I am 35 (turning 36 this year) and am definitely one of the last of my friends to get pregnant so I am fairly well versed in pregnancy and all of the ups and downs. I can't be surprised by the "morning sickness" (that lasts all day) or the hormones (all the feelings) or the cravings. I was surprised by a few things and through the good and the bad of pregnancy, I will always be grateful to get to experience this crazy adventure.
😓 Downs:
(I say "downs" in terms of challenges that I have had; it's all worth it to have a healthy pregnancy and baby)
1. Gender disappointment
This is a controversial topic but something that I struggled with after learning we were having a girl. I
was a nanny to two little boys a long time ago and decided that I
wanted only boys (not realistic, I know). My fiancee is one of three
brothers, one of which has three boys himself. I thought, success! Boys
run in his family so we will totally have a boy! Once we were pregnant, I
started planning with the idea that we were having a boy (see a theme
here?). My pregnancy symptoms weren't really showing me one way or the
other what we might be having but after finally getting the
confirmation, I was a little let down. I wasn't sure what to do with
girls! I wasn't crazy into pink, tutus, princess stuff or any of the
stereotypical girl things. I didn't really even know where to start and
then....I started thinking about raising a teenage girl in this world.
Oy. It just got my anxieties up and I felt overwhelmed. We have since gotten very excited that we are having a girl (of course) and
embraced the fact that I get to pass on a lot of what my mom taught me
growing up: strength, independence and budgeting (ha!). And you can bet
that her closet is full of fluffy pink outfits along with robot and
raccoon onesies.
2. Morning sickness/braces
The
morning sickness wasn't a surprise but when paired with braces, I truly struggled with the nausea to the point that I was miserable. I never
got physically sick (knock on wood) but I was just constantly nauseous
until a few weeks into my second trimester and it has since come back a
little bit in the third. I tried eating a snack first thing in the
morning and then was supposed to snack throughout the day to help keep
the nausea at bay. The issue is that with braces (and I had just gotten
rubber bands on), eating throughout the day is so much harder. I must
plan for snacks and meals because I can't exactly just grab some nuts or
a sandwich or a salad. I need things that are easy to eat with braces
(especially after tightening/adjustments) but also sounds mildly
appealing. Those two attributes separately are not a problem; together,
they are a serious pain in the butt. I got to a point where I just
didn't want to eat. Kyle tried hard to just put food in front of me but
that poor guy hasn't had the easiest time. I learned what foods are
always easy for me to eat (cheese and grapes, bananas, smoothies,
applesauce, popcorn) and that I had to keep liquids up (apple juice,
coconut water, decaf iced coffee).
The one good thing
about having braces during time is that I believe it has limited some of
the goodies I have been craving. Because I was already overweight
before getting pregnant, I was cautious of gaining too much weight and
also maintaining a good diet to provide nutrition to the little babe.
Some of my cravings have been Skittles, cinnamon bears, Swedish Fish,
Red Vines and anything like that BUT because of braces, I don't dare
even try. (I did manage to have a few Skittles during the holidays and
they were heavenly). So while it would be fun to be able to indulge in
those kind of cravings, it has also helped me find healthier
alternatives or just ignore them all together. Don't worry, I have had
plenty of chocolate milk, root beer floats, and homemade chocolate chip
cookies to balance everything out!
3. Working
After
my temp position ended, I was left with a kind of lull in what to do as
far as work. I always assumed that I would work up until I gave birth,
go on maternity leave, and then return to work full-time. Although I
interviewed for positions, nothing ended up panning out, including
trying a temp agency. With the timing of my last job and the holidays,
things were so busy anyways that I constantly wondered how everyone else
did it. I assume that if I had a work schedule the entire time I was
pregnant, it would be easy to keep working but now the thought of
working eight hour days just seems exhausting. I am currently a
stay-at-home "housewife" and after managing all of the holiday
craziness, am strictly focused on house prep for baby. That all seemed
mundane but it really has been a lot of work, especially on those days
that the pregnancy exhaustion kicks in. Like, I get tired just going to
the grocery store! Oh, and insomnia is my best friend these days so that
doesn't play well to a healthy schedule either. Besides having some stir-crazy moments (damn ice and snow!), I know I have been lucky to been able to take this time off and am trying to be present in the moment before life changes.
