Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Conferencing While Pregant

Oh dear. For the past few days I have been attending a conference in Dallas Texas. The conference is great and I have enjoyed myself, but I have certainly experienced the challenges of being pregnant while at a conference.

First of all I am amazed with how frequently I visit the rest room. It seems as if after each session I have to make a bee-line (or should I say a pee-line :)) to the nearest bathroom. But of course, being a woman, the line is sooo long. So part of my conference planning has been figuring out the "out of the way bathrooms" so I do not have to spend all of my time waiting in line.

The other little discovery is that I can't tell if people are being nice to me, offering little smiles, and striking up conversation because I am me or because I am pregnant. Some people have made reference to my belly, some have not. The good news is that no one has dared to put their hand on my bump. I've read that is a common occurrence for some women. Not for me. . . yet.

The other thing I realized as the conference was nearing an end: I don't want to be travelling this close to my due date. My last night in Dallas I experienced a new sensation in my mid section-- and it concerned me. What was this? Whats going on? There is a bit of trembling down there-- or more like muscle spasms. Oh no. Is this normal? Do I call the doctor? Do I call my husband? I want to go home!

I did survive the night, but I did go to the airport earlier than planned to see if I could fly standby. I knew the safest place to be was at home. I think what happened to me that last night was the start of Braxton Hicks contractions. Just my body adjusting to the baby and going through a bit of a dress-rehearsal for the real thing. Wow.

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