Being Prego

So I found my old posts on Facebook that I wrote while pregnant, and I felt like doing a special pregnancy series of posts for those expectant mommas out there! Sit back and enjoy the candor :-)

When it comes to hearing about someone elses pregnancy, the show "A Baby Story" comes to mind...if anyone know's what I'm talking about. It's all cutesie and emotional....and while being pregnant is indeed emotional, it isn't always as glammed up as it may seem. Cute convex bellies, that oh-so-magical glow, all attention on you special treatment, the adorable maternity clothes....which will cost you an arm and two legs, by the way. Yet while it is painstakingly painful at times to endure the discomforts of pregnancy, it is amazing. As me and my roommates say, I am a body builder! Like, literally, I'm building bodies right now. I have, not only my own 20 digits, but 40 others as well! At this moment they have finger prints, and are starting to grow hair like little monsters all over their bodies. They can see light through their cozy homes, although their eyes are still fuzed shut, and give it a couple weeks they will be able to hear my beautiful voice ;) What is happening inside of me is nothing short of a miracle, and while I feel like I'm not doing a thing to contribute it's really quiet the opposite. Which is why I have felt so awesome. Which is what I'm telling you all about, in the less publically accepted and more....real life kind of way. I'll be keeping you all painfully informed as to how things are running, should you choose to follow along. So stay tuned, cause things are about to get real around here!

It seems like with being pregnant, all there is for me to do is follow a bunch of rules. Don't do this, don't eat that, no more sleeping on your back (seriously, that thing is real! I accidentally rolled onto my back the other night and almost passed out....in my sleep). There is a never ending list of things that I can't do and things that I should do. It's exhausting! However, having these guidelines has taken a lot of the guessing out of how to deal with pregnancy....go figure. For instance, the turning point in dealing with my morning sickness...was eating! I was so afraid to eat ANYTHING that I had myself on the saddest diet, ever. Crackers, tapioca pudding, chicken noodle soup, did I mention crackers? Plus I took the eating healthy thing WAY too far, I was trying to live off of cottage cheese with blueberries and tuna on crackers. When I'm eating for three. No wonder I felt terrible! So of course, when I was feeling sick, there was hardly anything there and instead of having to endure the misery of throwing up I was stuck with dry heaves instead. Seriously, that shit sucks. So I started eating real food, a small meal every two to three hours. As long as I didn't let myself get hungry, I felt pretty okayish. 

Lesson number two, when I say small meal I mean a small meal. After my morning sickness had finally started to calm down, I had this strange feeling in my stomach that I barely recognized.....could this be hunger? I was hungry again! Oh JOY! Except not really. See, the hunger I felt would be so intense that I thought I needed to gorge myself in order to feel any sort of satiety. So I'm sitting in my room watching What to expect when expecting with a bag of pirate booty and by the time I'm half way through the movie, the bag is empty. I gotta say, nobody can do heartburn or indigestion like a pregnant lady. I mean, OUCH! Apparently your digestion slows down substantially when expecting, so as to ensure that every last nutrient is absorbed from whatever it is you're consuming. Kinda neat, aside from the fact that because of this you can get indigestion if you eat more food than can fit in the palm of your hand, everything gives you heartburn and/or gas, and forget about keeping to your regular "schedule"...you're lucky to have a movement more than twice a week. 

Lesson number three, you have no right to make plans. So just give up right now, learn how to roll with the punches, and enjoy the ride. I was quiet content with the idea of having a baby at this juncture. I had bought the worlds most adorable teddy bear, an ironic mustache binky, even a cheesey t-shirt that will reveal your childs future profession (one will be a fortune cookie writer, by the way). A few weeks later, surprise! You're getting a twofer! I just laughed when my OB turned the sonography machine around and I saw two bodies laying cozy inside my belly. Part of me had this feeling that there was more than one body growing inside of me, that and I had enough people teasing me that I would have multiples that I guess I sort of grew comfortable with the notion. Now I'm just as happy, if not more so that I'm getting two at once. For instance, I think two is the perfect number...So on that note, I could stop while I'm ahead ;) I've heard from many people, especially mothers of multiples, that raising twins can be the single most challenging, frustrating and yet incredibly rewarding things you could do. I'm up for the challenge, and I've begun to look forward to the growth I'll experience as an individual with it all!

Lesson number four, it's none of your employers business that you are pregnant. Unfortunately, I learned this lesson the hard way. I had known for about a week about my pregnancy before I informed my boss, and I had a great internal debate about doing so. In the end, the only reason I ended up telling him was because my morning sickness was so bad some days I didn't want him thinking there was something else going on, and I worked 6:30am to 1pm. Big mistake. About a week after telling him and hearing that it was "fine", resumes started pouring in while I was on shift. I called a meeting with him and he had gotten it in his head somewhere along the line that I was planning on leaving in September. I assured him I had planned to work as long as I was physically able to, but it was too late. After trying to find a reason to lay me off, and after me shooting every single reason down (because they were BS), he finally landed on "It's just not working out". I was gone two weeks later. I checked all my rights as an employee, and the guy knew how to play ball, there was nothing I could do. So I bowed out gracefully, and learned a very valuable lesson. 

It's been a huge learning experience thus far, and I know this is only the beginning as I venture into my second trimester. So hold onto your hats, folks! I'll be keeping you informed on my latest lessons so stay tuned :)