Minding my own business...32 weeks

One more week in Florida. I 've been bored. We leave on Saturday.

My anemia is better but the crash brought back my dreaded sinus infection that my French doctor said I need antibiotics to get rid of. I've had it three times this year. I can't take antibiotics until Sushi is here and then of course I have the breastfeeding to consider so it will be quite a while before I can do that. I just have blooooooow and blooooooow and take lots of vitamins (my new friends). It will eventually die off again and then come back the moment opportunity rears it's ugly head. This is such an unhealthy trimester and I'm very fed up with this infection and being so tired.

Taking antibiotics reminds me of the fact that I can't drink for awhile either, no big deal except that we are in Mexico and one of my favorite drinks is margaritas! I've taught the hotel barman to make me a wonderful virgin faux margarita--so delicious with real lime juice and of course no alcohol. It's funny because we are in a hotel full of American tourists and businessmen, particularly the bar. Since being an expat and travelling back home with Little S I have discovered that an unfortunate thing my fellow Americans like to do is meddle and give opinions about things. I get so many "whispered judgements" from these tourists in the bar in Mexico--the 7 month pregnant lady downing her tequila, aggh. They are dying to say something. It's so funny and I can feel the eyes on me. It isn't just the prenatal drinking *gasp*. You wouldn't believe how many times people have struck up conversations with me in the last few months based on my bad parenting --my son shouldn't be eating peanuts, he's not wearing his seatbelt on the plane, he's not wearing a hat in the sun, not wearing the right sunscreen etc. It's like they are always watching mothers here, observing and waiting to dish out advice. The worst was one night in the hotel bar a very drunk Texan grandfather started warning us about the dangers of giving birth in 'dirty Mexico' (not to mention the fact that I'd being denying Sushi her American citizenship! Oh dear!!) He just wouldn't shut up. Of course as we know Sushi is going to have three nationalities but we didn't bother explaining how it all works to the guy because it seemed to really bug him that I was so misinformed and so stubborn. After all I was downing margaritas and I was going to deliver a Mexican baby!

I don't know what started that tangent. I've just been in constant culture shock lately. I'm so used to quiet mind-your-own-business Europe. It sometimes has caused me headaches in the past being in blase' France but now I think I've sort of become like that. I'd still get involved in helping people out who are in trouble** but I've come to believe that I don't think you should tell people what you think they're doing wrong if you aren't related to them. You shouldn't interfere. Even if you are a relative interfereing seems pushy to me. Mother and mother-in-law would be out of jobs if they couldn't give advice about childraising so I tolerate it with them but not so much with anyone else.*

These last few days have been calm and I sleep a lot which explains why I am so restless. I am nesting and my nest is far away. I have to put my nesting in to shopping. I've been buying birthing gear like breast pads, laxatives and witch hazel pads. I spent thirty minutes looking for a nursing bra. The cup sizes seem so much larger than in Europe. I shopped for a C cup, you know one size bigger and it looked like a D! I was wearing a D cup at the time, a French D cup and the C was like one cup size bigger than the one I was wearing. The American C had so much room it was so loose on me that the material and the lace was crumpled under my t-shirt. It looked ridiculous. So I shopped for a B cup but couldn't find anything problems because the strapping was always too small. I'm not even sure they make my size. I hate shopping for nursing bras. It's such a guessing game.

My list still isn't complete. The other things on my list are a new robe and some button down shirts for breastfeeding. I know these shirts will get ruined (breastmilk stains are hopeless) so I won't care enough to spend much on them.

Finally I want to get a bassinette for the baby. It will make me feel much better to know that I have a bed for the baby. I will have to cart it back with me on the airplane because I haven't seen any bassinettes in Mexico yet. It may not even be necessary. Little S slept in our bed for 7 months and he never even used his bassinette. It made a good storage place for folded laundry. I think it's all in my head that I need to set up a bed for her. After all I don't want to be a "bad mother" and not be prepared!

*My mom once told a woman on an airplane that her baby was crying because it was cold and needed socks. She wonders to this day why the woman was so rude to her. I told her if it was me I would have told her where to stick her sock advice.

**I got mugged in Paris and tackled to the sidewalk right in front of a little cafe where the people amazingly continued to sip their coffee while I lay there trying to regain my composure.