Turtle moments

I recently finished Catherine Newman’s book Waiting for Birdy, about parenting one child while expecting her second. I enjoyed it’s heartfelt, tender and very funny language, but Literary Mama’s book review tells it better, so I’ll let you read her review instead of writing one myself.

I’ll just quote a favourite passage that resonated, especially as my baby girth increases:

If you’ve ever been pregnant yourself, then you know about this “turning over” – the way it involved a great deal of breathless groaning and a moment of being stuck on your back, like a turtle, your turtle arms and legs flailing in the air.

I am having lots of turtle moments, which are endlessly entertaining to my darling husband. He laughs before helping me right myself (if I give up or my “shell” feels too large). Just yesterday, I nearly sent a Cd display flying at the local bookstore. Oops. Staff were more worried about me than the Cds, which was sweet. It’s as if my bump has a life of its own! (actually it does, but I digress).

Then, we decided to take advantage of the rare autumn sunshine with an impromptu picnic in the Botanic Gardens, which we thoroughly enjoyed until some swans decided to hijack the peace with their newly-hatched, fluffy grey-white cygnets. I didn’t know baby swans were called cygnets until a family came by and the mum said, “Look at the little cygnets” to her kids. (How can I be a mother when I don’t know what the name of a baby swan is??) Anyway, she was lovely, and apologised for invading our privacy.

However, others weren’t quite so nice, and our small patch of grass was invaded by inconsiderate photographers/ gawkers who stood next to our feet, stepped on our blanket, and talked over our heads. It was enough to make a girl want to make out furiously in public, or push someone into the algae-infested waters (not really, but making out seemed like a fun idea). I even contemplated throwing something at the swans to make them go away. But they were too cute.

So, we decided to leave, and that’s when I had another turtle moment. While I was getting up off the blanket, I found myself falling over backwards onto my arse instead of standing upright like my brain expected. The worst thing was I could barely get up without P’s help. Argh.

I suspect I’m going to have more turtle moments. They are only going to get worse as I get bigger. Ah well. At least I am loving being pregnant.