Go to your local book store and you'll find a plethora of books that tell you all about being pregnant. What they don't tell you much about is what to expect AFTER the alien leaves your body. All those hormones that do crazy things to your body as they spike also do crazy things as they come back down.
People tell you that your hair gets thicker or grows faster when you're pregnant, but it actually just falls out less so it seems thicker and longer. What they don't tell you is that after you give birth all of that hair falls out. All at once. I'm pretty sure that by the end of the month I'll be bald at the rate my hair is falling out. 9 months of extra hair is a lot of hair as it turns out.
The out of whack hormones keep those crazy mood swings coming for awhile and your skin will probably go bonkers too. Other weirdness for the c-section crowd is the lack of feeling around the incision. My nurse said her's stayed numb for a year. It's very strange to itch and then not be able to feel it when you scratch.
While the hormones come down, the weight doesn't. 3 weeks after the kiddo was born, I had dropped 25 pounds. The general consensus seems to be that it took about 9 months to put the weight on and that it takes about 9 months to take it off. The first bit came off so fast (and no, I didn't have a 25 pound baby) that I was SURE that everyone must be wrong and that I'd be back down to pre-pregnancy weight in no time. Now almost 12 weeks in and I'm pretty sure I'm not all that far off the 3 week number. Everyone was not wrong. Damn.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Being Pregnant - part 2
Here's the second half of the letter to my friend responding to the question of what it feels like to be pregnant:
It’s been so easy to get caught up around the idea of being pregnant, that I am occasionally blindsided by the reality that pregnancy doesn’t just end...it results in a baby – a human being for which I am wholly responsible. An “oh crap, what the hell am I supposed to do with a BABY???” thought strikes me periodically. I’ve thought and Noel and I have talked a lot about our priorities and ideas around child-rearing, but I think that’s the one thing you can never truly be ready for. Lots of things sound great in the theoretical, but reality has an odd way of dictating otherwise in the moment. That is a terrifying and overwhelming thought sometimes, but I guess I take solace in the fact that there are nearly 7 billion people on the planet and I surely can’t be the worst parent among them, right? I guess we’ll do what we can and hope for the best.
Although I can get wrapped up in being pregnant, it can also be easy (especially as time has gone on) to kind of forget about it…not that you ever entirely do so, but it’s kind of become the norm. 9 months is a lot of time. I’ve kind of gotten used to it all and don’t really think about it too much these days. (I’m sure that will change as d-day looms closer.) Right now, I’m more in “everything must be ready NOW” phase (like painting the room, building the crib, having supplies, etc.) more than being concerned about “being pregnant”...that’s old hat now. :-)
As for labor & delivery, it isn’t something that has actually bothered me at all. My thoughts on that is that it will be a relatively short period of my life (no more than a few days at worst) and it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. As long as the kid comes out healthy (and eventually), then whatever. Scientific studies have shown that women really do have “amnesia” about how bad labor and delivery are. It’s the world’s way of allowing women to be convinced to go through it again. The idea of an epidural creeps me out – not a fan of lack of control of my body. But, that’s something that every woman needs to decide what she can and is willing to tolerate. There is a possibility that I’ll need a scheduled c-section due to the placenta being too close to my cervix. At first I was very disappointed at the idea of that as I wanted to experience labor (I can’t really explain why...it’s a little wanting to feel connected to the whole experience and the child, a little bit about seeing what my body is capable of and then just an intangible feeling). But, again, I’ve come to realize that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you get there – all that matters is that you get there. See 2 paragraphs up – ultimately it’s all about the fact that there is another person in your life and in the world at the end of the day (or days as the case may be :-) ).
