Week 34, and all of a sudden six weeks to go sounds like 'too soon!'

Here a stretch mark, there a stretch mark, everywhere a stretch mark.. Oh McStretch-marks....
If the skin on a human body is such a pliable, stretchy organ (so says all of my preggie books) , why does it not stretch more like silly putty? Instead, when it is stretched beyond its limits, it rather looks like someone took a pointy hot metal rod and doodled on it... And WHY did the preggie books NOT tell me that I would get copious stretch marks everywhere, but hardly any on my belly? (which is the ONE place I was led to believe they would develop). Nope, nope, that would be too 'normal' and normal isn't a word that is usually associated with me (try 'contrary' 'weird' 'loopy' or 'silly' - those are apparently more apt descriptions). So my hubby likes to tell me. I, the abnormal one, have developed stretch marks on my back, my *cough* chest, my thighs, my butt, and of all places - the back of my knees. I have a total of two itsy-bitsy stretch marks on my belly that I can't see but I've been told are there. All of these marks on my body in addition to the mini-volcanoes erupting on my face, and I'm ready to trade my skin in for a more youthful model...

Aside from the stretch marks, there is nothing else really new to report. Did I mention already that the little one is prone to hiccups? Her record is four bouts of hiccups in one day! It's kind of annoying, but I can't be too angry about it. It lets me know she is alive and thriving. Although, it's kind of like when you have a muscle twitch in your eye that won't stop and it drives you insane... She is getting bigger and the size of her hips and head are starting to alarm me a bit. (I know the mechanics, but are you sure she is going to be able to come out there? Seriously - she's not even born yet and she already has my hips...)

On a heavier note, worrying has taken on a whole new level of meaning now that we are going to be parents in a few short weeks. We watched an awful movie the other night about children being abducted (Gone Baby Gone - don't watch it..), and all I kept thinking was 'how am I going to keep our little one safe after she is born?' Right now, I know where she is at all times - she is kicking up a storm in my belly. But what about in six weeks? I'm never going to want to let her out of my sight! There are just so many things that can go wrong, it's overwhelming to think about. Not only does it seem like there are threats to her safety everywhere I look, but there are also numerous things within our society that can negatively influence her. What do I mean? Just read the headlines in the newspaper, or listen to conversations on the street. Can I protect her from any of that? If not, how can I teach her to decipher from what is good and bad? Is it even that simple? In the classroom, I see how the media and society influences my students, and it's not always in a positive way. From the first grade student who sings 'bow chicka wow wow' as he passes by the busty educational assistant, to the second grade student who informs another student that Filipinos are not allowed at his house.... What it really comes down to is, will my hubby and I be able to teach our daughter how to be an intelligent, respectful, open-minded and good-natured person? Essentially, that's what every parent hopes for, isn't it? If not, WHY NOT?