It happened.

A virtual stranger pointed to my belly and asked if I was pregnant.

Actually, she rubbed her belly first, then smiled, pointed to my belly and asked, �Is something going on in there?�

RISKY. Risky on her part. She took a huuuuuge leap of faith in asking that. (I mean, come on, how many times have you thought someone was pregnant only to find out later that they were simply over-doing the desserts? I�ve known women who could double as bowling ball smugglers that I wouldn�t ask the �Are you pregnant?� question to. I think it�s a no-no, isn�t it??)

Of course I grinned and rubbed my tummy and confirmed her suspicions.

I�ve been outed. I�m pretty happy about that. I�m starting to pooch out. I�m pregnant!

On the downside, my pregnant work friend has started sharing all of the scary stuff with me. Apparently she thinks she needs to school me.

�You�re going to need to start carrying an extra pair of underwear in your purse. You never know when it�s going to happen, but it will. You�ll start laughing and then all of a sudden, you�ll start peeing. Stress incontinence. Happens to the best of us.�

�Have you learned about nipple shields yet?�

�The day my milk finally let down after my first baby was the worst experience of my life. I sat on the floor and cried and cried. It was excruciating.�

I�m not allowed to hit a pregnant lady, am I?

Kidding.

I suppose it�s good for me to hear that stuff. Although it is FREAKING ME OUT.

Had an experience today with a patient that just confirms what I�ve long suspected about people:

They�re really stupid.

I was getting ready to draw her blood so that the lab could run all of the tests her doctor ordered.

�Are you running an HIV test?� she asked.

I scanned the chart quickly, not aware of a positive HIV status. �No,� I replied. �We�re testing to see how your Hepatitis C is doing, and we�re testing a few other things not related to infectious diseases.�

�Well you ought to run an HIV test,� she replied. �I�m with someone who is HIV positive now and we don�t use protection.�

I told her I�d need to get the doctor�s permission to run the extra test, and I excused myself from her exam room.

�Doctor Smith,� I said, approaching her physician. �Janet Doe wants us to add an HIV test to her labs. Apparently her current � ah, partner � is HIV positive, and they don�t use protection.�

�Good God!� the doctor exclaimed. �Egads! Tell her not to do that! Goodness, run the test.�

�Um, noting her Hep C status� (history of IV drug use) �and other high risk indicators, do you think if we told her �not to do that� � she�d listen?� I asked.

�Well,� the doctor paused. �No. But still. People never cease to amaze me.�

No shit.

I�ve lost one of the two pounds that I gained.

I think it�s because I�m eating really small portions of foods, and trying only to snack on healthy stuff (fruits and veggies).

I�m not worried about it � I had about eight pounds to spare when I started this pregnancy. So I�m sure that Baby Catnip is getting enough nutrition, and that I�m probably just losing a little of that leftover IVF (that�s In Vitro Fat) that I put on with all of the hormones.

I�ll be interested to see what the doc says next week � but I�m not going to stress about it.

Is it weird that I don�t want to hold other people�s babies? There�s been a ton of babies in and around my life lately, and mothers just try to shove their babies willy-nilly into my arms. The thing is � I just don�t feel drawn to holding and cuddling other people�s bundles of joy.

It�s not like I�m pulling an Anthony Clark from Dr. Katz � �If you are ever in Italy and someone throws you a baby, just swat it to the ground and yell I don't think so!�

Other people�s babies are just freaking me out a little bit right now.