One time I got Pregnant... A light at the end of the tunnel
When I went to Boston, my whole attitude started to change. I randomly ran into a friend who I studied with in Jerusalem. She had just moved there with her husband and was also pregnant! Just 2 and a half weeks due before me.
Seeing her so excited and talking to her about pregnancy and babies and giving birth and nursing made me realize that having a baby was not my funeral. We went shopping for maternity clothes and talked about how determined we were to have a natural birth ( I mean really... if people have been doing it for a couple thousand years without meds how hard could it be...? Yeah... you really don't understand labor pains until you've been through them).
Then something magical happened. While I was sitting in Dan's hotel room reading a book, I felt my stomach spasm. Usually my spasms are quick (who the heck has spasms? I get them regularly in my legs..weird I know) and so when this one kept going, I dropped everything and my hands flew to my stomach. Suddenly, I smiled for the first time in my pregnancy. It was my baby kicking. My baby. The one that I made, the one that was growing inside me, was moving.
At that moment I began to think of this pregnancy not as a trial but as a miracle. Finally I realized that I was growing a flipping human being! How crazy and miraculous is that? There was a perfect little human growing inside me! I was responsible for growing and nurturing this tiny little creature. WHOA! I couldn't wait for Dan to come home and feel our little baby kick.
Dan couldn't feel it for a couple more weeks. It was so exciting to see him react. His eyes lit up and he wouldn't take his hand off my stomach. He didn't want to risk missing the next big kick. As I watched him feel our baby move, I could see how happy he was then and how happy he was from the beginning. It was then that I could actually start to see this pregnancy as a blessing and share in his happiness.
Not to say everything was rainbows and butterflies from then on... but things were a lot better. I only threw up a few times after that. I could be in the same room as my husband without being nauseous. I could even start cooking again.
I would still have a few emotional break downs. I freaked out when Dan put in my hot cocco powder in first before he heated the water in the microwave. My poor husband was just trying to be nice and what did he get...? A sobbing 22 year old telling him he didn't know how to make hot chocolate.
Then there was the time where we drove 20 minutes to Buffalo Wild Wings to appease my craving for boneless honey barbecue chicken wings. We ordered take out only to find out after the 20 minute drive home they gave us wings with bones. I immediately collapsed onto my kitchen floor in tears. What could be worse than this?
It's a really good thing I married such a patient man who happens to be madly in love with me. I'm pretty sure anyone else would have left me.
As my due date drew closer, the constant pain in my back became even more awful. However, I still managed to scrub my toilet up to the day before my water broke... (I have a little OCD when it comes to cleaning my bathroom). I was getting up at least once a night to pee and then taking about an hour to fall back asleep. Oh yes, the end of my pregnancy was almost as fun as the beginning.
My friend Amy from my study abroad in Jerusalem
Seeing her so excited and talking to her about pregnancy and babies and giving birth and nursing made me realize that having a baby was not my funeral. We went shopping for maternity clothes and talked about how determined we were to have a natural birth ( I mean really... if people have been doing it for a couple thousand years without meds how hard could it be...? Yeah... you really don't understand labor pains until you've been through them).
Then something magical happened. While I was sitting in Dan's hotel room reading a book, I felt my stomach spasm. Usually my spasms are quick (who the heck has spasms? I get them regularly in my legs..weird I know) and so when this one kept going, I dropped everything and my hands flew to my stomach. Suddenly, I smiled for the first time in my pregnancy. It was my baby kicking. My baby. The one that I made, the one that was growing inside me, was moving.
At that moment I began to think of this pregnancy not as a trial but as a miracle. Finally I realized that I was growing a flipping human being! How crazy and miraculous is that? There was a perfect little human growing inside me! I was responsible for growing and nurturing this tiny little creature. WHOA! I couldn't wait for Dan to come home and feel our little baby kick.
We loved Boston
We saw some lighthouses in Cape Cod
And of course we had to see what the Mayflower looked like.
Dan couldn't feel it for a couple more weeks. It was so exciting to see him react. His eyes lit up and he wouldn't take his hand off my stomach. He didn't want to risk missing the next big kick. As I watched him feel our baby move, I could see how happy he was then and how happy he was from the beginning. It was then that I could actually start to see this pregnancy as a blessing and share in his happiness.
Not to say everything was rainbows and butterflies from then on... but things were a lot better. I only threw up a few times after that. I could be in the same room as my husband without being nauseous. I could even start cooking again.
I would still have a few emotional break downs. I freaked out when Dan put in my hot cocco powder in first before he heated the water in the microwave. My poor husband was just trying to be nice and what did he get...? A sobbing 22 year old telling him he didn't know how to make hot chocolate.
Then there was the time where we drove 20 minutes to Buffalo Wild Wings to appease my craving for boneless honey barbecue chicken wings. We ordered take out only to find out after the 20 minute drive home they gave us wings with bones. I immediately collapsed onto my kitchen floor in tears. What could be worse than this?
It's a really good thing I married such a patient man who happens to be madly in love with me. I'm pretty sure anyone else would have left me.
As my due date drew closer, the constant pain in my back became even more awful. However, I still managed to scrub my toilet up to the day before my water broke... (I have a little OCD when it comes to cleaning my bathroom). I was getting up at least once a night to pee and then taking about an hour to fall back asleep. Oh yes, the end of my pregnancy was almost as fun as the beginning.
Here I am just a few days before I gave birth
All I can say is I love you Tess...you have always been just plain awesome!
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