Apprehending apprehension

One of the strangest things that I've noticed about being an expectant mother is that a formerly perfectly rational mind can suddenly, and without warning, become the opposite of perfectly rational.  

Don't get me wrong - I've always had my moments of utter ridiculousness, but I've noticed that they come far faster now.  Take, for example, the events of last week:

1. Eat more frequently, but still very healthily, all day at work.

2. Have another snack at home.

3. Start casually looking at a couple of pregnancy-and-baby-related websites.

4. Find articles about food-borne pathogens.

5. Read articles with increasing terror, especially lists of symptoms.

6. Become convinced that at least one of the aforementioned food-borne pathogens is circulating in my bloodstream.

7. LISTERIA.

8. No, wait, TOXOPLASMOSIS.

9. Start reading about other things that can happen during pregnancy.

10. Decide it is neither LISTERIA or TOXOPLASMOSIS but instead PRE-PRE-ECLAMPSIA, and I'd better wake my husband up to tell him the prognosis.

Of course, I have none of those things, but the high jumps my mind can take are medal-worthy. I'm lucky to have so many friends, including my mother, who have been through this process before and can, at the bing of a text message, put my mind at rest.  I haven't had to call on them as of yet, but just having them there is a significant comfort.

This is a toxoplasma cyst in a mouse brain.  Not particularly comforting, this.