I have a confession to make.
Are you ready?
I absolutely LOVED being pregnant.
Do you think I'm crazy? Many people do, I'm sure. I really did love it though. I loved the baby bump, the first little flutters of movement, my big belly, and the way you could see little knees and heels and elbows poking my stomach. I even loved my maternity clothes (thanks to a good friend who gave me an entire wardrobe!). Yes, even though there were two in there and it got a little crowded at times, I enjoyed just about all of it.
I am well aware that I may be in the minority on this, and I will admit that even my relatively easy pregnancy came with its share of discomforts and surprises. (Do you remember how hard it was to take a deep breath once the baby-or babies-got up under your rib cage? I remember laying in the hospital bed after my c-section, marvelling at how exciting it was to be able to breathe in all the way!)
I recently received a book that brought back several pregnancy memories I'd nearly forgotten. Haley Greene's book Are You KIDing Me? 51 Things People Don't Tell You About Being Pregnant was a fast, fun read that makes light of some of the less-than-pleasant aspects of pregnancy. The book is made up of humorous direct statements about pregnancy, along with a few sidenotes and illustrations (all in the hand-drawn style).
Some of my favorite lines...
You will never be SO HOT in all your life. (So true! My hospital visitors had to wear winter coats to sit with me for more than a few minutes at a time.)
If you have never had acid reflux before, you are in for a treat. (I only wish I discovered Pepcid before the last week of my pregnancy. Tums just couldn't cut it alone.)
You will never sleep through the night again. With the peeing and the hot flashes, FORGET IT. (And that's nothing compared to AFTER the baby comes!)
If you are modest and don't like to have anyone see you naked, pregnancy is not for you. EVERYONE sees you naked.
DO NOT go online to self-diagnose. YOU could DIE. (True, Dr. Google is not a friend to an already over-anxious hormonal pregnant lady.)
Do not go to the grocery store hungry. You will only come home with things covered in frosting. (Wait, is that only supposed to happen during pregnancy? Cause that applies to me all the time...)
This book was a fun walk down memory lane, and it would be a good 'congratulations' gift to a newly expectant mom...as long as she's not the type who scares easily! I have a friend in mind who just might be receiving this book from me very soon. : )
So tell me...am I the only one who loved being pregnant? Sure I'm not completely alone! What surprised you most about your pregnancy?
Once the first trimester has passed and morning sickness is over for me, I love being pregnant. And this pregnancy has been so much more enjoyable because I don't have a lot of the discomforts I had with the twins.
ReplyDeleteI L-O-V-E-D it and would love to do it again! I'd even sit through the months of bedrest and not complain once! I would really like to know what it is like to have a singleton. It sound horrible, but I'm the only one of my group who has had twins and hearing them all complain about how horrible a singleton is had really peaked my interest!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED IT!
ReplyDeleteI honestly think that was one of the best experiences of my life.
I shared at our infertility support group the last time how I loved it so much I'd be a surrogate and Roz (who comments here sometimes) was SO shocked :)
The frosting thing is me to this day...I love those sugar cookies with the frosting and sprinkles...yum!
ReplyDeleteI hated being pregnant...not only was I carrying two, but I was diagnosed with every pregnancy malady you could have. I hated it with a passion and would rather go through all of the shots and pills for IVF than be pregnant again! It hurt. It was uncomfortable. I lasted 38 weeks with this misery...sorry I can't be on your side for this one!
I loved being pregnant too! I felt so good and ate like a pig!!! I have some ongoing health issues and during pregnancy they were GONE! It was wonderful. Of course there were discomforts but overall it was great.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say I loved it... but I watched way too many "Special Delivery" and "Birth Day" shows and was scared out of my mind for the most part. And very, very, uncomfortable. What I did like, was having the freedom to consume as many calories as I could, because I needed it for the babies. That part was pretty sweet:)
ReplyDeleteI loved it - enough so that I've considered being a surrogate.
ReplyDeleteI felt more beautiful than at any other time in my life. Maybe it was just knowing what was going on in my body?
I adored being pregnant. Even with the high-risk stuff going on, I loved my bump (or mountain as it turned out). Loved feeling the babies move. I miss it terribly. You are not alone!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED being pregnant, too! I honestly can't think about it too much, though, or I get all nostalgic, I could just cry. :) One of these days I'll have to get rid of my maternity clothes (our girls are 17 months old), but I'm just not quite ready to do that. :)
ReplyDeleteLOVED every second of being pregnant! Even with all of the aches and pains... I was in heaven! Wish I was going to experience it all over again :(
ReplyDeleteHow funny!
ReplyDeleteAsk anyone who knew me when I was pregnant and they will tell you that I was the happiest when pregnant. So I loved this post! I loved every minute.
I loved pregnancy, feeling the baby move and the excitement of waiting to meet a new family member. What I didn't love was the hard work of several IVFs to get there and the lack of sleep at the end of the pregnancy with twins. So we won't be doing it again because of the first item, but we are thinking about adoption for one more family member to be.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to love being pregnant, but between crazy 'morning' sickness the first 4 months and insane itching the latter part... I was just plain miserable feeling!
ReplyDeleteI did love feeling the babies kick and move, and I would do it all over again to have the split second of awe when I first met my little girls. :)
I LOVED being pregnant with both of my children! Of course, I didn't LOVE the morning sickness, heartburn and no sleep, but I really was the happiest pregnant person ever. I missed being pregnant immediately after having both of my children. Most people get to that uncomfortable, irritable, "I'm over being pregnant" stage but that never happened to me! I'm scared to have a 3rd c-section, but if it wasn't for that fact, I'd be prego all the time! :)
ReplyDeletepsst. Check out Multiples and More tomorrow:)
ReplyDeletei loved being pregnant!!! even with the puking and the swollen body!
ReplyDelete