My Newest Work in Progress

Cute little parasitic blob, isn't it?

Sorry I haven't been posting much, but growing a human is exhausting.  I have this weird thing about telling people I'm pregnant before I see the heartbeat (and kind of after that to...) But I had an ultrasound last week and there it is. Critter #2 is due October 20. Which basically means I feel like I've had the worst hangover ever for the last two months. I am not even kidding. My diet has been reduced to Rice-A-Roni and ice cream. I dropped caffeine and went from sleeping 6 hours a day to needing 13 hours. My doctor has assured me that the hormones have peaked now that I'm past 10 weeks, so I should start feeling better. At this point, however, I'm convinced I'm going to feel like this forever. Literally forever.

Not that I want to complain. I have been blessed with not one, but two healthy (at least thus far) pregnancies. I know so many women who have struggled with infertility, suffered through miscarriages and had pregnancies end with serious complications for momma and baby. It's not nearly as easy to get pregnant, carry a baby to term and have a healthy delivery as those MTV shows make it out to be. The fact that the human race continues at all astounds me. (Anyone seen the movie Idiocracy? No? Go watch it. Hilarious.)

Motherhood in general is a long exercise in putting yourself aside for the sake of another and pregnancy is a no exception. It is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. But the reward is worth it. I've had to give myself permission to sleep instead of write, to spend more time zoned out in front of the TV than critiquing. I'm learning to manage my expectations and still keep up with my obligations. So the blog will probably be spotty, I'll write in bursts and I'll read through my friends manuscripts at lightning speed only to pass out on my laptop before typing a single note. And in about 7 months, I'll disappear into a void of tiny diapers and marathon feeding sessions, only to emerge again ready to take on the world. Or at least a few more queries.