The pistachio

At some point, about a month ago, the doctor told us that the baby was about the size of a pistachio. That name stuck, as did the pregnancy, and here I am in Zurich, needing to get a mountain of things done, with no energy to do any of them. Ok, I take that back, I get about 1 or 1.5 things done each day. This includes walking the dog, so I try to coordinate the pupper's walks with going to the post office, or the grocery. She gets to sit outside and wait for me, take in the fresh air, and I actually get something done.

I've never felt this tired before. Well, except for during a bad flu a few years ago. It is "head needs to lay on a pillow NOW" tired. "Walking like a bobute (grandma)" tired. I nap after breakfast, I need to sit during the outtings with the dog, I lay on the couch in the evenings. I'm not used to be this useless. M has taken over a lot of the chores - he does at least half the dishes, the laundry, he cooks, he takes the dog on her big morning outing and again in the evening. And I lay there (or occasionally sit), feeling nauseous, or having heartburn, and usually tired.

I had been told this tired thing was coming and I kind of expected the 30 min. naps I took in the car on the ride out to Boston were what people were talking about. I was still driving many hours a day, going to see people, etc. Yeah, ha ha, that was nothing. THIS is tired. What surprises me the most, given how little energy I have, is that there is no pre-natal work leave for pregnant women. I know every pregnancy is different, but honestly, there is no getting anything done being this tired. Some women go through a few months of this! (My upstairs neighbor commented that when she was pregnant it was like 4 months of "como borracha" - being drunk - tired for her.

I just went out to the post office (and of course the dog went with) and one of our neighbors came with me. It was nice to have company for once, and nice to talk with another academic spouse. We talked about the crazy, privatized but mandatory insurance here, and how you pick a plan from over 40 companies, and we exchanged tips for things to see in the neighborhood.

Oh, and we picked up our boxes from Lufthansa cargo that my mom shipped for us. Full of all the last things we couldn't pack on our trip. It was quite the adventure to even find the right building at the airport but, as usual, our cab driver was the most helpful, polite 25 year old I've met. The long, empty corridors of the cargo building were another matter, and we sort of got shuffled around from the check-in office, to the customs office, to the loading dock. But the boxes all arrive safely, and I finally have more than a week's worth of underwear. How exciting!