I like them. Mine, others, whatever. Boobs are good.
I'm really quite attached to mine, even.
But boobs and facebook...they just don't seem to click.
And when you add in breast cancer awareness month, it's a triad that is odd and hyper-sexualized enough to drive me up a wall.
In case you've missed it, there are women whose statuses read things like "Ms.SmartyPants likes it on the first chair she sees in her house!" or "Ms.StudentYouShouldn'tHaveFriended likes it wherever she can get it! LOLZTXTME"
These are supposed to refer to where we put our handbags. Apologies, women of the world, I totally told your secret. And I didn't play the game. And I'm not going to.
Partly because Bugbear has eaten my brain, and my status would have to read "Krista likes it whenever and wherever she can find it, but doesn't actually know where that is."
More because it's not actually doing anything.
Rephrase: it's not actually doing anything useful for breast cancer, breast cancer research, or breast cancer education and prevention.
Instead, it's reinforcing the notion that breasts are sexual objects for the amusement, consumption, and enjoyment of others.
Or it's reinforcing the notion that coy oversharing is somehow a feminist act that means since we can act as if we're sexual, women now hold significant cultural power. (And if you believe this, we probably need to have a talk about how Barack Obama getting elected does not mean racism is over, too.)
Or it's reinforcing the notion that my breasts are everyone's concern, without actually getting to the point that the health and welfare of all people should be everyone's concern.
I have issues with all three of those. Sure, breasts can be sexual. They can also be food dispensers. They can also be any number of things. Much like people, they're fabulously multifaceted. There is no one right use, reason for their existence, or way to think about them.
And sure, coy oversharing can be a fabulous method of flirtation. But being able to engage in minorly risque conversation doesn't mean I can prevent being leered at, whistled at, or treated like a piece of meat, and it doesn't prevent people from thinking that I am no more than my body. And that's a problem that no facebook movement is going to solve.
Sure, my breasts are a health concern. But my breasts are not a health concern that wants your "Feel the Tatas!" or your "Save the Tatas! or "I love your Boobies!" stickers, or car magnets, or other overpriced merchandise that is simply stuff with a slogan. If you feel that strongly, then feel your own tatas, regardless of your biological sex, since men get breast cancer too. Give your $3 to cancer research instead of to the magnet company (the Komen Foundation is one of only 9 charities focusing on breast cancer to get a four-star rating on Charity Navigator, and the only national organization to do so). And I don't want to hear what you feel for my breasts; I've checked, they're fine, and they do not want your dollars. They think your dollars should go to someone who will use them well.
There's nothing wrong with social networking for fun instead of for a cause. And there's nothing wrong with using social networking to do real good in the world. But there is something wrong with playing as if social networking for fun is actually doing real good. If you can't donate, can't volunteer, can't send a card to a family living with cancer, and can't find a way to support anyone in need in honor of those with breast cancer, then take your cursor, click here, and then click on the pink button that says "Click Here to Give--It's FREE!" and repeat daily for a way to use your computer to actually fund something that helps provide breast cancer prevention. Then get back to using your facebook status to describe your lunch, your child's bowel movements, or who I should vote for, the way God intended it to be used.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
34 weeks.
How pregnant are you? 34 weeks! That's also pregnant enough that if (and this is an IF we are NOT hoping for!) Bugbear were born next week, we would most likely be able to take him/her home from the hospital as if /she were full term. That's also pregnant enough that the countdown to November is around 40 days. That's a lot of sleeps if you're 3 and waiting until Christmas. That is not a lot of sleeps if you're a full time student, homemaker, partner, and crazy enough to be making your own baby bedding. And I am not 3.
Relate this pregnancy to objects we tend to eat or other everyday things. Bugbear is around the size of a cantaloupe or honeydew melon, or possibly the height of an American Girl doll, could weigh around an average of 5 pounds, and may well be 20" long. Of course, s/he may be just under 4 pounds and 16" and still be considered perfectly average, so we're not putting too much stock in averages or ultrasound measurements. There's a chance s/he could take after me and be wee. There's a chance s/he could take after the rest of my family, and most of Michael's family, and not be wee. And either way, we have to wait until s/he is born to actually find out, so I guess it's good I like surprises.
Tell me some random stuff about the Bugbear. It's another week where growing is the major job. The vernix is pretty much gone, but remains in his/her little armpits and behind his/her knees. If Bugbear is a boy, his testicles are beginning their final descent, and if he ever reads this, he will probably not speak to me for a week for divulging this information. Even if Bugbear has no testes, s/he is still putting on fat, which makes his/her skin smoother and will be useful for the outside world. His/her lungs are also developing, and from the hiccups s/he's getting regularly, his/her diaphragm is working away as well.
