My 30-Minute Pregnancy Oasis

Generally, when Ryan takes his late morning nap, I take one right along with him. But with yesterday’s heat and our pool being open, I decided to eschew a nap and go for a swim. I boldly donned my bikini (warning my neighbors to avert their eyes) and went in the pool.

If I could, I would magically give every pregnant woman in the world access to a warm swimming pool. There is nothing more perfect for erasing almost all the woes of pregnancy. The buoyancy of the water gets rid of that “can’t get comfortable” feeling, the perfect temperature erases the too-hot-too-cold-hormonal-temperature thing, the warmth soothes puffy fingers and ankles and achy muscles, the quiet lapping of the water against the side of the pool calms the crazy mood swings, and the water itself hides the resemblance to a beached whale.

I will admit that I don’t particularly suffer from the latter symptom. Of all my pregnancy woes (and they are legion – ask my poor husband), one that has never been an issue for me is body image. My non-pregnancy figure is naturally relatively slender; in fact, my figure has generously been called “boyish”. In other words, I’m kind of flat-chested, with hips that don’t look curvy relative to my thick waist. So pregnancy gives me the great boobs I’ve always wanted, and a big baby belly (combined with that late-pregnancy sway) gives my hips the illusion of being curvy and voluptuous. Plus one fringe benefit of being so sick at the beginning of this pregnancy is that I lost ten pounds in the first two months, mostly from my thighs (woot woot!), so my biggest problem area is more slender than usual. I have never felt as sexy and beautiful as I do when I’m pregnant.

But I will also admit that a pregnant woman in a bikini, although not exactly unattractive in some ways, just looks goofy. Pregnancy, in my mind, is the anatomical equivalent of a mullet: in theory, very practical; in practice, kind of silly-looking. But pop that bikini under the surface of a swimming pool and no-one else needs to know about the silliness.

So for thirty whole minutes yesterday afternoon, I escaped from my pregnancy woes in my private aquatic nirvana. Even the birds cooperated: the chickadees sang me their love calls, the blue jays chattered socially instead of scolding, the cardinal came for a visit and wolf-whistled at me, and the mourning doves stopped by to coo their approval. I think I might just need to spend every nap time in my backyard haven. Just don’t peek over the fence before I get into the water!

Ah Pool, How I've Missed Thee

It’s been rainy and dreary and cool for most of this week, so the pool has stayed hidden under its little grey insulating blanket. But finally the sun came out yesterday and it felt like August again, so we uncovered the pool. It took some work to get all the fallen leaves and twigs and gunk that the rain and wind knocked into it cleaned out, but now it’s clean and beautiful once again and I’m recognizing how much I'd missed it over the past few days.

Last night we moved Ryan’s playpen out onto the pool deck so he could watch us clean while he played, and so he could get some of the fresh air and sunshine that I’m sure he missed as much as we did. We all ate dinner poolside and watched for the “batty-bats” to come out and eat their dinner, too. Ryan gazed at the tiki torches around the pool in absolute fascination, and was mesmerized by their reflections on the shiny stainless steel grill and on the surface of the pool itself. Bedtime was a piece of cake since he was already half-comatose from the combination of full tummy, fresh air, and intoxicating fire-watching. He was literally asleep before his head hit the pillow.

And it was wonderful to come back down to the pool after I’d tucked him in, to just sit with my sweetheart, enjoying a glass of wine and letting myself be mesmerized by the torches just as much as Ryan had been. I forget how relaxing the pool is, even when you’re not swimming in it. The sound and smell and sight of the water lapping against the sides of the pool, hearing all the summer insects buzzing contentedly in the trees, enjoying the cool evening breeze - all my senses are being soothed and my whirling mind can’t help but be slowed down and mellowed out. It’s a wonderful sensation, being poolside at night.

As a matter of fact, it’s pretty good being poolside during the day, too. If you’ll excuse me, I think I might just have time for a quick dip before Ryan finishes his nap!