On Being Pregnant

I never had that pregnancy glow. I kind of feel like it’s a myth.  Instead of glowing my skin seemed to get pale and breakout. Instead of talking to my baby and watching my belly grow, I watched the toilet bowl flush for the fifth time as I crawled my way out of the bathroom. To say being pregnant was a joyful time for me is a bit of a stretch. Don’t get me wrong I loved watching my belly grow and expand larger then I thought possible. I loved feeling them move and kick in me, and I loved that I got to carry them around all the time, making sure they were always safe and sound.

Unfortunately I never had the easiest pregnancies (but I do want to say that I am grateful that I was able to get pregnant and had two healthy babies) I lived in a constant state of nausea for the first 16 weeks and after that passed I had the pleasure of experiencing agonizing leg cramps that woke me up at all hours of the night. Neither of my babies wanted to come out on their own, I went as long as possible with both until it became dangerous for them to stay in any longer.

 I know some people have a lot worse pregnancies but it seemed that people that had that easy pregnancy glow surrounded me. While I struggled to keep my eyes open during the day, I had friends who organized their house, painted the nursery, and cut their lawns, all in a days work. I have no idea how some of them had so much energy while I struggled to get my self dressed and out the door. This struggle became even harder the second time around. Not only did I have to get myself ready but I also had to get Ava ready in the mornings. The poor girl saw momma puke more then she should have, but she was always so sweet about it.

I wanted to write about my pregnancies to get my experience out in the world and hope that maybe someone who was right in the middle of it, or thinking about it could get a fellow moms perspective. Neither of my pregnancies were filled with sunshine and lollipops but what I got at the end of those long 42 weeks made it all worth while and I would do it all over again. That’s the awesome thing about having kids, they change your perspective on life and love.