Braxton-Hicks in full effect

"Sometimes I feel like an idiot, occasionally I might feel smart, but usually I just am.

This little baby growing inside me, or rather the process of being the BITB Holder (as opposed to the Bucky Holder) causes me to feel like an idiot often. Not from the forgetfulness that is frequently occurring, nor the increased amount of spacing-out time that is taking place (really, sometimes I'm not all there), it is the fact that I experience Braxton-Hicks all the time.

Now this in itself shouldn't make me feel like an idiot. It's a natural process and as webmd.com says: 'These irregular uterine contractions are perfectly normal and may start to occur as early as the second trimester, although more commonly in the third trimester of pregnancy. They are your body's way of getting ready for the "real thing.". . .Braxton Hicks contractions can be described as tightening in the abdomen that comes and goes.'

Well, that's completely me. I get a tightening sensation that lasts anywhere from a split-second to half a minute. Sometimes it's just once, other times it occurs throughout the day. They are not painful, thankfully, just awkward feeling due to the tightening.

The "I'm an idiot" part comes into play with this because apparently I had Braxton-Hicks with Jackson too, but I was such a dope that I seriously thought it was the little baby just shifting it's weight or cutely pushing it's bottom against my stomach. I found out that those feelings were actually Braxton-Hicks when we went into the hospital after my water broke and the nurse asked if I felt 'that' contraction. I said, 'what, that's not a contraction, that's the baby shifting it's weight.' 'No, that's a contraction, dear.'

Idiot.

And so, when ever I feel them now I have to laugh at myself at how dumb I was the first time around. It's a simple reminder that you can't know everything, and that maybe naivete is a blissful thing, and that it's probably best for us to be occassionally humbled into feeling like an idiot throughout life.

Hopefully I'm a little smarter this time around, for BITBs sake . . ."
--Clare