What Does Pregnant Feel Like?

This on the left is a picture of the second pregnancy test I took, the day after the first one--you know, just to be sure. Unlike the dozens (upon dozens!) of ovulation tests I've taken over the last months, all you need for one of these preg-tests to show a positive result is for a second line to appear. With the o-tests, the second ("test") line has to be as dark as or darker than the first ("control") line. And yes, I have a photo of every single ovulation test I've taken since the get-go, but I'll spare you.

So what does pregnant feel like? Maybe I should be asking you, although it seems that there are at least as many answers as pregnant women. One dear friend, who is about three-and-a-half months farther along than I, would say that it feels like nausea. She was nauseous before she even took a test, which she did almost as early as she could have. Another, who gave birth to a beautiful little girl a couple weeks ago, would say stomach pains and heartburn. For me? That song from the first act of A Chorus Line comes to mind: "nothing, I'm feeling nothing..." Seriously, I just knocked on wood, but so far, I feel almost exactly the same as before. Occasional stirring in the tummy or abdomen, but mostly nothing else. I don't generally want to eat a lot at once, but I could attribute that as much to the lasting impact of Weight Watchers a year-plus ago as anything else. I'm a little sleepy, but you know me--that's sort of my m.o. So while I'm glad to be feeling good, it is also a little disconcerting. My friend I mentioned above, who's been nauseous since day zero, acknowledges that she appreciates the reminder that she's still pregnant, and doesn't necessarily want the feeling to disappear entirely. I know that if, universe willing, our little seedling stays with us, there will eventually be quite a few changes in what my body feels and does, and so I shouldn't be in any hurry for all of that to begin. And I'm not...except when I get worried about the Greater Meaning of feeling like myself when I don't think I'm supposed to.

In other news, Dr. S echoed the blood-drawing lady's feeling that I should "take it easy." According to her, "Taking it easy does not mean strict bed rest but it does mean no exercise, not traveling long distances by car, plane or any other way and limiting how much you walk outside of your home to a minimum." Well, sheesh. What does that mean for the biking/wine-tasting trip we had planned for next weekend in Burgundy with friends? The wine-tasting had obviously already been downgraded to wine-spitting for me, but the biking? Am I even allowed to go to Burgundy and sit still? I'm working on finding out what "long distances" are. And my birthday's on Thursday. Once upon a time (read: earlier this week) I was hoping we could go to Disneyland Paris for a couple days, or maybe to Giverny, but both of those seem out of the question now. One thing's for sure, though: it's going to beat the pants off my birthday last year, the day before classes started to begin this master's, when I hardly knew anyone and the celebration consisted of walking to Rite Aid to get a prescription filled. At least this year, I'm with N and the pups, sitting in front of big, open windows with Paris on the other side.