One of my favorite things to do when I am studying Arabic is to turn the radio (via internet) to the Arab music channel. Sure, I can't understand most of what they're saying, but you get a nice sampling of music and some language exposure to boot. Plus, it just corresponds to my subject, and it sets the mood while not distracting me in any way.
Romulus is normally very mellow late afternoon/early evening, which is generally when I study, but he woke up today while while I was listening to my regular program. He threw a little dance-off in there, and I thought to myself, A new meaning to belly dancing! Then I chuckled, repeated it out loud alone in my house ("Heh heh. Belly dancing!!"), and then considered the possibility that I was losing my mind.
Also, this morning I woke up screaming -- literally -- from a Charlie horse (should Charlie be capitalized there?). I know they are common in pregnancy, and I have already had a few, but nothing compared to this whopper. I didn't even care if I freaked out my neighbors. It was seven-thirty and I was straight up howling in pain. It then took me at least half an hour to work my way over to the bathroom -- and I was technically in a rush to get there. I have been hobbling ever since.
The hobbling is particularly amusing because I haven't been so much the pregnant waddler thus far. Today, I got to be her, but for totally different reasons: namely, the uselessness of my left foot. While out and about today, I wanted to put a sign around myself:
"It's not that I'm pregnant, it's just my broken calf muscle!"
At any rate, I did the grocery shopping and decided that was enough activity for the day, as it included walking to the further grocery store several blocks away (and back). It's amazing how severe one little (massive, though, let's be honest) leg cramp can incapacitate you for the day.
Ugh, I'm sorry! I was plauged with the Charlie horses for much of my last month. I would even get them in weird places like the bottom of my foot (although I guess at that point it's more of a foot cramp but whatever). Glad to hear that otherwise you are feeling well!
When someone asks me what labor pains are like, I compare them to a Charlie Horse. Thank god for epidurals!
Of course, a had a coach in high school who would try and tell us to just relax the muscle whenever this happened, insisting that it was the most efficient way of dealing with it. I guess this is why meditation and breathing exercises are such an important part of birthing clesses. Find your happy place... :-)
Oh ouch! I remember those. In fact "Marie Baguette" was just talking about how to combat this on her pregnancy blog. Her doctor gave her some good advice. Here's the link.
http://canwemake3.blogspot.com/2007/05/banana-day-keeps-cramps-at-bay.html
OH MY GOD Nicole that is the single, most frightening thing I have ever heard when it comes to the "What is labor like?" question.
Oh my God. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.