Tell me how you feel physically. Huge. And I know I've said that before. But my body's ability to just keep getting bigger astounds me. I can't imagine what it would be like if I had a proportional torso instead of being long-waisted, because Bugbear has decided that under my ribs is the best place in the whole wide world to live, and even so, s/he still manages to take up a LOT of space and squish all my other bits too. I'm also noticing swelling in my hands; they still don't look like it, but I'm pretty sure that my ring finger is a 4.5 or 5 now instead of a 3.5. Since "be able to wear rings throughout pregnancy" is no longer possible, my new goal is to avoid cankles. And I'm hoping that goes much better than the ring one.
What are you craving? Zucchini bread. Are you surprised? I'm not. But my mom brought me zucchini this weekend, so I'm totally going to have this magical stuff soon. And then I will be seriously happy. And milk. Which goes tremendously well with zucchini bread.
Are you crazy emotional? Often. This is the middle of two insanely busy weeks, where I'm booked at least four hours a day with stuff that has to get done. The pace is relentless, and so I'm tired, which makes me more likely to cry at anything. Like everything that still needs to get done but we can't really get other people to do for us...
Anything else? We have a lot that still needs to get done on the practical end of stuff (like figuring out what goes to the hospital with us besides car seat, birthing ball, and lip balm, and then packing said stuff).
The shower that Carol and Lori threw us was wonderful, and we are grateful beyond words to the loving and generous people who were there to show Bugbear just how welcome s/he is to the world. And now we need to figure out what we still need to get, and then get those things, so we're hitting the fabulous-terrifying-OMG-what-have-we-done?!? world of BuyBuyBaby and BabiesRUs this weekend to do that sort of thing.
And we need to start washing and prepping diapers.
And I need someone who's an expert in early medieval Christian history to take over my online class participation, and someone else who is an expert in United Methodist Worship practice and theory to take over my quiz and presentation for that class. I'll let you prep diapers when you're finished...
Relate this pregnancy to objects we tend to eat or other everyday things. Bugbear is around the size of a cantaloupe or honeydew melon, or possibly the height of an American Girl doll, could weigh around an average of 5 pounds, and may well be 20" long. Of course, s/he may be just under 4 pounds and 16" and still be considered perfectly average, so we're not putting too much stock in averages or ultrasound measurements. There's a chance s/he could take after me and be wee. There's a chance s/he could take after the rest of my family, and most of Michael's family, and not be wee. And either way, we have to wait until s/he is born to actually find out, so I guess it's good I like surprises.
Tell me some random stuff about the Bugbear. It's another week where growing is the major job. The vernix is pretty much gone, but remains in his/her little armpits and behind his/her knees. If Bugbear is a boy, his testicles are beginning their final descent, and if he ever reads this, he will probably not speak to me for a week for divulging this information. Even if Bugbear has no testes, s/he is still putting on fat, which makes his/her skin smoother and will be useful for the outside world. His/her lungs are also developing, and from the hiccups s/he's getting regularly, his/her diaphragm is working away as well.
Tell me how you feel physically. Huge. And I know I've said that before. But my body's ability to just keep getting bigger astounds me. I can't imagine what it would be like if I had a proportional torso instead of being long-waisted, because Bugbear has decided that under my ribs is the best place in the whole wide world to live, and even so, s/he still manages to take up a LOT of space and squish all my other bits too. I'm also noticing swelling in my hands; they still don't look like it, but I'm pretty sure that my ring finger is a 4.5 or 5 now instead of a 3.5. Since "be able to wear rings throughout pregnancy" is no longer possible, my new goal is to avoid cankles. And I'm hoping that goes much better than the ring one.
What are you craving? Zucchini bread. Are you surprised? I'm not. But my mom brought me zucchini this weekend, so I'm totally going to have this magical stuff soon. And then I will be seriously happy. And milk. Which goes tremendously well with zucchini bread.
Are you crazy emotional? Often. This is the middle of two insanely busy weeks, where I'm booked at least four hours a day with stuff that has to get done. The pace is relentless, and so I'm tired, which makes me more likely to cry at anything. Like everything that still needs to get done but we can't really get other people to do for us...
Anything else? We have a lot that still needs to get done on the practical end of stuff (like figuring out what goes to the hospital with us besides car seat, birthing ball, and lip balm, and then packing said stuff).
The shower that Carol and Lori threw us was wonderful, and we are grateful beyond words to the loving and generous people who were there to show Bugbear just how welcome s/he is to the world. And now we need to figure out what we still need to get, and then get those things, so we're hitting the fabulous-terrifying-OMG-what-have-we-done?!? world of BuyBuyBaby and BabiesRUs this weekend to do that sort of thing.
And we need to start washing and prepping diapers.
