Thank you so much for all of the loving comments, emails, and messages on my pregnancy announcement! I am now 16 weeks and firmly in my second trimester — the blissful place in-between nausea and debilitating heartburn!
A couple of FAQs:
When are you due?
Mid October!
Are you finding out the sex?
No. Since the baby was a bit of a surprise, I feel like keeping the sex a surprise is fun choice. I find it endearingly irritating when other people make this choice (I want to know everything!!!!), but it feels very natural for me this time around!
Do you have a name picked out?
We are about 90% settled on a first name for a boy, but we don’t have a middle name picked out. I am pretty sure we have a girl’s middle name picked out, but are still deciding between three first names for girls. Also, there is a chance we throw everything all out the window and go on instinct upon meeting the baby. If you want to know our ideas, I am happy to share privately. I *love* discussing baby names!
Did you give away all your stuff because you were 90% sure you were one-and-done?
We gave away a lot of stuff!!! I don’t regret doing that because I believe in the circular baby gear economy. I am hopeful to get most of the things we need secondhand. I also think a late summer baby shower is in the works because we had a Zoom shower in 2020. 🥲 It was lovely, but I longed for the real thing!
Have you told your students yet?
I have! I told my classes last week. I did not do anything clever this time around; I just told them that I’m having a baby. Several of my 7th graders jumped up to tell me they had “text message proof” that they KNEW I was pregnant before I announced, which made me laugh. I love middle schoolers.
How does pregnancy feel this time around?
I was pregnant with Ari in 2020 last time around, so I did not work in-person past the ~11 week mark. I didn’t get dressed up, spend time around people, go to the gym, or chase after a four-year-old. It was isolating, but it was also easy. I am very tired and nap easily and often.
Do you have any specific pregnancy cravings?
Horchata always sounds really good to me. I’ve also been eating cereal more often (my current favorites are Crackin’ Oat Bran and Golden Grahams), especially before workouts and about an hour before or after dinner.
How does Ari feel about the baby?
He is so excited. Sharing this pregnancy with him has been really sweet. Every Thursday we read the weekly update on the baby’s growth (this week baby is the size of an orange and is developing taste buds!). He kisses my belly at least once a day and tells the baby he loves her (he really wants a girl so almost exclusively uses feminine pronouns). He does have a lot of concerns about a baby drooling on his toys and knocking down his creations, which for a four-year-old, seems fair.
Reading
Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
I have been a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld since Prep, which I cannot believe hasn’t been made into a miniseries. American Wife and Eligible are my other favorites of hers. I deeply enjoyed every story in this collection except the last one, which is an epilogue of Lee’s story in Prep — It felt a little fan fiction-adjacent and redundant given the prior private school stories “Giraffe and Flamingo” and “The Tomorrow Box.” The stand-outs for me are “A for Alone,” “Creative Differences,” and “Marriage Clock.” Also, “The Hug” is the only pandemic fiction I’ve encountered that I didn’t find immediately repulsive.
“The Tech Fantasy That Powers A.I. is Running on Fumes” by Tressie McMillan Cottom (NYT gift link)
“How To NOT Design Your Kid’s Room – A Cautionary Tale” by Emily Henderson
I have been a fan of Emily’s work since my grandmother told me about her stint on Design Star! This post was so relatable and funny. I love how relentlessly opinionated tween girls are.
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
This was our spring book club pick! I don’t read romance often, but I understand some aspects of the genre thanks to Janelle Taylor’s great newsletter, Romance Adjacent. I don’t think that brother’s best friend is my trope of choice, but I did have fun with the book. Not that I’m a super high brow reader, but it was fun to have something that truly felt like candy for my brain. My co-host gathered everyone’s fancasting of the book and created a whole PowerPoint presentation! For the record, I picture Tim Riggins (aka Taylor Kitsch) as Luke Brooks and Hailee Steinfeld as Emmy.
In and around Portland, teachers are missing more school than ever. Their bosses don’t want to talk about it.
This was the most disrespectful article I’ve read about educators in 14 years of teaching, and I am linking it solely so I can share my scathing response letter. Pressing send on that email felt *amazing*, and I am tempted to show my students the stream of reactionary texts I sent my closest friends and colleagues, my brain dump rough draft, and then my final draft to show them that each step of the writing process really is critical and cathartic!
What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg
I scrolled through an old Cup of Jo post to find the right book to read to Ari to help him understand my pregnancy. I found this and The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall to be the perfect books for his age and level of understanding. The only part that kind of freaked him out was the c-section page, but after a few conversations about what doctors do and the purpose of surgery, he’s totally fine with it.
Side note: Please, someone in media studies or some other branch of sociology, study the Cup of Jo comment community. Nothing rivals it in terms of kindness, nuance, breadth, and dedication.
Watching
Dying for Sex (FX/Hulu)
I knew I would love this show because I love Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate, but I did not know how much I would love it. As someone who was religiously conditioned to have a very narrow understanding of sex and its purpose, this show is truly expansive in how it explores intimacy, the body, and relationships. I also would be an absolute liar if I said I didn’t watch for the clothes! It’s mostly standard millennial Brooklyn fare, but I looove it. I haggled a Poshmark deal on a vintage Coach mini backpack after the first four episodes and have no regrets.
Adolescence (Netflix)
I appreciate that the single camera shot filming technique takes this beyond a standard procedural drama and turns into something more intimate and real. As a teacher, not much of this surprised me except how compelling the acting is.
Pride and Prejudice (2005 Joe Wright adaptation)
I decided to go see this after my cousin raved about getting to see it in theaters with her church group. I also saw a compelling tiktok where high schoolers were watching the movie and you could hear their audible reactions to the dramatic lingers, pauses, and almost kisses. I regret that I only see Matthew McFayden as Tom from Succession, so he did absolutely nothing for me, but Keira Knightly and Rosamund Pike were so lovely. I deeply enjoyed the layers of messy family drama and the cinematography. Not that these movies are often pitted each other, but ultimately I say Little Women > Pride and Prejudice.
The month of May is perhaps my least favorite teaching month, but I am so happy it has been a mild and sunny spring! I have posts in the works about why first trimester dressing sucks and even more dinner ideas. Be on the lookout for those soon!
With love,
Lexie
your letter is on point!
I liked Curtis Sittenfeld's You Think It, I'll Say It, so this makes me very keen on checking out Show Don't Tell! And Pride and Prejudice (2005) is real comfort watch of mine, I love how everyone just glows in that film. But Colin Firth will always be the best Mr Darcy.
That article you linked to about teacher absenteeism is so awful. Teachers are so under-appreciated as it is; it also very telling they barely captured the teacher side of the story to give a fuller picture.