platypuss

068 - Eviction Notice

well, today is my due date.  little cricket is not interested in coming any time soon, it seems, but i am more than ready.

this is going to be a placeholder for a while because i anticipate my life is about to become very, very busy.  your support has been an incredible force throughout this experience so far and i am excited to be taking the next step from genderqueer pregnancy to genderqueer parenting.  i will keep you updated when i am able but it’ll be a bit before i make a new comic.

-jaybird

ps - that paint is actually paint from what we’re doing our living room in.  we just bought our first house and it’s going to be amazing. <3

065 - Spider

i have wanted to introduce spider for a while now but had to figure out a way to have him come crashing into this comic slightly more gracefully than the way he entered our lives some months ago.

i mentioned a long time ago that this might happen, even though we don’t really devote any time or energy into looking for it.  and, although he came along at one of the busiest and stressful periods of my life, his timing could not be better.  at a point where i was spending most of my time trying to rationalize with my panic disorder [in a rather furtive attempt to shield our baby from my anxiety], he patiently waited for me to realize that the curious excitement of NRE and the comfort of being loved is a far better alternative than stress to show our child the marvelous potential that limitless love can bring.

spider is a fantastic person and we have plenty of things in common with him, both individually and as a group.  we are all looking forward to whatever adventures come next.

i don’t want or need to explain or defend our dynamic further, really.  it’s okay if it’s a new concept to you and it’s okay if it is a dynamic that wouldn’t work for you personally.  sweet p and i approach all of our relationships ethically and with the highest priority given to each other and our child. we have learned that our commitment to each other and being open to sharing a love that we believe to be limitless are not mutually exclusive.  it makes sense to us, and we feel happy, loved, and safe, and those are the most important things.

-jaybird

062 - Full Plate

i can’t really even think of anything else to say.  i am so burned out, so emotionally drained, and all i want to do is bury myself under blankets with a teddy bear until i go into labor.

although we may have underestimated the stress it would cause, we had planned to be looking for a house at about this time.  there have also been a few energy-draining curveballs in our lives besides that [which haven’t fully played out for me to decide if they’ll even make an appearance in the comic]. 

i might have to take a break for a few weeks to catch my breath.  the baby shower is sunday and there is apparently still a lot to do to prepare for it, so there won’t be anything next week for sure.

-jaybird

061 - Shower Bowl Sunday

shows how much we know about the most-watched event every year.  despite that, and despite getting the majority of RSVPs back before we figured it out, we have a huge estimated turnout!  i am blown away by the support of our family and friends.

and yes, tie-dying onesies is definitely going to be a thing.

-jaybird

059 - Pre-Natal Classes

this, sadly, is no exaggeration.  with the exception of one strained utterance of “significant other” at the end of the two-hour class, the partner of the pregnant person was referred to as “daddy” the entire evening.  this is despite the fact that we introduced ourselves as a couple, and that you could bring anyone you wanted to the class anyway [the other couples, all opposite-sex except for us, did not… at least for this first session].

at this point, i don’t expect to receive respect regarding my gender.  but we have pre-paid for these classes and i really don’t appreciate having my female partner referred to as “daddy” and only spoken to in needlessly hyper-masculine ways.

the instructor seemed to sort-of get it after we stayed away from the exercise, but we’ll see what happens over the next six weeks.  at the very least, i won’t be able to say i don’t have any material for the comic for a while…

-jaybird

057 - Grocery Shopping

totally not inspired by our last trip to meijer.

-jaybird

054 - Thanksgiving

some people have been sharing the things they are thankful for every day this month.  there are a lot of things i am glad to have and a lot of my life is truly awesome… but when it comes down to it, all of those things are possible because i have such a supportive partner.  she is the first person to really show me what it means to love someone without any conditions or strings, and she works harder than anyone should ever have to so that our family can have everything we could need or want.  she is incredible and our child is going to be so lucky to have her as a mother.

i love you, sweet p!

-jaybird

053 - Ultrasound

it actually seems like it’s the medical community that has the hardest time reliably discerning between the terms “sex” and gender”.  

the people that write parenting magazines make a close second, however.

-jaybird

051 - WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE SOCIAL NEEDS OF OUTDATED CABLES?!

my compassion for inanimate objects has increased tenfold, thanks to all the hormones in my body at the moment.

-jaybird

ps - Pregnant Ron Swanson won the costume contest at work.  i celebrated with a BLT made out of a pound of bacon. 

050 - All of the Bacon and Eggs You Have

the good news is that i learned that i am able to comfortably wear my binder at this time if i fold it over so that it only covers my chest.

the unfortunate news is that my flattened chest only serves to accentuate the belly i had before a baby started growing in it.

the best-and-slightly-scary news is how effortless it was for me to pull off this costume.

as for sweet p’s costume…

-jaybird

ps- i am not a medical professional and do not know if it is safe to bind your chest if you are pregnant or lactating.  my body is not capable of producing milk any longer so i don’t have that to worry about, and my comfort and ability to breathe was a top concern the whole time i was wearing it.  

049 - Logic

to simplify, if a implies b and c implies d, a doesn’t necessarily imply c or d or any other combination of variables that differs from the original.

i’m really getting tired of the same old thing, and especially tired of the quotes in panel 8 occurring directly after explaining my identity.  it’s one thing to be confused.  it’s another to be glib and dismissive and decide i am mistaken about myself.  seriously, knock that shit off.

-jaybird

048 - Periods

it’s not like i miss them, but not having a period wasn’t a fair trade-off here.

-jaybird

046 - Sleep A-pee-nia

wow, that was a terrible pun.  sorry.

also sorry this took so long to post today.  i planned on having it done last night, but we needed to drive for nearly four hours to get cornelius antibiotics.  you know what… don’t ask.  if anyone thinks that having dogs doesn’t compare to having children, you haven’t met our dogs.

-jaybird

043 - CONGRATULATIONS? part 2

here we go again.

-jaybird

042 - CONGRATULATIONS? part 1

this has been, by far, the most baffling response [that is not completely uncommon, even more bafflingly] that we have received.  it’s usually by people who had no idea we were trying to get pregnant, and it seems to just be a natural thought process that our excitement belies this gigantic story of infidelity and surprise!heterosexuality.

i get it, it’s a little bit of a shock because we aren’t able to make a baby with just the two of us, but it’s fascinating that this is the path that their mind tends to take.  

obviously, my main priority is to be a good parent [and for now, a nurturing vessel for our future child], but sweet p and i both have a background in psychology/sociology.  this experience is just the most delicious, juciest exercise in social observation and the psychology of blowing people’s minds about tradition.  even though it sometimes shows how far society has to go before i can stop parroting basic facts about my life, i am so happy it’s happening to us.

-jaybird