Pregnancy is a long, strange journey (at least for me). Parenthood is a longer, stranger journey (from what I’ve been told and from what I can imagine). You’ll get a lot of advice – good, bad and otherwise – about both if you choose to pursue it. But, I think the best advice was given to me by a friend of mine – listen to people, take what they say with a grain of salt and do what’s right for you...which isn’t necessarily the same as anyone else. Here’s my advice (which you should take with a grain of salt): you will never be “ready” to have a child & there is never a good time to have a child – you just have to be ready enough and dive head long into it; if decide to move forward then get in good physically shape – it makes pregnancy (and recovery from what I’ve been told) much easier generally speaking; once you get pregnant, listen to your body – even if you don’t agree with it, it’s probably right; be prepared for parenthood to throw you for a loop constantly – kids don’t fit into the perfect world scenario very often (I’ve experienced this plenty working with kids); finally, only do this (have a kid) if this is the right thing to do for you – not for anyone else.
--
I still feel pretty much the same "oh crap" kind of way as I felt when writing that first paragraph and generally stand by my advice in the last paragraph...for the time being. Ask me again after I've been doing this longer.
It’s been so easy to get caught up around the idea of being pregnant, that I am occasionally blindsided by the reality that pregnancy doesn’t just end...it results in a baby – a human being for which I am wholly responsible. An “oh crap, what the hell am I supposed to do with a BABY???” thought strikes me periodically. I’ve thought and Noel and I have talked a lot about our priorities and ideas around child-rearing, but I think that’s the one thing you can never truly be ready for. Lots of things sound great in the theoretical, but reality has an odd way of dictating otherwise in the moment. That is a terrifying and overwhelming thought sometimes, but I guess I take solace in the fact that there are nearly 7 billion people on the planet and I surely can’t be the worst parent among them, right? I guess we’ll do what we can and hope for the best.
Although I can get wrapped up in being pregnant, it can also be easy (especially as time has gone on) to kind of forget about it…not that you ever entirely do so, but it’s kind of become the norm. 9 months is a lot of time. I’ve kind of gotten used to it all and don’t really think about it too much these days. (I’m sure that will change as d-day looms closer.) Right now, I’m more in “everything must be ready NOW” phase (like painting the room, building the crib, having supplies, etc.) more than being concerned about “being pregnant”...that’s old hat now. :-)
As for labor & delivery, it isn’t something that has actually bothered me at all. My thoughts on that is that it will be a relatively short period of my life (no more than a few days at worst) and it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. As long as the kid comes out healthy (and eventually), then whatever. Scientific studies have shown that women really do have “amnesia” about how bad labor and delivery are. It’s the world’s way of allowing women to be convinced to go through it again. The idea of an epidural creeps me out – not a fan of lack of control of my body. But, that’s something that every woman needs to decide what she can and is willing to tolerate. There is a possibility that I’ll need a scheduled c-section due to the placenta being too close to my cervix. At first I was very disappointed at the idea of that as I wanted to experience labor (I can’t really explain why...it’s a little wanting to feel connected to the whole experience and the child, a little bit about seeing what my body is capable of and then just an intangible feeling). But, again, I’ve come to realize that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you get there – all that matters is that you get there. See 2 paragraphs up – ultimately it’s all about the fact that there is another person in your life and in the world at the end of the day (or days as the case may be :-) ).
Pregnancy is a long, strange journey (at least for me). Parenthood is a longer, stranger journey (from what I’ve been told and from what I can imagine). You’ll get a lot of advice – good, bad and otherwise – about both if you choose to pursue it. But, I think the best advice was given to me by a friend of mine – listen to people, take what they say with a grain of salt and do what’s right for you...which isn’t necessarily the same as anyone else. Here’s my advice (which you should take with a grain of salt): you will never be “ready” to have a child & there is never a good time to have a child – you just have to be ready enough and dive head long into it; if decide to move forward then get in good physically shape – it makes pregnancy (and recovery from what I’ve been told) much easier generally speaking; once you get pregnant, listen to your body – even if you don’t agree with it, it’s probably right; be prepared for parenthood to throw you for a loop constantly – kids don’t fit into the perfect world scenario very often (I’ve experienced this plenty working with kids); finally, only do this (have a kid) if this is the right thing to do for you – not for anyone else.
