Being Pregnant; Love it or Leave it?

September 11, 2012 Annie 301 Comments

I love being pregnant. It’s an absolutely incredible and amazing experience that I really have no words to explain how it affects me. Sure, there are uncomfortable, strange, and downright unpleasant things about it, but seriously, how cool is it that with the help of my awesome and handsome husband I can literally GROW a whole other person inside of me?

He’s in there, our son, and I feel his presence right there inside of me, constantly. From the first days that I was pregnant I’ve felt him in there…it started out as just some strange butterfly tingling feelings and has progressed to the all-out kicking and squirming that I feel now. We’ve been permanently glued together with an undeniable physical and emotional bond that nobody can change or take away from us.

I’m not trying to get all sappy and gooey over this, I’m just trying to keep it real. How can I ever look into his eyes and not remember the physical, emotional, and enormously profound bond that we share? I’ll cherish this every day, until I’m no longer on this planet, and then I’ll cherish it some more.

So now that I’ve laid all that out, I wanted to share some of the very strange things that apparently come along with pregnancy. I’m starting to learn that being pregnant is like the ultimate bodily function; it outdoes all other bodily functions by far! Not to get too graphic or anything, but remember that movie the Alien? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about here!

From the very beginning when the cells are splitting and this little being is literally growing at the speed of light, the female body is completely jacked up. There’s the fact that it takes a lot of energy to physically build a human and then you throw a massive hormonal upheaval into the mix and you have one very tired, emotional, and confused chick on your hands. Got that? Now throw in the food phenomena; just the thought or faint smell of some things may send you running to the bathroom, while you can’t get enough of other things. Your hunger schedule is all different, it’s urgent and intense and none of it makes any sense. This little pea-sized blob of cells is really throwing things off.

So, you survive all the first trimester headaches, nausea, mood swings, and general discomforts and then you move in to the middle of the pregnancy. That’s when your appetite really kicks into high gear and you just feel big. Big boobs, big around the middle, just big. The clothes get a little snug, but you’re not showing yet, so you just feel like that familiar Freshman 40 is back for another round.

Moving right along, I’m almost 27 weeks pregnant as I write this and “they” say that my uterus is the size of a basketball. I’ll let you do the math, but I’ll also tell you that basketballs shouldn’t be shoved in the middle of a person’s digestive tract. Again, things are all out of place and on top of that, there’s a moving, growing, hiccuping little dude floating around inside that basketball. I guess that’s why I have to pee every 30 minutes, get heartburn about 20 minutes after almost every meal, and just feel generally uncomfortable. I know that it will get worse before it’s over, but I’m okay with that. Every second of this roller coaster has been worth it.

I’m looking forward to when I get even bigger…I know I’ll get more uncomfortable, but I’ll also feel him moving more. I’ll be able to rub his little back when he positions it towards my front, and maybe even be able to identify a moving part or two. I’ll know we’re that much closer to meeting each other in the outside world with each passing moment. I’ll also know that I’m that much closer to the time when he’ll no longer be only mine to feel and carry and feed and care for. I’ll miss this strange and wonderful time, but it’s okay because when it’s all over, our son will be an unmistakeable bright light shining for all to see!

***Note: this article was originally published on our baby and parenting site www.littlebrowne.com