Being pregnant

Pregnancy is a curious process to go through. From the moment of the conception, my body is still mine, but no longer mine, either; it has become the home of a baby. Whatever I eat is not only for me, but also to provide for this tiny human being. Whatever moves I do with my body, not only concerns me, but also with the little tenant within me. I, am officially more than me. I know human beings, Homo sapiens, are a kind of animal, no different than the ones we'd find caged in a zoo or running in the wild, but pregnancy made me feel closer to my animal root ever. It makes me feel primal to be really going through the most fundamental stage of life's cycle. To create, to nurse, to protect, to nurture. I imagine tiny veins in my body grow, branch, intertwine, and weave, to form the tiny limbs and bodies of my baby (my baby! Our baby!). Sometimes I imagine the baby as the fetus developing in Discovery Channel health shows. But sometimes, when my body twitches and tingles with unfamiliar feelings, I feel more akin to being the host of a foreign thing, like in the movies Alien, or Species. I think the feeling of carrying an alien might only grow as the pregnancy progresses; when the baby can twist and turn to change the shape of my belly. Soon enough, I'll look ready to explode. We'll see what that'll make me feel.