More joys of pregnancy

My in-laws came to visit earlier this week. Specifically, it was Misty's mother, aunt, and cousin. The four women went baby crazy and spent three days going repeatedly to Carter's, Zany Brainy, and Babies R Us. They bought tons of infant clothes and other baby paraphernalia. Their generosity was overwhelming. But, as Misty pointed out, there hasn't been a baby in their family for 22 years, and the women are excited.

My relatives are acting much the same way. My mother has been making a baby quilt, and she's given us a bunch of other stuff already. One of my aunts has sent us money with which to buy a video camera so we can send her tapes of our daughter's escapades. A couple of my cousins are saving things from their kids that we'll be able to use. It's been a wonderful outpouring of support and enthusiasm.

That's why certain comments from Misty's mother really get under my skin. She's quite the pessimist. With her, the glass is definately half empty. When we were told by the obstetrician that she was 85% sure that we were having a girl, that wasn't good enough for Misty's mom. She wanted it to be 100%. Of course, as Misty pointed out, if the doctor had told her there was an 85% chance that she had cancer, she'd be convinced that she had it.

Anyway, we were sitting in the kitching discussing pregnancy, birth, etc. (it's the only sort of thing discussed in my household anymore), and we got on the subject of cesarean sections, a concept that mortifies me. Apparently, some women opt to undergo such a procedure, not because it's necessary, but simply because they want to. I think that's crazy, but then, I'm not in a position to judge. Misty said that she'd go with her doctor's recommendation. Then her mom says, "Well, it's just real dangerous either way — real dangerous. I mean you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death."

You see? That's the sort of comment that just pisses me off. I'm nervous enough about the issue, and she makes it seem like it's pretty likely either Misty or the baby isn't going to make it throught the birthing process. I decided not to keep quiet. I told her that since there were about six billion people on the planet, childbirth has worked out fine nearly six billion times (not to mention the generations who've come before us). "That may be," she said, "but for a lot of people it doesn't." I countered those numbers were not statistically significant, but I knew my argument didn't matter. She's going to assume the worst.

Hopefully, I can ignore her.