CABIN FEVER

It's been a long time between drinks (both figuratively and literally) - I wish I could say I've been busy gallivanting across Europe, or anywhere outside my front door really. In reality I've been sick and housebound for the past five days, which is starting to take its toll. Theoretically, a week off at home sounds great, except for the fact that you are literally unable to do anything except curl up in the foetal position and curse the baby inside you for denying you access to the healing, glorious bounty that is cold and flu medication (which I use in moderation, just as a disclaimer). I can only imagine what it was like for the indisposed before the invention of penicillin - yes, perhaps not exactly a fair comparison, but the cabin fever has caused me to become a bit bonkers.

Perhaps due to my slightly delirious state, I found myself overcome by what they call in birthing class, "nesting". This occurs when a pregnant woman gets the sudden urge to prepare for the arrival of the baby, which I thought was a load of bull until I woke up one morning at 3am in a panic - We have no clothes for the baby! What if we don't get any in time and it has to go around just in nappies? Shit, we don't have any nappies. It can't go around naked because then I'll have to clean up its poo from the floor. We need baby wipes. Shit. And what about those cotton wool ball things? What about a play mat? What if the baby becomes dim-witted from lack of stimulation? Where am I going to put the baby when I'm alone and need to go to the toilet? etc etc etc. On second thought, I'm not sure if this is "nesting" or just regular crazy. And I wonder how much of all this a baby actually needs, as opposed to  what the parents need in order to make themselves feel prepared and mildly competent. I wonder if Einstein had a play mat or one of those high-contrast black and white mobiles.

Just to round off this strange mish-mash of thoughts, an insight from a friend who recently gave birth to her first child:
Obviously you expect it to be painful but honestly nothing in this world could ever prepare you for the pain, it's like nothing else... As for forgetting the pain instantly once you hold your baby, it's all bull! I still haven't forgotten!!