the more you think about it, the stranger it becomes

[aryanhwy]

I mentioned early on how much weirder the concept of gestation seemed once I started experiencing it myself. The whole alien inside me thing...

You'd think it'd get less weird as time passed, and I became accustomed to the idea, but I'm actually finding as time goes on that the whole concept of "I'll just create another one of me by growing it inside me" even weirder, especially now that I can not only feel but also see the kicks. (Yeah, that was just as creepy as, or creepier than even, I expected it to be.) It's not that it bothers me, but just as saying the same word over and over and over can deprive it of any sensible meaning, the more I think about what pregnancy actually is, the more bizarre the process seems. Eggs now...eggs make sense. Birds and reptiles have a sensible way of doing it. Using your own body as an internal incubator? Now that's just weird.

Comments

[mamamoira.livejournal.com]

It _is_ weird, and I didn't even go that route! What's also weird is, especially when they are still very young, that you can almost *see* neurons growing and learning. Due to lack of a myelin sheath and too many connections to start with, little kids actually *do* think slower, and it's adorable/weird to watch. :)

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Whoa, cool. That does sound like something fun to look forward to!

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Inside is safer than eggs, though--constant temperature, steady flow of nutrients, plus shock absorption. Unless you're one of several species of shark, in which case you run the risk of being cannibalized by your own siblings.

:-)

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Now that's sibling rivalry to the extreme.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

I remember being about 7 months pregnant and seeing a goose sitting on her nest in the pouring rain. She looked miserable. I may have been projecting, but I was immediately relieved and thankful that humans don't have to sit on nests. I could take me and my incubating child inside and out of the nasty weather.

[world-rim-walke.livejournal.com]

Yes, but don't you think that goose, if it was able, would've made it's nest someplace warm and dry?

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

True. But indoors or out, imagine the cramps you'd get in your legs sitting still for 29 days (goose incubation period), let alone 9-10 months! Mammals have the advantage of taking their incubating young with them, even fun places like the movies or Zumba class :)

(And yes, I know some women end up on strict bed rest for at least part of their pregnancies, but that's not the norm.)

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Not only the cramps, but how lumpy it would be. I know, we should do it like turtles -- bury 'em in the sand. :)

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I would be amazed if there were any place in Amsterdam where a nest could be built that would remain dry, given all the rain we get. (And probably parts of Canada are similar?)

[wolverine-nun.livejournal.com]

It is *utterly* bizarre. Visiting aliens just would not believe it. "You multiply by growing more of you inside you? Pull one of the other ones!"

[(Anonymous)]

And even more bizarre is that once the little one is ready, you somehow have to get it out!!! Even having just done that myself within the last few days doesn't make it any easier to believe.

I absolutely loved being pregnant, and thinking of that little tiny person inside there, but every time, the realization that every day that little person just gets *bigger* -- Every Day -- until it has to come OUT is the daunting and overwhelming part to me. But I promise you, it really does work!!

Andrea

[adelais.livejournal.com]

The best is when they get big enough that you can identify body parts. My Bug sometimes used to brace his legs against my spine so that if I leaned back, there was this little square butt sticking out. I know it can sometimes be hard to figure out a baby's position, but past a certain point in pregnancy I never had much trouble, and the butt in particular was unmistakable.

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Cool. Weird, but cool. I'm hoping after my next ultrasound I'll have a better idea of relative sizes and shapes of things so that I can do more than think "oh, it's over on the right side this time", whereas it's usually on the left.