Some things I'm learning
At least 90% of the time when I tell someone that I'm pregnant, their eyes flit to my stomach. I'm not sure what they're expecting. Like all the times they've seen me prior to this knowledge, even say 10 seconds ago before they knew, I didn't look pregnant. But now that they know, they have to check.
I had my first ultrasound visit about six weeks ago. I was excited for this visit. But turns out it wasn't quite as exciting as I expected. We had some quick pictures taken of the teeny tiny baby. We heard the heartbeat and got some measurements. And that was about it. At one point, I saw on the table next to me there was a box of tissues. I thought, Oh crap. Am I supposed to be crying? Is the nurse judging me because I'm not crazy emotional at the first visible evidence of my unborn child? Do I not love my child!? Am I going to be a bad mother?!!!
I had a second ultrasound a few weeks later that was just the sound part and no picture. All I heard was the heartbeat. For some reason this ultrasound was much cooler for me than the one in the fancy ultrasound room with the big screen TV. I even let out a little gasp. I guess I'm just fine.
Pregnancy books and websites all compare the size of your growing baby to food. Congratulations your little one is now the size of a lentil! grape! kumquat! medium-sized mango! Who the heck knows off the top of their head what a kumquat looks like? This makes it a little depressing when I think about the size of this miniature child compared to the amount of weight I'm gaining... the numbers just don't match up. If my baby is the size of a lime, why can't I gain the weight equivalent to a lime? I'll even take two limes worth.
When you get horribly sick and have to go to the urgent care, you're just another sick person with the flu. As soon as you add "...and I'm also 13 weeks pregnant" the whole game changes. Nurses are nicer and they tell you fascinating stories of their own pregnancies. They pat your hand a lot and give you tissues. They bring you crackers and ginger ale and extra sheets and tell you how sweet your husband is for being with you the whole day [I already know this]. And when your flu test comes back negative [I tried to tell them] and your white blood count is high, you don't get to go home with a scrip for antibiotics. You get to go to the ER of your one-day delivery hospital. Also, when you are pregnant and it turns out you have pneumonia, everyone you tell is utterly shocked that you're alive and functioning. I just tell them this is what happens when you're a super hero like me.
My appetite is way weird. Hunger, nausea, and full all feel about the same. And baby does not like Mexican food. At all. I'm fortunate that my nausea has been really mild. Not enough that I'm yuking but enough that it's annoying and causes only a handful of foods to be appetizing. And I whine a lot and have stopped cooking for my husband and me because food smells freak me out and I really have no idea what I want to eat. Ever. I find that the most consistent food winners are cold, soft foods. I.E. yogurt, pudding, grapes, apple sauce, ice cream. Oh man, I can down me some ice cream.
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Hopefully you'll start to feel better soon. Some of my pregnancies I felt better around 14 weeks, some around 19 weeks. My sister Becca was sick and throwing up the whole 9 months. But most woman's nausea comes to an end somewhere between 12-20 weeks. I know that's a big range, but everyone's bodies are so different. Hang in there. Go to bed early when you can and be active. It'll help.
ReplyDeleteVery witty. If all the pregnancy stories are this funny, keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteMy constant ice cream craving has not yet gone away. I've found the best way to deal with it is to put it off as long as possible, and then go to the store and buy some of those little one-serving cartons of ice cream. That way, if I eat the whole carton in one sitting, it's not a huge deal. Also, those cartons are adorable. {Did I get two today, one for each of my unborn children? Um, yes. And did I get strawberry for my girl and chocolate for my boy? Yes again -- and I know how cheesy it is.}
ReplyDeleteI ate so much dairy and then around 15 weeks my body told me "no thank you!" and now I can't drink milk. It's hard being pregnant especially with all the change. It's not that I hate being pregnant or that I think I'm the only one going through it. It is just weird knowing your body for so many years and something(one) comes along and throws a wrench in that :) It gets better. The next section I hit after feeling crappy was too tired to function.
ReplyDeleteDad craves ice cream. What does that mean?
ReplyDeleteHAHA, glad you're sharing your pregnancy stories. They're just as interesting as anything else you write :-)Keep up with the exciting tales of pregnancy!!
ReplyDeleteThat strawberry ice cream looks so pretty I might want to eat it.
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