Andy and I were at the mall yesterday and we bought one of those glorified rice socks from a very helpful if not rapidly speaking European gentleman who ran the little trolley from which they were dispensed. We bought this because we were told it was imperative that we bring said item with us to the hospital during labor so that we could put it on my neck or lower back or shove it in someone's mouth if they got annoying. Apparently a fair number of pregnant couples are given this advice during lamaze class, because he said he does good business with expecting women (I smell a "strategic partnership" there, but the idea of heating up a smelly old soccer sock filled with moldy rice convinced me we should splurge despite the conspiracy).

We took our sock and went on our way, and as we were circling back to leave the mall, he stopped us and asked:"Is it safe to walk around like that when you're pregnant? Don't you worry the baby will just fall out?"

While there are numerous reasons why I would be MORE than happy for the baby to just fall out these days, it never occurred to me that people would actually think this was possible- but that may be a product of all of the real birth videos we've been subjected to recently, and their stark contrast with birth as portrayed by Paramount Pictures. (I would at least have thought that a little bit of basic comparative anatomy of the size of a baby's head with it's entry route into the world might have convinced someone otherwise...) Either way it was a highly amusing perspective and gave us a good laugh.