And I need someone who's an expert in early medieval Christian history to take over my online class participation, and someone else who is an expert in United Methodist Worship practice and theory to take over my quiz and presentation for that class. I'll let you prep diapers when you're finished...
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday, October 3 - Baby Shower
Dear BugBear,
This afternoon is your baby shower. It's one of those rare occasions in life where the honored guest will not be physically present (in the usual way). That's pretty weird, huh? We will do our best to remember what happened, and to let you know how much you are loved by family and friends, even before you were born. Sorry - it's probably bad form to save you some leftovers.
Thanks in advance to Nana Carol and Auntie Lori for making today's festivities take place, and to your friends and family who came to celebrate your arrival in a few weeks.
Love,
-Dad
This afternoon is your baby shower. It's one of those rare occasions in life where the honored guest will not be physically present (in the usual way). That's pretty weird, huh? We will do our best to remember what happened, and to let you know how much you are loved by family and friends, even before you were born. Sorry - it's probably bad form to save you some leftovers.
Thanks in advance to Nana Carol and Auntie Lori for making today's festivities take place, and to your friends and family who came to celebrate your arrival in a few weeks.
Love,
-Dad
Sunday, September 26, 2010
32-ish week update, with pictures!
32 weeks is 8 months pregnant. That's big. So's my belleh.
We (Bugbear? Bugbear and I? I? Subjectivity is such a pain to determine. And I am still a dork.) had an ultrasound on Friday to make sure there was no growth restriction due to the two vessel cord. Thankfully, everything looked good! We'll get more details at our next meeting with the midwives, but I believe this means we're back to being a normal-ish pregnancy, with no more extra monitoring or check-ins. Yay!
We also got some detailed, determined, medically exact news. Bugbear probably weighs 4 pounds, 9 oz right now. Give or take 11 oz. Which means s/he weighs somewhere between under 4 pounds and over 5 pounds. Go go Gadget Math Skillz.
Michael also took pictures with his phone, because that's his thing.
The horribly blurry quality of the last one is my fault, since I'm the one who took it. It was seriously cute in person.
At this point, Bugbear looks something like a creepy Skeletor and an amorphous blob. S/he is big enough that s/he's kinda squished, and his/her face and limbs and body are all there, but difficult to see or do much with because of size. So you're not missing much when you can't tell what the photo strips are actually showing. But they'll still go in his/her memory book. Once we take them off the fridge.
We (Bugbear? Bugbear and I? I? Subjectivity is such a pain to determine. And I am still a dork.) had an ultrasound on Friday to make sure there was no growth restriction due to the two vessel cord. Thankfully, everything looked good! We'll get more details at our next meeting with the midwives, but I believe this means we're back to being a normal-ish pregnancy, with no more extra monitoring or check-ins. Yay!
We also got some detailed, determined, medically exact news. Bugbear probably weighs 4 pounds, 9 oz right now. Give or take 11 oz. Which means s/he weighs somewhere between under 4 pounds and over 5 pounds. Go go Gadget Math Skillz.
Michael also took pictures with his phone, because that's his thing.
(Bugbear)
(Belleh)
(Krista and Bugbear)
(Michael and Bugbear)
The horribly blurry quality of the last one is my fault, since I'm the one who took it. It was seriously cute in person.
At this point, Bugbear looks something like a creepy Skeletor and an amorphous blob. S/he is big enough that s/he's kinda squished, and his/her face and limbs and body are all there, but difficult to see or do much with because of size. So you're not missing much when you can't tell what the photo strips are actually showing. But they'll still go in his/her memory book. Once we take them off the fridge.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
61 Days Away...
That's right, 61 days until Bugbear's due date.
And s/he gets his/her first case of the hiccups.
Am I jinxing myself to at least 61 sleepless nights of my belly pulsing if I say it was kind of cute?
And s/he gets his/her first case of the hiccups.
Am I jinxing myself to at least 61 sleepless nights of my belly pulsing if I say it was kind of cute?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A Letter to Bugbear
Dearest Wee One,
When I spend time stretching my ribcage, trying to increase the room around my lungs and lung capacity, it is not so that you can squish up there and hang out while continuing to restrict my breathing. I really like you and all, but I also really like oxygen. And since you still need me for oxygen, it would be better for us both if you let me breathe.
Now scoot down. Bonus points if you scoot down and stay off my bladder.
Love,
Your Host
When I spend time stretching my ribcage, trying to increase the room around my lungs and lung capacity, it is not so that you can squish up there and hang out while continuing to restrict my breathing. I really like you and all, but I also really like oxygen. And since you still need me for oxygen, it would be better for us both if you let me breathe.
Now scoot down. Bonus points if you scoot down and stay off my bladder.
Love,
Your Host
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