Big Girls Don't Cry

When is the last time you cried because you got hurt? I don't mean hurt emotionally, I mean due to physical pain.

I think the last time I wanted to burst into tears from pain was when a window accidentally fell on my hand. And I had the flu a few years before that, and while I can't recall specifically if I wanted to cry, I do remember responding in the affirmative when the Hoos asked me if I felt like I wanted to die. I guess that is close.

I think I realized for the first time that crying from a physical injury doesn't really accomplish much, except to draw attention, when I was 23 or 24. I was roller-blading with my roommate in Arlington, VA when I slid half way down our street on my arse. I had some serious road burn. As she carefully walked down so as to avoid a similar fate (even though she was and continues to be a much better rollerblader) a woman leaned her head out of her garden apartment and asked me if I wanted her to call my mom. Considering my mom lived in New York, it didn't seem like a very prudent course of action.

Yesterday a friend showed me a head injury she incurred while doing some work in her garage. I sympathized about how much it sucked, and we both commented on how silly it now feels to cry when you hurt yourself. The cause is more likely to be due to humiliation or embarrassment than pain anyway.

As I watch LP grow and use tears at opportune times to get her way, I am struck by how effective crying is as an attention-getting mechanism. Unfortunately there isn't really any tool in my arsenal that has an opposite effect. Perhaps some sort of invisibility shield to cloak myself from a particularly awkward moment? I can see myself making use of that baby much more frequently than tears, that is for sure.

Pain, Pain, Go AWAY!

Yesterday morning I experienced my first leg cramp of this pregnancy. And man, did that sucker hurt. At 8 am I was yelling at the poor Hoos "Help me! Help me!" Poor guy was paralyzed in fear that if he touched me I would kill him and if he didn't help me I would die. I can never remember in the moment of excruciating pain whether to point my toe straight or point it up to the ceiling. AAAGHHH!! No matter, the Hoos eventually massaged it out, although there is still some residual pain. How and why does that happen? Not the cramping, but the not going away part?

As a result, I spent the rest of the weekend waddling around. In addition to the limp, my back hurts from 1. over-compensating on one side thanks to the leg pain and 2. carrying around LP. I can't resist when she says "uppy" and it is easier to pick her up in a store than chase her at this point. For real, mama just can't keep up.

Regardless of all of the physical fun, I have managed to get a few things accomplished. I went through our storage bin of newborn clothes and picked out all non-gender specific items. Bun now has his or her first round of clothes all clean and ready.

I can't even believe how small the clothes are. Someone told me that when you bring your newborn home for the first time and look at your toddler, you swear they must have grown a foot while you were in the hospital. LP is not exactly a giant, but I really can't imagine that some of the onesies and one-piece outfits ever fit her. Or that in about 8 weeks I am going to have a new child that will fit into them - with some wiggle room.