Not handicapped... just pregnant

My biggest pregnancy pet peeve so far has been people asking,

"Are you still allowed to referee lacrosse now that your pregnant?"

I know they mean well and they're (hopefully) just looking out for my health and welfare. But really, why is that any of their business? Clearly I'm not going to purposely do something to harm my baby. A few have even gone so far as to ask what my doctor says about it. Uh, yes, I have talked to my midwife about it and that's between she and I, thanks. I didn't ask when your last colonoscopy was, did I?

Our society has this mentality that once you become pregnant, you are this fraile creature that needs extra protection (and closer parking spaces at the grocery store). It's pretty common sense, to me at least, that this is not true. There are pregnant marathon runners for goodness sake. 

Think back to the pioneer woman. Was she just lounging around in the cabin for 9 months while her husband did all the work? No way, jose! She was up doing chores until sundown. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, gardening, skinning animals & walking everywhere imagineable. Riding in a bumpy wagon to town to get calico cloth for Laura & Mary's Sunday dresses. Okay, I read the whole Laura Ingalls Wilder series when I was little. Pa's coon-skin cap didn't make itself! (They also got oranges in their Christmas stockings. Oh, the simplicity of it all!)

I wish I had the time to explain to every one of my uber-personal-question-askers that exercise is perfectly safe for healthy, pregnant women.. Generally the rule of thumb is, whatever you were doing BEFORE you got pregnant, you can continue doing throughout your pregnancy. In my case, this means sprinting up & down a lacrosse field 50+ times per game. Maybe this rule doesn't apply to downhill skiiers or cliff divers, but you get the idea.

I credit running for reducing my nausea & giving me lots of energy, when typically, the first trimester leaves you drained of energy. I would mainly feel tired on days I wasn't exercising. On a few occassions when I felt a bout of nausea coming on (usually right after work), I would quick lace up my running shoes & crank up the iPod tunes. Nausea gone!
It was pretty amazing.

[For some reason, I always think to take a belly pic before I go running.]

If people are questioning my exercise habits at 3 months when I'm not even showing, I can't wait to see the reactions I'll get this summer when I'm doing tournaments and going for jogs at the park at 5-6 months pregnant.

"Why don't ya take a picture, it'll last longer!"

(Pee Wee Herman)