Being Pregnant on the Road

So, obviously, I've been pregnant on the road before. I was with Lisel. And it was...well at the time I thought it was challenging. I mean, first pregnancies are challenging all the way around. You've never done it before and your body is going through so many weird changes daily and you're like 3,000 times more sensitive than you ever were before and you're hungry (at least I was. Very hungry. Hence the 55 pounds I gained) and you can't sleep on your side, or eat soft cheese or deli meat or smoke or drink. It's an intense time.

And when you're pregnant on the road, you're always on the move and you're staying up later than normal and you have little control over your food situation and, most importantly of all, you're surrounded by a bunch of dudes. And these dudes have never been pregnant and never will be pregnant. So here they are, being considerate yes, but still acting all not pregnant, never gonna be pregnant around you. They go out after the shows and stay up late and smoke and drink, and live their lives just like they always did. And they really don't want to talk to you about the life/mind/body/spirit altering thing you're going through.

Which is of course, all you want to talk about.

So it's kind of lonely, you know.

But you get to sleep on the bus during the drives. And you have lots of free time to sleep in room. You're not expected to do much more than show up to the gig and play.

This time, it's different.

The time to sleep you have is greatly reduced. Like by a factor of 50. Because this time, with a baby, you're up at 6:30. 7:15 if you're lucky. And during those long drives, you're up, or at least on call. There is the blessed two hour nap, and if you're lucky you can conk when the baby does. But there's no real way to make up for late gigs, or nights interrupted by a coughing baby (we're in the midst of a little cold). And so, you're tired. So Very Tired.

But unlike before, you're in your own vehicle. So you have a little more control over the food sitch. Which is nice. It certainly helps in the good mood department.

Now you're surrounded by people who understand, like your husband and you're friend/road nanny. And so if you reach your exhaustion limit, you can sit down, lie down, take a load off, and know that all things toddler related will be well in hand.

And you can talk about what your body and mind and sprit are going through, which though not as unbelievable and totally mind blowing as it was the first time, is still a fairly wild ride. And the people around you? They actually care. Which is nice.

And you have your toddler on the road. Which though it cuts down on your sleep time by a factor of 50, increases your fun on the road by a factor of a gazillion (yes, a gazilion). Gone are the days of hotel room boredom, of feeling like your life is only half lived. Now everyday is an adventure, which can be exhausting, but isn't exhaustion the natural outcome of excitement anyway?

So when I started this post, I was actually planning on doing much more bitching about being pregnant on the road. "It's so tiring! I'm so tired! Poor poor me!!! "

But now that I've talked/written through it, I can see that it's not so bad. It's hard yes. I'm not going to deny it. But most strange and wonderful and exciting endeavors are.

Now I'm off to nap. Lisel is sleeping, and I've got to lay down while I can.







-- Post From My iPhone