haunt you: like the need to pee all the time (because your baby's head is now pressing on your bladder), along with the tender breasts (as they gear up for milk production), the fatigue, and the heartburn. And no one — not even a regular at the corner greasy spoon — does heartburn like a third-trimester pregnant woman (except, of course, a pregnant woman who's a regular at the corner greasy spoon).

During pregnancy, the muscle at the top of the stomach that usually prevents digestive acids from splashing up into the esophagus relaxes (like all those other muscles in your digestive tract), allowing digestive juices to back up. That's the burning sensation you feel when heartburn strikes. Add to that your now gigantic uterus, which has taken over your abdominal cavity, forcing your stomach to practically reach your throat, and you've got good reason to be feeling the burn."

Lovely, huh? They make pregnancy sound so delightful and such a beautiful experience.

I think I must be getting really big, because the other night at GEMS at church, these 2 little girls that I had never met before came up to me and the older-- who was about 4 patted my belly, to which I replied, "Oh, can you tell there is a baby in there?" And she patted it again and her younger companion leaned in and called out, "Hello!" into the general region of Noah. My GEMS girls, who are all 2nd and 3rd graders all love to say hi to my little boy. They all forget about greeting me and say, "Hi Noah James," and one asked me the other day if Noah would move if she patted me. I told her that yes, sometimes he does, but that he was sleeping right then because I had been on my feet all night. They are so sweetly excited about Noah, even though I knew they wished he was a girl at first.

"Did you know, that when you are just born (she meant conceived) that you are the size of a bug?!" one of my girl's excitedly told the others last night. At times it takes a little skill on my part to avoid telling them more than their parents would like, or to quench the conversation where one girl who may know a bit more than the others will "educate" the others about something that their parents may not be ready for them to know. :)