Decisions....

Choosy moms have more to choose than Jiff. Choosy moms have oh so many decisions to make.

It starts in the beginning, when you first find out you're pregnant. You choose to keep the pregnancy or not. You choose to quit smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking coffee, taking drugs (and not just the recreational kind), many, many, many - too many - types of foods, and other risky-type behaviors. By the way, hot baths are included in that "risky-type" category.

You have to choose a doctor if you haven't had one previously. You have to start thinking about choosing names and choosing nursery furniture. Birth plans and hospitals. Pain meds during delivery, or not. Not to mention you have to choose which college this tyke will attend.

You never know how many choices you have until you're faced with the mountain of literature you dig through when you're pregnant.

Up until you find out the gender of your baby - I'm still in the dark - you can only speculate about certain decisions.

A girl is much easier than a boy. You have to decide her name and which outfit to bring her home from the hospital in. To pink, or not to pink? Easy peasy!!

A boy is different. You still have to decide his name, and the take-out clothes. You even have to decide if you will keep the blue or make him hip and gray. But, there's a really big decision that you should make while the little guy is still little and his little mind will never remember that little piece of skin that doctor chopped off him.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm speaking of circumcision. Long before I was even close to getting married, much less about to have a baby, I decided I was fundamentally against genital mutilation of any kind. I did research on the subject. I wanted to make an informed decision for my hypothetical son. Did you know that waaaay back in the 60s & 70s, studies were done ruling that circumcision was never a medically necessary procedure? In fact, circumcision began in the US as a way to curb sexual desires back in Puritan times. It's true. At some time in the late 19th century, doctors began telling very ignorant parents that it was medically necessary to keep it healthy and clean. Since those studies, it's only been done for cosmetic purposes. Well, I look at it like this....for almost 40 years, millions of American boys (this is primarily an American affliction) have had parts of their very sensitive anatomy removed for no reason other than habit. I mean, 75% of the world's population leave their boys intact, and that includes other developed countries.

I have heard the arguments FOR circumcision and my heart is still against it. I understand that if a boy in the US is uncircumcised, he will be different than most of his peers. What I want to know is why has this been made to be such a taboo? People get uncomfortable when you bring it up. People are very passionate about their sons' foreskins.

I want to start a revolution! One of acceptance! Let go of the old thought patterns! Who cares if one kid has an anteater and the other doesn't?! NOT ME!!

Ah, the things you ponder when you bring another human into the world.


It's been a Monday. A very pregnant Monday. It all began when I woke up with intestinal discomfort. Nothing I can't handle. After my shower, I began looking for an undershirt. I looked in the clean clothes that were just folded. I looked in the closet. I looked in the newly-folded clothes again. I threw clothes around the closet and cursed the laundry being done! I hated that I couldn't find it. I hated that Mike didn't answer his phone when I called to whine about how I couldn't find it. I looked in the folded clothes again, and - GASP - there was my undershirt. I put my clothes on and Mike returned my call. So, I cried about it.

Later, the computer and projector at work began giving me problems. I cried about that too, but announced it to my class. So, they laughed while I cried and laughed.

At lunch, I felt backwards. I turned the bathroom light on when I left the room. The afternoon was long. Luckily my night class was laid back. But, I'm tired.

It's been a long day, and I'm ready for bed. I'll probably dream of robot computers and floating foreskin, but goodnight.