Week 32
I just finished watching The Babadook, and I think I have a new description of what pregnancy is like.
Pregnancy is like waking up in somebody else's body, with somebody else's settings. (And needless to say, no manual. Hello, trial and error!) Somebody else's food sensitivities and preferences, somebody else's skin with its own care needs, somebody else's sleep schedule, somebody else's exercise needs and energy levels, and somebody else's endocrine system.
The last one is the weirdest, because it links into my thoughts and emotions. My attention gets grabbed by all sorts of things that I never noticed before- babies (obviously), and I have new responses to news stories about kids in trouble, abusive parents, etc. I see a headline and have a physiological stress reaction even while my brain goes along its merry way acting as usual, and then I have to catch up with myself and figure out what the heck is going on that has me so tense.
I seem to have an automatic "cuddle to my chest" reaction to stuffed animals. I am more suspicious of strangers and am more likely to feel uneasy in crowds. Mike touching my belly evokes what feels like a strong oxytocin response- warmth, security, rightness. And I really, really shouldn't watch movies with animal harm or threats to children.
And now it is time for me to feed my alien body some protein, because apparently nothing else will do (see side table with the rejects: pasta and veggies, chocolate ice cream, and grapes). Eight more weeks...
P.S. If you like Victorian historical m/m with magic, run don't walk to KJ Charles. I have read her Magpie Lord trilogy and The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, and enjoyed them all very much. The Feximal book, in particular, reminded me of Holmes/Watson, my favorite pairing of all time- just with magic and explicit sex. Note that in everything I have read so far, the sex is D/s and there is minimal kink negotiation, but everything clicks perfectly anyway. Also note that The Magpie Lord opens with graphic self-harm, which nearly put me off right away... but if you skip the first paragraph (in italics) you can avoid that without missing anything.
Pregnancy is like waking up in somebody else's body, with somebody else's settings. (And needless to say, no manual. Hello, trial and error!) Somebody else's food sensitivities and preferences, somebody else's skin with its own care needs, somebody else's sleep schedule, somebody else's exercise needs and energy levels, and somebody else's endocrine system.
The last one is the weirdest, because it links into my thoughts and emotions. My attention gets grabbed by all sorts of things that I never noticed before- babies (obviously), and I have new responses to news stories about kids in trouble, abusive parents, etc. I see a headline and have a physiological stress reaction even while my brain goes along its merry way acting as usual, and then I have to catch up with myself and figure out what the heck is going on that has me so tense.
I seem to have an automatic "cuddle to my chest" reaction to stuffed animals. I am more suspicious of strangers and am more likely to feel uneasy in crowds. Mike touching my belly evokes what feels like a strong oxytocin response- warmth, security, rightness. And I really, really shouldn't watch movies with animal harm or threats to children.
And now it is time for me to feed my alien body some protein, because apparently nothing else will do (see side table with the rejects: pasta and veggies, chocolate ice cream, and grapes). Eight more weeks...
P.S. If you like Victorian historical m/m with magic, run don't walk to KJ Charles. I have read her Magpie Lord trilogy and The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, and enjoyed them all very much. The Feximal book, in particular, reminded me of Holmes/Watson, my favorite pairing of all time- just with magic and explicit sex. Note that in everything I have read so far, the sex is D/s and there is minimal kink negotiation, but everything clicks perfectly anyway. Also note that The Magpie Lord opens with graphic self-harm, which nearly put me off right away... but if you skip the first paragraph (in italics) you can avoid that without missing anything.