Pregnancy Condensed III, My Little Activist

I had the kind of pregnancy that makes a lot of women jealous. No morning sickness--I threw up just twice--no weird food aversions, no scares, normal weight gain and plenty of energy throughout. There were just a few things I found to complain about, and these didn't turn up until pretty close to the end. First, my ankles and feet were swollen beyond all recognition and the only shoes I could wear were those big fat Crocs. Second, I developed pregnancy carpal tunnel which meant that for the last two months of pregnancy, and well into a month after you were born, I couldn't feel the tips of my fingers on my right hand. Lastly, I had a tremendous amount of pelvic floor pressure. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that you were early, you'd been moving in that general direction for quite a while.

In March, just about three months before you arrived, I helped organize a massive demonstration against the war in Iraq. The day before the event it was 70 degrees and beautiful in DC; the day of the event it was sleeting and below freezing. Still, we managed to fill the National Cathedral with almost 4,000 people and then marched to the White House where over 200 people participated in acts of civil disobedience. Your dad and I decided it was enough for you to participate in your first march on Washington in the womb but going to jail in utero was not the best idea. I loved the idea that you were making the journey down the frozen streets of DC with me.

Your political activism didn't stop there. You turned up in a God's Politics blog post for Sojourners and it turned out to be one of the most commented-on blogs on the whole site. Some folks asked me if I felt bad about "using" you for political purposes. I did not.

And just three weeks before you were born you were on national (maybe international) television at a candidates forum on CNN focused on religion and poverty. Sojourners and CNN hosted the event and when 7 minutes before show time our VIP guests in the second row, aisle seats had not shown up I sat down. John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were about three feet away from us during the evening. Apparently the cameras liked focusing on the pregnant woman on the second row.

I think it is fitting that on the morning I found out you were coming I was heading to an advocacy meeting on the Hill. On the day you arrived I was supposed to be attending a meeting about mobilizing religious voters to prioritize poverty. You've got politics in your blood girl.