Pregnancy Syllabus

Welcome to Being Pregnant 101

This is a self directed 9ish month course.

Text books and Resources:

• What to Expect When Your Expecting by Heidi Murkoff (Medical Birth Book) This is a somewhat depressing book about how mother and baby develop, and all the medical things that can go wrong.
• Ina May's Guide of Childbirth by Ina May (Natural Birth Book) This is a book about natural childbirth that probably is the reason why natural childbirth is seen as hokey and anti-science, but it has a variety of stories, not all of which are weird.
• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Diane Wiessinger (Nursing Book) This book is an unsubtle advertisement for La Leche League and is so pro nursing that it disparages any other life choices, but it also has a ton of good advice and how-to information.
• The Calm Birth School by Liz Stanford (Online Hypnobirthing Class) A series of positive, down-to-earth, convenient 15-20 minute videos that cover preparing for labor, breathing techniques, and how father can help out, but a little basic.
• The Pregnancy Podcast by Vanessa Merten (Podcast) A series of ongoing episodes that cover topics from detailing the steps of a c-section, to sleeping suggestions with an emphasis on informed consent and a healthy focus on peer-reviewed articles and real scientific studies.

First Trimester Learning Objectives:

• Learn about how pregnancy progresses and the changes in your body.
• Learn about labor and different methods of labor.
• Learn about medical interventions.
• Choose which interventions you want and why.

First Trimester Assignments:

• Know how to keep a secret.
• Choose a medical care provider.
• Be very very tired.

Second Trimester Learning Objectives:

• Choose a laboring method.
• Practice calming techniques.
• Learn to feel baby move.
• Learn about baby products.

Second Trimester Assignments:

• Start to see belly grow.
• Change medical care provider.

Third Trimester Learning Objectives:

• Learn about nursing and infant care.

Third Trimester Assignments:

• Be uncomfortable.
• Gather baby supplies.
• Wait.

Location Sentimentality

If someone asks me if I remember a specific person in a classroom I often ask them where they were sitting. I’m more likely to know who they are referring to if I know where they were. Telling me what they were wearing or what they look like is rarely helpful. Basically location is very important to trigger my memory.

It works the same way with memories. I’m far more likely to remember and share memories when I return to the location in which the situation occurred.

The other day Jeremy was laughing at me for keeping a book mark that was really just a scrap of paper, but I explained who gave it to me and the circumstances surrounding it. He said maybe it is a good thing that I was keeping it because I have such a location based memory and that item triggers my memory just like a location would. 

This made me wonder... Do the people that are considered to be the most sentimental also have locational memories? Are those 2 linked? 

Where Did All the Coming of Age Rituals Go?

 I watched a YouTube video the other day that brought up (almost as a side note) how many of the rising generation (the Millennials shall I say) prefer not to grow up. They even use the term "adulting" to discuss how hard "real life" things like insurance and having a full time job are. I have been guilty of this myself.

This made me start thinking about how in the past and/or other cultures have dramatic and significant coming of age rituals/customs/etc that often involved a change of dress or other physical appearance (short dresses to long dresses, braids to free hair and/or buns, tattoos, etc), and actions of independence (prestige hunting, overnight camping alone, earning money outside the home, courting etc.).

Now however, it seems like most rituals that involved change of dress and appearance have entirely disappeared from our Western culture. And the rituals involving independence have been assimilated into the benefits of teenage years without the responsibility. For example teenagers date and have jobs but the jobs are predominately to pay for things like recreation and their own car not for the support of their family or themselves and dating is not generally with the view of marriage (at least anytime soon... not that that is a bad thing but that used to be the only time you courted).

I wonder if this lack of ritual change from childhood to adulthood that makes the transition to adulthood so undiscernible has lead to the increased attitude that adulting is just hard and not something that is desirable...

Magpie Tendencies

 Jeremy has started calling me a magpie. I don't blame him. I'm often picking up forgotten tent pegs, smashed pennies and at least looking at what sort of trash is poking out of the ground. He doesn't mind. It means I'm also good at spying rubber boas and pretty green beetles.

Then, the other night I started talking about how as a kid we would find all sorts of stuff behind our house (our backyard butted up against a marsh where people often dumped junk). There was an old couch, a TV, a newspaper stand, a pile of shingles and a myriad of tires not to mention smaller treasures. One summer we even found a bathroom sink and I got such a kick out of saying you could find anything back there, even a kitchen sink. I decided I might have discovered some of the foundation of my magpie tendencies.

