Pregnancy is beautiful -- at least, that's what I've always heard other people say. To be honest, before I was pregnant myself, I didn't really care. Now, having done it, I must say I do appreciate the process more, but I still don't consider it "beautiful."
Admittedly, there are some women who pull it off really well. They stay in awesome shape, and sport a tight little sphere in their tummy, and after the baby is born they look ready to throw on their Asics go run a marathon.
That was totally not me. I remember trying to climb into my husband's truck at only 4 months and asking him if I looked as big as I felt. (He told me no, of course. He was wonderful.) I remember being about 20 weeks (only half as pregnant as I was going to be) -- the teeny little filipino moms at school would ask me when I was due, and when I'd tell them, their eyes would get really big and they'd just reply in awe, "Oh."
My pregnancy was not beautiful. I put on 50 pounds of baby and fluid. I had a near constant cold from August to April. My ankles were about as big around as my thighs. I had heartburn like a mofo, and I had to eat my supper around 4 pm or else the baby would kick it back up into my mouth in the middle of the night. I bought Tums in bulk. Every time I'd sneeze, I'd pee a little, too. Most days, I felt like I was leaking from every orifice of my body.
I recall a day near the end of my pregnancy -- I was climbing the stairs of the 5th-8th grade building at my school to eat lunch in the teacher's lounge. There is a set of double doors at the top of the stairs. A class of 7th graders was coming down the stairs for lunch, but one boy remained at the top to hold the door for me. However, another boy, seeing me coming, ran back up to open the OTHER door.
Pregnancy for me was definitely not beautiful. What I did decide was that it was absolutely amazing. Amazing, that something like this:
could become this:
and eventually this:
And even though not all pregnancies are beautiful, all babies are. Even though they sometimes look like this:
Admittedly, there are some women who pull it off really well. They stay in awesome shape, and sport a tight little sphere in their tummy, and after the baby is born they look ready to throw on their Asics go run a marathon.
That was totally not me. I remember trying to climb into my husband's truck at only 4 months and asking him if I looked as big as I felt. (He told me no, of course. He was wonderful.) I remember being about 20 weeks (only half as pregnant as I was going to be) -- the teeny little filipino moms at school would ask me when I was due, and when I'd tell them, their eyes would get really big and they'd just reply in awe, "Oh."
My pregnancy was not beautiful. I put on 50 pounds of baby and fluid. I had a near constant cold from August to April. My ankles were about as big around as my thighs. I had heartburn like a mofo, and I had to eat my supper around 4 pm or else the baby would kick it back up into my mouth in the middle of the night. I bought Tums in bulk. Every time I'd sneeze, I'd pee a little, too. Most days, I felt like I was leaking from every orifice of my body.
I recall a day near the end of my pregnancy -- I was climbing the stairs of the 5th-8th grade building at my school to eat lunch in the teacher's lounge. There is a set of double doors at the top of the stairs. A class of 7th graders was coming down the stairs for lunch, but one boy remained at the top to hold the door for me. However, another boy, seeing me coming, ran back up to open the OTHER door.
Pregnancy for me was definitely not beautiful. What I did decide was that it was absolutely amazing. Amazing, that something like this:
could become this:
and eventually this:
And even though not all pregnancies are beautiful, all babies are. Even though they sometimes look like this:
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