Aside from starting preschool, Evelyn has also started dancing in my ballet classes this fall! This may seem odd to those of you who know that she has come to class with me since she was 4 months old. But now is the first time she is old enough to actually participate, in the way that the other students are. I was a little nervous about how she would do, but very soon I was pulling out my camera to snap pictures of her, just like any other proud mama : ) She interacted with the other girls really well-she is 2 and a half and they are all 3, 4, and 5 years old. And in fact, not surprisingly, after the first week was bossing them around. Sigh. She told them where to sit, tried to tuck in their ballet shoe bows, and "helped" them stand the right way in line. Even the ones who are twice her age and size! She is a bit squirelly, since she is technically too young to be in the class, but I was delighted at how well she did. After her first class she spent the rest of the week talking about plies, gallops, and dancing with scarves. She loves wearing her little tutu and often mimics the activities we do in class at home (see video posted on facebook.) It's hard to say who loves it more-her or me : )This fall we also had our first, slightly more serious, health issue. Evelyn was wheezing so I called the Dr to ask whether or not I should bring her in or what to look for. Much to my surprise (I'm not sure why) they consider even the slightest wheezing an emergency and saw her right away. They promptly put her on breathing treatments, 2-3 a day until all symptoms cleared up, which took about two weeks. This was so discouraging and frustrating to me. For a child who is rarely sick, she seems to have these odd health issues and I hate the thought of her being affected by them. But, out came the nebulizer and there we sat for 10-20 minutes each treatment. She does pretty well, although books and songs only cut it so much of them time and we have often turned to Elmo, online pictures of her, animals, or whatever else has a chance at keeping her still for that amount of time! The Dr said it's triggered by environmental issues-allergies-so she is very likely to grow out of it, but it's still frustrating. Fortunately her attitude is much better than mine!
Now, enough about Evelyn, what about me?! Well, I'm very pregnant, just starting my 7th month, and although I'm uncomfortable, everything is going well so I can't complain too much. Except that I love to complain, so I will : ) There are many dos and do nots for pregnant women- do take your vitamins, don't drink alcohol, do drink tons of water, don't take ibuprofen, do get regular exercise, don't eat shellfish, do sleep only on your side, don't go on any carnival rides. Blah blah blah. However, very few people talk about the dos and don'ts of other people REGARDING pregnant women. This is a sadly lacking social grace in our society, one that I feel a strong calling to correct, so that we don't spiral further down into barbarian ways. So listen up! First and foremost, it is never, I repeat NEVER acceptable to comment on how huge a woman looks-pregnant or not! Seriously, I have no idea where you people get these ideas! Big, big no no. This is closely followed by the second rule, no matter how surprised you are when someone shares her due date-do not show that surprise. No 4 month pregnant woman likes to be told she looks like she could pop any day! This is closely followed by the third rule. You never, I repeat, NEVER, ask a woman, pregnant or not, how much she weighs/how much weight she has gained. Are you kidding me? Are you sensing a theme here? Then you are right-the theme is comments that would be perceived as negative by women who are not pregnant, are most likely going to be perceived as negative by women who are pregnant. Hormones may be responsible for a lot of changes during pregnancy, but there is no magical hormone that makes a woman feel sexy when you are saying how big she is. Sorry folks, doesn't exist. Okay, so if I've now severely limited your conversation topics, what can you say? Here are some very acceptable examples: "Wow, you look fabulous!" "Look at how cute, and untired you look." "Do you need anything? Can I get you chocolate or a foot massage?" "Why don't you sit down and let me do that for you." And the always popular, "You are the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever seen!" I guarantee that if you open with one of these comments, and not the "huge" one, you will be greeted with a smile, and not a dead pan "I'm not really sure how to respond to you" look. Plus, pregnant women are known to be slightly unpredictable, trust me, this is for your own good! Whew. Are we good? I really think that this is what our society needs to move to the next level, end polarization in politics, increase tolerance, establish peace in warring countries, and solve poverty. Just be nice to pregnant women and all our problems will be solved!
