Homegirl Quel (kel) in Austin

24 Weeks!

Sleepy is my general state around afternoon time these days. I'm 24 weeks into my pregnancy and things are going great...and I'm very sleepy. People keep telling me I'm glowing. I don't know if that's what we're conditioned to say to expecting moms as a society, but I really don't care--I LOVE the compliment. :) I'll post pictures soon, I promise. I've taken plenty that are not approprite for the public, but I'll be posting pics more often as I'm huge and in the home stretch.

We been here and there...

Billy and I are going out as much as possible before the baby gets here. I like to slow down with him and just go somewhere, in the same car for a change, and just be together.  So we try to catch lunch and dinner out together when we can during the week and say "yes" to any party invites that come our way. 

We checked out this really cool poetry open mic set at a club called Illusions a couple of weeks ago. I think the event is called Neo Soul or something like that. It was cool. The atmosphere is laid back and grown up and nobody was smoking. It would have been perfect if I could have sipped a little something. Neo Soul is a weekly event and every Thursday night there's a featured poet, usually from out of town, and a different theme for poets to speak on like genocide, or sex, or politics. We'll definitely be hitting that spot on a semi-regular basis. I'm hoping to meet with the coordinators and a poet or two to do a piece for my Honeymag.com blog soon.

I met a new baby! Our friend from college just had his third little boy in 4 years! We met him last week and he's just an angel. He looks exactly like his brothers did as newborns--yellow with a grown-man amount of wavy black hair on his head. Sweet baby.

And speaking of babies...

I joined Mocha Moms. My child is not here yet, but I was encouraged to join early...which is apparently recommended by most members. I figured I'd get to know some other Black moms in the city before he gets here. I don't see Black people unless I go to church, which is once or twice a month if that, and I haven't really connected with anybody there. I know I'm not in Memphis anymore-- I'm cool with my close friends living out of state, but I need my kids to grow up connected to Black people on the regular. I'm in a situation where I have to provide the environment because it doesn't naturally exist in our lifestyle. They'll be exposed to other cultures naturally, which is wonderful, but we have to make sure they're connected to their own. I'm really grateful that Mocha Moms exists. In cities like Austin, where Black folks are so spread out, it's nice to have an organization like this to get us all together. I've been to a couple of MM meetings and Billy went with me to game night where we got to play cards and dominos and meet other Mocha Moms and Mocha Dads. It was cool. We're going to a Mocha Family BBQ this weekend, which is going to be so much fun, I'm sure.

There are storks outside my office door.

They're wooden. The one leaning on the left side of my office door is six feet tall and carrying a brown baby boy in blue, and the one on the right side is about 3 feet tall and is carrying a beige baby girl in pink. Both have post-its stuck to them identifying them as the unofficial mascots of the research department. It's so cute.

The storks aren't actually for me. It just so happens that one of our clients, a major network of hospitals, is opening a special birthing center. We had these made for their groundbreaking. My boss is responsible for the strategic positioning and signage of the "mascots" while they're housed here. My office is right in front of the main entry, so everyone who enters gets the message...even our UPS delivery guy is keeping tabs on my progress. 

I usually don't care to have lots of attention, but it's pretty cool to have everybody as excited as I am for this baby. It's so much fun!

Mom-to-be Moments

• Every time I go to the bathroom at work and every time I'm near a mirror at home, I look at my bare belly and rub it and smile involuntarily and am in awe that there's actually a really little person growing in there. If I was a man, I'd be so jealous that our bodies can do this. Of course our bodies can't do this without them, but still...
• My little guy is moving around more often these days. Sometimes when I feel him move, I'm so overwhelmed with love for this little person that I don't even know yet. I love him so much already. What am I going to do when I meet him for the first time? I don't know if I can take it. I can't wait to kiss his little face. Poor thing is gonna be all broke out 'cause I can't stop kissin' him. :) 
• I thought it was time to buy maternity bottoms, but the bottoms I've been wearing are only size 16. The largest pant-size I have in my closet is size 18, so I think I have another few weeks before buying maternity pants. Finding maternity pants with 36 inch inseams in my size will be difficult and expensive, so I'm holding out as long as I comfortably can. 

Hm!

So I went to see my dermatologist this morning. While I was there, I thought I'd cover a few bases and ask about the wonderful skin changes that occur during pregnancy--stretch marks, specifically. I'm only halfway through my pregnancy, so I don't have belly stretch marks...scratch-marks from the itching...I do have. Billy slaps my hands whenever he catches me scratching. I try to scratch gently, but the itch is so sweet that I get carried away sometimes.

ANYway, so I asked my dermatologist about the itching and figured I'd get the scoop on his recommendation for preventing stretch marks. I prepared myself to hear about some complicated concoction, available by prescription only, with years of research and formulas and statistics behind it. How surprised was I when he answered, "Vaseline." Really?!

His wife is pregnant and due two days after me and she's having the same itching/stretching issues as me right now. He said above every cream or oil out there, he recommends Vaseline. How old-school is that? He told me how to use it and when, and said that while some women are predisposed to getting stretch marks during pregnancy, using Vaseline properly...and fighting gravity's pull on the skin by wearing sufficient support, especially during the third trimester will prevent or reduce stretch marks and help the body repair itself quickly. Vaseline, y'all.