I forget what it’s like to feel okay. Since I feel considerably less awful than I did three months ago, I often assume that I do in fact feel normal, that nothing’s really wrong, which leads to me thinking things like “Why do I feel so weird?” or “Why does it seem like everything’s so hard?” [...]
Yesterday was my virtual blessingway. Only it felt less “virtual” (as in, somehow unreal) than “private” and “peaceful.” While I can imagine how it could be powerful and affirming to be physically surrounded by loving support at an in-person event, I feel so permeable and private at this point in my pregnancy that the whole [...]
I’m not an especially music-oriented person. I don’t make music, and I don’t even listen to it much. I don’t sing to my child, a fact that sort of blows my mom’s mind. I seem to need a lot of silence, which can be in short supply when you don’t live by yourself. So, it’s [...]
Welcome to First the Egg, a collection of practical information, links, and cultural criticism. This site is a feminist intervention in our rigidly-gendered culture of childbirth and parenting. It aims to provide a nonsexist space for people who want to learn, reflect, commiserate, or laugh about being pregnant, giving birth, and helping children grow up whole and happy.
Feel free to contact me with ideas or questions at
this week in pregnancy (thinking about the end)
So here we find ourselves near the end of what will pretty clearly be my last pregnancy. The baby will be here sometime in the next two or three weeks, which is such a very short time that I cannot understand why other people seem anxious about when I’m going to have that baby already: [...]