--
I still feel pretty much the same "oh crap" kind of way as I felt when writing that first paragraph and generally stand by my advice in the last paragraph...for the time being. Ask me again after I've been doing this longer.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Being Pregnant - part 1
Around the beginning of my 8th month of pregnancy, a friend asked me what it felt like to be pregnant. It was interesting to go back and read the letter I wrote. In some ways it seems like being pregnant was ancient history even though it's only been a matter of weeks and yet it in the midst of it pregnancy seemed to drag on FOREVER. Here's the first half of my response:
Being pregnant…hmm…
First of all, from everyone that I’ve talked to being pregnant is a completely different experience for each person. There are of course common symptoms and whatnot, but how those affect the individual (and each pregnancy itself) can vary widely. More so, I think how each person deals with pregnancy emotionally is very different….some love it, some hate it, some are ambivalent. I think I fall more in the latter category.
Physically, my pregnancy has been very easy (so far, knock on wood!) I had virtually no nausea, no throwing up (that usually comes in the first trimester). I was pretty tired at the beginning – not uncommon, but you usually get your energy back in the 2nd trimester. I’ve had friends that were exhausted the whole time though… My back has been bothering me on and off throughout (it’s actually where my hip comes into my spine – thank you hormones that make your ligaments relax). I’ve felt winded a lot – hormones again. Other than that, it’s been easy. There’s a significant laundry list of “symptoms” (I hate that word….it makes pregnancy sound like a disease) that I’ve pretty much steered clear of. (If you really want to know, I can rattle some off for you.)
Emotionally, I’ve had my ups and downs. Again, thank you hormones. I think one thing specifically that was difficult for me was dealing with the fact that my body was changing and there was nothing I could do about it. It was frustrating to not be able to button up my pants. Prior to being pregnant, I’d worn the same pant size since high school….changing body and self-image was not something I’d every dealt with. It’s also frustrating sometime to not be able to do the things I’ve always been able to do – some things that I “shouldn’t” (like painting the baby’s room) and some things I can’t (like go go go all day…I get tired, winded, backaches...). It’s not mind over matter…you lose a bit of control over your body and your life.
One of the weirdest things for me is feeling baby move. It’s kind of cool, kind of bizarre. Sometimes it feels like my body is going off its rocker. Sometimes it reminds me that there is actually a human being inside of me. For me, that is an incredible, strange, terrifying thought.
Being pregnant…hmm…
First of all, from everyone that I’ve talked to being pregnant is a completely different experience for each person. There are of course common symptoms and whatnot, but how those affect the individual (and each pregnancy itself) can vary widely. More so, I think how each person deals with pregnancy emotionally is very different….some love it, some hate it, some are ambivalent. I think I fall more in the latter category.
Physically, my pregnancy has been very easy (so far, knock on wood!) I had virtually no nausea, no throwing up (that usually comes in the first trimester). I was pretty tired at the beginning – not uncommon, but you usually get your energy back in the 2nd trimester. I’ve had friends that were exhausted the whole time though… My back has been bothering me on and off throughout (it’s actually where my hip comes into my spine – thank you hormones that make your ligaments relax). I’ve felt winded a lot – hormones again. Other than that, it’s been easy. There’s a significant laundry list of “symptoms” (I hate that word….it makes pregnancy sound like a disease) that I’ve pretty much steered clear of. (If you really want to know, I can rattle some off for you.)
Emotionally, I’ve had my ups and downs. Again, thank you hormones. I think one thing specifically that was difficult for me was dealing with the fact that my body was changing and there was nothing I could do about it. It was frustrating to not be able to button up my pants. Prior to being pregnant, I’d worn the same pant size since high school….changing body and self-image was not something I’d every dealt with. It’s also frustrating sometime to not be able to do the things I’ve always been able to do – some things that I “shouldn’t” (like painting the baby’s room) and some things I can’t (like go go go all day…I get tired, winded, backaches...). It’s not mind over matter…you lose a bit of control over your body and your life.
One of the weirdest things for me is feeling baby move. It’s kind of cool, kind of bizarre. Sometimes it feels like my body is going off its rocker. Sometimes it reminds me that there is actually a human being inside of me. For me, that is an incredible, strange, terrifying thought.
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