Oh hey, energy. I’ve missed you.
This week brought fewer naps, a 12-mile bike ride, a handful of hikes and a renewed love of berry smoothies.
On top of a mountain, powered by my own two feet.
The Husband and I also made a quick day trip to the Salton Sea for a short (2-mile) hike along the shoreline.
The Salton Sea, created by Colorado River flooding, is one of the lowest spots on earth and one of the world’s largest inland seas. It’s a bizarre place. Though the sea was once lined with resorts and known as the American Riviera (or the Riviera of California), it’s now surrounded by abandoned homes and dilapidated buildings. It’s also an environmental disaster.
Still, it’s really beautiful. It’s an important stopover for migratory birds. It’s filled with millions of fish. Plus, I have a soft spot for broken places and worn things.
All quiet on the Salton Sea.
I love the stillness there. Like someone pressed life’s pause button.
Maybe that’s why I wanted to take this week’s pregnancy photo there. I’m in a happy place right now, and I want to savor this moment.
My hump: Week 14.
About 30 miles away is the desolate desert town of Niland, home to Slab City, an abandoned military training area that now attracts drifters, squatters and others seeking an alternative lifestyle — one entirely off the grid.
If you’ve seen “Into the Wild,” a portion of it takes place here.
Even Bella from Twilight couldn’t ruin this part of the film.
Niland is also home to Salvation Mountain. Part of “Into the Wild” took place here too. Here’s a clip.
Salvation Mountain is one man’s attempt to spread a message of faith and love, and he has spent decades constructing this mountain out of hay, mud and more than 100,000 gallons paint. It’s pretty remarkable, and my photo doesn’t come close to showing the size or the fairytale quality of the place. Inside the mountain is a maze of altars and rooms, elaborate displays of car doors, telephone poles, gnarled tree branches, photos and truck parts.
Salvation Mountain. This photo doesn’t even begin to do it justice.
I’m not the most evangelical person in the world — actually, I’m not evangelical at all. But I can respect someone who has this kind of passion and can channel that into a massive work of art.
Bump in the desert.
The other big thing that happened this week: One day I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn’t pee. This, as many of you might know, is the opposite of what happens to most women during pregnancy. And it was a dramatic shift for me too. Usually I’m pissing all over the place like an incontinent mountain lion.
Have you ever needed to pee and couldn’t? It’s incredibly stressful. Within a matter of minutes, I was Violet Beauregarde. And I panicked.
Stick a fork in me. I’m done.
What happens if I never pee again? I wondered. Can I pop? What if I pop? Certainly popping is bad for the baby.
Luckily, the internet exists, and I quickly found two possible causes of this problem: A urinary tract infection, which is common during pregnancy. Or the baby was blocking the bladder — another common issue, particularly for women who are in week 13-15 (check!) and have a tilted uterus (check!).
The bad news is that this has happened every night since then. I think the baby settles into a strange spot during the night. The good news is that the problem should sort itself out once the baby gets bigger and stops using my bladder for a pillow.
In the meantime, I found some suggestions online from other pregnant ladies for how to kick-start the flow:
* Go to the hospital and have a catheter inserted.
Yeah, that’ll be my last resort. Thanks.
* Sit in different positions on the toilet.
I tried this. I leaned forward. I leaned left. I leaned right. Then I tried turning around backward, like I was riding a toilet pony. None of it worked, but it sure was interesting.
* While you try to urinate, pour a cup of hot water over your ladybits. It will help get things flowing.
What? Ow. No. Who told you this was ok?
* Push your hand up on your cervix and manually shift your uterus up.
You know, I’m really not confident in my ability to push my uterus anywhere. Generally, I just let it go where it wants to go. I’m growing a free-range uterus here.
* Walk around, rub your belly, wait for the baby to shift a little, then try again.
Yes. This worked.