For many women, being pregnant is a honeymoon. But for some of us, it sucks.
I’m now at the end of my 17th week and for the first time, I feel more like my usual indomitable self. But the last 4 months have been miserable. And it didn’t help to think that I was perhaps the only pregnant woman in this fecund city to feel this way. Today’s post is dedicated to all those women who, like me, hate being pregnant. You think you’re whiny? Wait till you hear what I’ve got to say!
Naming one’s baby is always a challenge. But being a mixed culture, mixed language couple in Quebec presents its own special complications.
Before we got pregnant, we thought we had it all figured out. We’d picked out two names, “Sasha” and “Charlie”. Both are unisex and we particularly loved the idea of naming a boy Sasha or a girl Charlie.
Of course, now that we are actually in a position to use those names, they suddenly ring false.
I’m at 13 weeks right now, so we don’t yet know the baby’s gender. But we hope to find out at 20 weeks (and I’ll be sharing it here on the blog). “But don’t you want it to be a surprise?” some might ask. Yes I do. It’s going to be a surprise in another 7 weeks. I mean, it’s not like I have any control over the outcome. Now or in nine months– what’s the big deal?
And believe me, I’m going to be plenty glad to see the sprog emerge from my birth canal regardless of whether or not I have knowledge of its gender. I respect those who choose not to find out, but I wanna know. And so does Pat.
Plus, we’ll need all the time we can get to figure out this name thing. Read on and you’ll see why… (more…)
Did the ultrasound technician just call me fat? (and other stupid stories that could only happen to me)
I went in for my 12 week ultrasound earlier this week. It was exciting, because I’d been following the baby’s progress on my new favourite iPhone app, “BabyBump Pregnancy Pro”. Apparently, the baby had doubled in size the previous week and was beginning to flex its limbs. As you already know, a lot of the joy of this pregnancy has been overshadowed by the 24/7 nausea and chronic cough I’ve been struggling with. So, I couldn’t wait to see the wee sprog that was causing all this havoc! (more…)
What is impending motherhood supposed to feel like? For me, it’s an airport feeling…
It’s the same feeling I get when it’s 4 am and my alarm goes off because I have to go catch a flight to somewhere exciting. The world is still asleep, oblivious to my mounting excitement.
There’s a definite push-pull happening inside me: A part of me just wants to turn over and go back to sleep, back to the warm comfort of before. This part of my psyche gibbers about plane crashes and exotic bugs and things left undone. “Why risk it?” the voice wants to know. “Your life is so perfect the way it is.”
All right, the cat’s out of the bag: I’m pregnant. And despite what a whole industry’s worth of books would have you believe, it’s hard to know what to expect when you’re expecting!
Being pregnant is a study in mixed emotions. The shock when I first found out (I was convinced my period was late because I was training for the half marathon and I’d upped my running by a good 15k a week). There was the moment where I felt like a proper idiot when I botched the first pregnancy test I took (peed on the stick too long apparently; result: “Void”).
There was that amazing period of heightened intimacy with Pat when we realized that we were on the adventure of a lifetime and only the two of us were in on the secret. (I think the dog suspected something, but a few biscuits bought her silence.)
There was the forehead slapping when we realized I’d signed up (and paid a non-refundable $75) to enter the Oasis half marathon in September. Although I fully intended to keep running, it was unlikely that I would be able to double my long runs to meet the 21K requirement while carrying the sprog.
There was incredulity when, seemingly overnight, I went from being able to run 30K a week to barely being able to walk the dog 5 blocks before needing a nap. I was nauseous ALL the time. I think the only time I wasn’t nauseous was the first 15 minutes in the morning when I woke up. Exactly the opposite of what all my pregnancy books said would happen! Just goes to show: Everyone’s different.
And God must be a man!
Here are my arguments: (more…)