Then, to exacerbate my magpie tendencies I went into Archaeology where they literally train you to walk around and pick up random things (sometimes trash). Is it any wonder I'm a magpie?

Should Magic Be More Like Sight or Math?

Jeremy and I were talking about magic the other day.
Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series are arguably the first "modern" fantasy stories. In them individuals are either magic users or they are not. It is almost more a racial trait than anything you can learn or develop.
In a lot of popular fantasy series today, like Harry Potter, Star Wars, or Avatar: The Last Airbender, magic is still very much a gift that you have or you don't. It's like the ability to see, speak, or smell. You have it or you don't. Except that learning that magic tends to take a central stage in the plotline. Which is weird... because you don't really have to learn how to see or speak... and that isn't something you can really improve on per se. No matter how keen (or not) your eyes are no one goes about taking classes and learning how to see better (maybe observe more but not how to physically enhance their sight).
So then if magic is now treated more as something to be learned why is it still only some people that magically have the gift? The way magic has to be studied in most common series today it seems like magic should be more like a skill rather than a sense. Anyone can learn math, painting, programming, dance, soccer, writing.... some people are just naturally better at it then others. However, the diligence, desire and persistence someone puts into learning a certain skill often seems to outweigh the actual natural ability, at least in the long run. I think magic should be more of a skill. Anyone can learn it, even if for some people it comes more naturally than others...
So why is magic being dolled out like a sense so common? Perhaps it comes from history... from the idea that things like wealth, privilege, and opportunities for education were for a long time very much a "you have it or you don't" experience. So magic was envisioned the same way.
Then education became more prevalent and learning magic became a way to connect to readers.
But maybe our stories are still out of date and aren't "American Dream"/"Capitalist" enough... Could the next step be the magic can be learned by anyone? Down with the Muggle hierarchy!

I think it is interesting how fiction tends to mimic certain aspects of the real world but just so everyone is clear I actually have nothing against magic systems that are "you have it or you don't" I just think it might be interesting to explore it in the American Dream style.
And also it makes me curious about cultures of Eastern magic.... historical China with their intense government examinations being more important that money or heritage (granted sometimes it goes together) seems like it had at least a broader view of upward mobility than medieval Europe.... so does their stories of magic reflect that?

Is Knowledge Power?

The other night Jeremy and I were camping and we heard a loud yowling call every few minutes. It sounded like nothing either of us had ever heard but it also sounded cat-like. It was a bit disconcerting... aka creepy. We just wished we knew what it was.

The next day with the help of youtube we discovered it was probably a fox yowl. If we had known it was a fox in the middle of the night I think we would have both been a lot more comfortable.

It was interesting because earlier that day we had been talking about how knowing more about something can make something less scary. As well as how learning more about something can make you appreciate it more (I'm sure I've blogged about that before but I can't find it now).

On the flip side we also talked about how sometimes more knowledge brings more anxiety.... because you know better what you are getting into. In some situations the same information can make one person less scared and another person more so.

So when does knowledge make you powerful and when does it cripple you?

Manipulation, Cliff Hangers, and Resumes

Yesterday Jeremy and I were talking about cliff hangers. As a rule I hate cliff hangers. I like chapters because they provide a natural stopping place that makes it easier to stop reading and also makes it easier to find your spot when you pick up again. Cliff hangers, in general, are designed to make you keep reading. When I set a book down in the middle I almost always pick it up again. My putting the book down isn't an insult to the book's excitement or pacing it just means I have a life and things I need to do, other than read (which is sometimes a pity). I decided I hate cliff hangers so much because I feel like the author is manipulating me into challenging my own will power. And too often works. Perhaps if I wasn't so easily swayed by cliff hangers I would hate them less....
Anyway, the overall point to this is I feel like cliff hangers are manipulative (in general) where other writing tactics such as having well developed and engrossing characters or a compelling plot are more about influencing you to keep reading. Influencing isn't nearly so repugnant as manipulating! It's a good thing. I mean what would any form of art be, without the motive of influencing the viewer?
I realized that my hatred of talking myself up and resumes, etc along with being a form of defense might also go back to my hatred of manipulation. I feel like people talk about resumes as a form of manipulation. I don't like that.
But why do I hate manipulation so much anyway. I mean sure it isn't great but why does it offend me? Sometimes I wish I could think of a single childhood experience that would explain the way I am...