Of Cooking and Clots

It's been quiet since we got home. No more bleeding, no feeling like the strange life form in m belly is trying to split my ribs apart, just your standard pregnancy pains. There's still the nasty business of passing all the clot, but that's nothing compared to how it feels when your placenta tears itself away from your uterine wall. That's good, because I have no desire to go through all that again.

Clot passing feel like mild menstrual cramps. I'm sure the thought makes all the men reading grimace, but get over it fellas. Women have periods and they involve cramping. Clots can come out in big ole hunks or little bits, it depends on how they're feeling. The difference is obvious though, so seeing it happen is no cause for concern.

The worst part of the recovery is being limited in what I can do. I'm a decently active person (or I was before pregnancy made me feel like all energy had been sucked from my body by some celestial vampire reaching down from the stars to steal whatever life I have for its own use.

I rode my bike until 7.5 months, only stopping because my husband was hit head on by a cab while riding his bike. After that I walked the mile from the train station to work and back. Slow, sure, but exercise is a good thing. Now most of my days are spent feet up on the couch. I realize rest is the best thing for my body right now, but man can it be boring. To keep busy I've been trying to catch up on all those little things I couldn't do while working; paperwork, filing, finishing the artwork for babby's room and even...cooking.

Cooking. That thing I don't do because who has the time for it when they work full time and commute? Or at least, that's what I tell myself. In large part that IS the reason but in the back of my head, I have all these voices telling me that a modern, independent woman shouldn't learn these basic domestic skills because that's falling into the old framework of what it means to be a woman. Nevermind that we all have to eat, and that cooking is a good skill to have regardless; I have to constantly battle with the idea that engaging in such skills is a sign of domesticity and failure, not a desire to eat tasty food. Or even a desire to save some dough. Eating out is easy, but it's pretty damn costly as well. Maybe this whole eating in thing is worth a look, eh? Maybe cooking is far less stressful when you actually have time to do it.

As it turns out, I am find it to be an enjoyable endeavor, at least so far. Without the stress of having to cram in a meal and everything else I might need to get done in the short time between 7:30 and 9, I can be far more relaxed about the idea of taking time to make food. I can even make food I WANT to eat, rather than settling for whatever is in the freezer and takes less than 10 minutes. Who knew such things were even possible?

I'm sure the novelty will eventually wear off, and all I'll want is to have someone cook for me, but in the meantime, I'm going to try and enjoy this.