💜 Ups:
1. Feeling much more comfortable with my body
I have always had body image issues. I felt the need to hide my muffin top or cover my arms during the summer and have constantly thought about good food choices, the need to workout more and the desire to have the perfect wardrobe if only I was skinny. As my belly grew, I struggled to accept my expanding waistline but by the end of the first trimester, I started to happily embrace a rounder tummy. Instead of blousy tops, I wanted more fitted tops and slowly adapted to the maternity pants (full panel only, please!). As my belly has grown oh so much, I have really embraced feeling confident in what my body is capable of doing. Through the aches and pains, I see how my body has adapted and am truly in awe.
2. Wonder of what the female body can do
To go along with my first point, it is stunning how a woman's body adapts to growing a child. Organs move, joints loosen, blood volume increases and you get a few weird benefits like thicker hair (mine just doesn't get oily anymore) or good skin (that comes and goes). Now that I am around 34 weeks along and looking towards the end goal of a healthy delivery, it is truly amazing that our bodies know exactly what to do and when to do it and it will eventually birth a child.
3. Nesting
We have a small, two-bedroom apartment, which I have cleaned and reorganized several times. We are constantly trying to get rid of stuff and make the most of the limited storage space that we have. Since having a fantastic baby shower and getting all of the stuff we needed for baby, our stuff seemed even less important. I could care less about hanging on to extra notebooks or CDs because WE NEED THE SPACE! It has been incredibly fun to plan out a nursery, figure out what I want for our child as far as "stuff" and also try to make our entire apartment feel like home. As my energy bursts come and go, I try to finally get pictures on the wall, clean all of the cobwebs off the light fixtures and wonder why I have to have so many travel tumblers and bread pans (I still have no idea).
4. Movement
The feeling of little babe in my stomach and knowing that she is continuing to grow and get stronger every day is....amazing. That word doesn't seem to really describe it but it is a mix of reassuring, surreal and grounding. When people say that they will miss being pregnant, I now know what they mean.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
The Adventure of Pregnancy
Back in May 2016, I found out I was pregnant. It was after a week of feeling like I definitely had the plague or at least some sort of food poisoning. I had a rocky health situation over the past year due to stressful work conditions so while this wasn't completely out of the ordinary, I really wasn't sure what was going on.
I had just started a temp job and was happy to be working again when some of my anxieties came back. I was mystified because I wasn't stressed out and it was a pretty easy-going position. I went to my doctor and did all of the tests and everything came back clear and healthy so I figured, okay, I will just deal with my stress holistically and focus on my quality of life. That next week was when I thought I had the plague and then a week after that, my period hadn't come and my doctor recommended waiting a few more days for a pregnancy test. My fiancee and I had just started trying to get pregnant and I always assumed we would take a while to get pregnant due to age and just life happenstances.
The morning we found out, I made sure to get into the bathroom right away. I didn't think I would see a positive pregnancy test at all and when those two lines appeared, I just said "Oh my god." I repeated it over and over again until Kyle came knocking on the door to ask if everything was okay. After a few seconds, I came out to show him the test. Basically...."Umm....the test is positive." (And then I proceeded to take two more tests!)
We had to get ready to go to work but seriously, we weren't quite sure what to think! For the rest of the day, my head spun and I went into action mode. I researched an OB/GYN and worked to just chill out and remain calm until everything was verified. Kyle was cool and calm because, hello, we were trying to get pregnant, but I was just stunned. This was actually something that was happening!
I had just started a temp job and was happy to be working again when some of my anxieties came back. I was mystified because I wasn't stressed out and it was a pretty easy-going position. I went to my doctor and did all of the tests and everything came back clear and healthy so I figured, okay, I will just deal with my stress holistically and focus on my quality of life. That next week was when I thought I had the plague and then a week after that, my period hadn't come and my doctor recommended waiting a few more days for a pregnancy test. My fiancee and I had just started trying to get pregnant and I always assumed we would take a while to get pregnant due to age and just life happenstances.
The morning we found out, I made sure to get into the bathroom right away. I didn't think I would see a positive pregnancy test at all and when those two lines appeared, I just said "Oh my god." I repeated it over and over again until Kyle came knocking on the door to ask if everything was okay. After a few seconds, I came out to show him the test. Basically...."Umm....the test is positive." (And then I proceeded to take two more tests!)
We had to get ready to go to work but seriously, we weren't quite sure what to think! For the rest of the day, my head spun and I went into action mode. I researched an OB/GYN and worked to just chill out and remain calm until everything was verified. Kyle was cool and calm because, hello, we were trying to get pregnant, but I was just stunned. This was actually something that was happening!
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