As I sit here getting ready to write my absolutely average thoughts….a mosquito buzzes my ear and I wave my hands in the air and jump up like a possessed woman being tasered. Really, is there anything worse than that sound of a mosquito in your ear? Perhaps the thought that it might HARBOR malaria and that I can’t take the medication cause I am preggo. Or, backpacking into the Indian Heaven Wilderness area in Washington State in July when there are more mosquitos than I don’t know what….and those ones didn’t have the potential to inflict serious or lifelong dormant illness! But then that backpacking adventure (the only one I have ever embarked on) is a story for another time.
What I was thinking of this evening is of my pregnancy adventures this week. I had my 32 week check up with my OB/GYN in Nairobi, and everything is going fantastically. We went from concern over a not growing uterus 2 weeks ago to a larger than expected uterus and a baby already weighing (by their estimates) 4 pounds. I’m not to excited about it all cause there constantly seems to be such a HUGE margin of error with these ultrasounds and much of what we consider modern technology. My doctor kindly reminded me to keep off the sugar and to plug away at my diabetes diet.
The funny part of the appointment came when we were done with the physical examination and she felt the side of my belly and said, in a very serious & concerned tone,
“Have you been moisturizing??? Your skin seems quite dry!”
I didn’t really know how to respond at first. When has my OB/GYN or midwife (that’s what I’ve always had in the past) ever been so worried about A) stretch marks and B) the quantity of moisture present in my baby bump? I finally fumbled out some answer of how I had been using the special belly cream she so kindly prescribed in our first days of meeting, but that I simply hadn’t minded to moisturize that morning.
And then I added, “I guess it doesn’t feel so dry to me, I’m used to it like this.” And honestly folks, this skin is not dry! But, I guess I’ll be one of those pregnant women who adds “moisturize” to the things that must be done before going in to an appointment/examination or labor.
Come on, you women know what I’m talking about. You are the same ones (like myself) who make sure you’ve got a pretty pedicure the week before your due date and gosh knows all of the other things we might get done in an attempt to “beautify” the process of birthing or examining or whatever. Why else do people endure Brazilians?? Don’t answer that. That too is another story, better left untold.
In other pregnant news, I was informed by the gate security at a popular Nairobi mall that I had been absent for some time. This is while I waited in my car for them to check the boot (trunk) for explosives and my undercarriage for similar. One looked at my preggo belly and said, “You’ve been gone a long time!” Another added, “Your husband has been busy” and then the first added, “You are most definitely having twins!”. Stop Already! I must consistently remind Kenyans in general that while I may look big compared to the average Kenyan with child, compared to most Americans (and myself in previous pregnancies) I am small and proudly so! I just smiled at the 2 security guards, assured them it was not twins, but a lovely little girl and proceeded to the parking garage.
And so my pregnant week has gone. Pretty darn good I’d say actually.