It’s so surreal, this pregnant/baby thing. You do the right stuff at the right time of the month, wait a couple of weeks, pee on a stick and BAM! You’re pregnant! Then what? I’ll tell you then what…you wait! That’s right, you sit tight and wait. Well, all the other stuff too, no more drinking or other debaucherous behavior, exercise and eat right…you know the routine. And then you’re left to your own devices, those thoughts inside your head, wondering about everything from miscarriages to Down syndrome to which colleges to look at, to how you’ll discipline the kid when he finds your lipstick and writes all over the walls. As wonderful as it can be, it’s sort of torturous at the same time. The Doctors tell you what you already knew; they have you pee on another stick and then go into all the technical risks and statistics and make you sign things and ask you questions about your genetic history that you really don’t know anything about then they send you home with the same thing; not much.
You’re Pregnant, Now What?
So…you wait. 6 weeks along, 8 weeks, 10 weeks? Anything yet? Wait??? Is that a bump showing??? No, that’s just the 4 pieces of pizza I HAD to have last night to kill the intense hunger and strange cravings that have recently come about. That’s right…maybe the only difference that you’re feeling is a general sense of nausea accompanied by headaches, exhaustion for no particular reason and an overall crankiness. Cool. Maybe you don’t even have all that, but you’re still pregnant, right??? Maybe you should pee on a stick again to be sure…okay, yup it’s still in there, I guess.
Getting a little psychotic? Yeah, well it’s understandable!!! There’s a blob of life inside of you that’s making you feel all crappy on the outside and all giddy and emotional on the inside. You’ve heard all the “shoulds” and “cant’s” from people; you shouldn’t tell everybody yet, you can’t drink coffee or eat lunchmeat or sushi or change your cat litter. You shouldn’t work out too hard or stress too much or eat fatty foods! That’s when your instinct needs to kick in and tell everybody to SHUT THE HELL UP!!! You know the deal, you have the information, it’s imprinted in your logic! You don’t need a book to tell you not to get drunk now that you’re pregnant…well, okay, maybe the cat litter thing and the lunchmeat deal was helpful, but you get the gist! You’ve got a little thing in there that’s developing at the speed of light, using up all your extra resources and screwing your system up with hormones and whatnot. Even if you can’t see it, feel it, or have any other proof that it’s actually there….you KNOW!
You know it’s okay to exercise, maybe not as intensely as you were before, but you know it makes you feel good and keeps your muscles strong. You know what foods make you feel good and what makes you feel bad, do your best and get what you can in your belly. AND, the most important thing is…LIVE YOUR LIFE! GO…be NORMAL!!! Well, as normal as possible if you’re feeling crappy and all that, but don’t let this consume you. You’re in control here, it’s your body and your mind. Don’t let all the information out there paralyze you and turn you into a freak. You’re pregnant, you’re not suddenly handicapped or incapable of using your body and your mind, right? Your body knows what it’s doing…after all, there are 7 billion people on this planet today, people know how to reproduce and keep on keeping’ on. The female body was built to make babies. Just think about it; those curvy hips and lovely boobs…those are all there to serve one purpose (well, okay, maybe more than one purpose, but let’s stick to the topic here), babies! Now that you’re pregnant, all systems are go. Your body has gone into action doing everything that it needs to do to support the growth and development of your new little bundle of cells. Let it do its thing! And relax, knowing that the best thing you can do for your baby right now is just that, relax! Take care of yourself and live your life. You’ll have plenty to do later!
Great post – and so true! I mean we always hear that women used to give birth in the fields and go right back to work, so why can’t us modern women do our thing during pregnancy? Love you, Sis!
Thanks, Heather! Yeah…it’s a wonderful and confusing time. So much information and yet, not always the information that you actually need! Sometimes, I think things need to be left a little more to nature and a little less to science! Love you, too!!!! xoxo
@HeatherBrowneDearborn Thanks, Heather!!! Yeah, there’s so much information out there, but not always the information that you need! The doctors make it all so clinical and scientific, and I think we need to get back to the more “natural” approach! After all, there’s not much that you’re actually in control of with this whole phenomena! Love you, too!!! xoxo
Great post Annie, I like it!!
@MatthewLiberty Thank you, Matthew! 😉
Annie, I think the biggest hurdle to jump is having a male Dr. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved all of my Dr’s during my two pregnancies, all three of them with different personalities, thoughts and bedside manners. However, they do not know what our bodies are going thru.They hear and say they understand, but they do not FEEL what we feel going on inside our bodies. The emotions, with our head and our heart..our bodies, with the chemical changes AND expanding waistline, thinking ‘my body will never be the same! Our bodies change as the baby grows and our attitude changes about what it will be like to be a ‘mommie’, changes when we look at those little tiny booties. We do not know until it happens and you have only had 2 hour catnaps for weeks on end…..exhaustion, body parts still hurting and when will I be skinny again!!! When that call comes at 3 am for another feeding, that all goes away when you cuddle and look at the beautiful human you and Matt have made. We love you and just know we know what you are going thru.
Hi Mary Ann! Thanks for the great input…we have a female doctor. I’ve just always been more comfortable with female doctors, for no reason other than that I feel more relaxed and can identify better with a female. I’m sure there are terrific male doctors out there with tons of experience!
We can’t wait to see how all this goes and to ride along on the adventure that lies ahead of us.
We love you, too and appreciate all the love and support!!! xoxo
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