I for one, am one of those who absolutely ABHOR being pregnant. Period.
I am almost at the finishing line with my 2nd (and last!!) pregnancy and i must say i am glad my ordeal is almost over. Here are some of the irritations, ranging from minor discomforts to excruciating pain, that i had to deal with for the whole 18 months of both pregnancies.
1) Morning sickness
Whoever coined the term "morning sickness" is a liar. He probably meant well, in a bid to encourage pregnant mothers that they would only have to bear with being green in the morning. I would have preferred if they gave me the hard facts and named it "whole day sickness". Thankfully for my 1st pregnancy i didnt suffer much, only retching occasionally at strong smells and it abated on the dot right after the 3rd month.
However, with my current pregnancy, every single thing made me feel sick as a dog; food, any smell, toothpaste, even plain water!! And it lasted all day right till the 5mth month! It is no wonder that i gained a whopping 18kg for my first and only 10kg for my 2nd.
2) Cravings
My daughter made me crave for sweet desserts and chocolates, so much so that i developed gestational diabetes towards the end of my 1st pregnancy and had to go on a low carbo salad diet for the last few weeks. My son made me crave hot and spicy foods that gave me terrible heartburn and a sore throat and flu that lasted for a month. And now towards the end, i feel like eating chocs again. But each time i satisfied my craving, i would feel like throwing up.
What an irony! I had to have these foods but yet my body rejects them. Oh these wretched pregnancy hormones!
3) Quickening or movement of the fetus
Quickening is supposed to be this magical moment when you actually feel your baby move for the 1st time. Its supposed to make u contemplate the meaning of life and appreciate the special gift that you have been blessed with.
Ok fair enough...we were ecstatic when we felt Terelle move for the 1st time, though at that time as 1st time parents, we weren't sure if it was actually her moving or just a bout of gas moving around in my intestines. With Thane, the first time i felt him move, i informed hubby and he did the perfunctory "hand-on-my-tummy" action all the while being glued to his Sports channel. Sorry little fella, for being so blase about it all...it's the been there done that mentality...
And as the babies grow bigger and stronger, each kick, twist and roll would either leave me wincing or running to the toilet to pee. Of course, I was reassured that my babies were healthy and moving around but it was disconcerting (and not to mention painful!!) sometimes when a little foot or elbow would pop out along my belly, making me feel as though I was an extra on the set of "Aliens".
My daughter did her fair share of jamming her heels up my ribs but as for my son, he seems to derive great pleasure from actually first jamming his heels against my ribs and THEN dragging his feet across them as if playing on a xylophone. It is especialy NOT FUNNY when it happens in the middle of the night, just as I am trying to chase my elusive sleep after going to the toilet yet again.
4) Insomnia
Read: Constant jabbing of ribs = Pain
Kicking of bladder = Pee
Punching of intestines = Discomfort
Rolling on spine = Sharp back pain
Bumping of stomach = Regurgitation of gastric juice or some of the contents from dinner
Need i say more?
5) Mobility...or rather Immobility
Towards the end of the pregnancies (especially this one), i find myself waddling around like a duck. And woe betide me when my son changes position as i move around and chooses to press his head or hand or whatever against my pelvic bone. Sharp, stinging pain radiates from my pelvic region in both directions; up my back and down my legs. Fortunately my daughter did not torture me with this particular womb acrobatic.
And at night, i have to practically roll myself out of bed to get to the toilet cos its just not possible to rely on my stomach muscles anymore, especially when there is a 3kg weight pressing down on them. Even changing sides while sleeping involves actually clutching my tummy and heaving it over to the other side.
I am a sporty person by nature and i used to exercise religiously pre baby. And it upsets me greatly when all i can manage now is to shuffle slowly from Point A to Point B wincing in pain with each step, while i watch dear hubby go for his regular gym workouts and runs. Arrrgh...just give me another half a year, ill be running circles around you like before!! *wink*
6) Labour
And finally the 9months of torment culminates in the most traumatic event of all - Labour. Many friends who go on to have their 2nd, 3rd or even 4th kid tell me that after awhile "mummy amnesia" sets in and they seem to forget the pain of childbirth. Its been 2 years and 8 months since Terelle was born and i still remember every single jolt of white hot pain that raced through my entire body during the contractions. I remember hanging on to the laughing gas mask for dear life and taking huge gasps when the pain hit so that i could become deliriously high and seemingly "watch" myself suffering from a distance. It was so bad that i vagely remember the nurse yelling to hubby to pry it out of my hands so that i would not be too woozy to push!
Well, the countdown has begun and Thane can decide to pop anytime from now on. On one hand i am so looking forward to sweet relief but on the other hand i am dreading having to go through the pain again. Someone once told me not to think of labour as an ordeal to be suffered but rather something only I can do for my baby. Yeah right...ill try to remember those wise words when the baby elephant is splitting my body apart.
Terelle is a blessing and im sure Thane will be a bundle of joy to us as well, but i am definitely not going to be 1st in line to experience the "joy" of pregnancy a third time. I know of friends who have had memorable and happy experiences throughout their pregnancies but I am definitely not one of them. In fact i more or less hate how i feel from the start right till the end of both pregnancies.
I am thankful for my children and i am also thankful that i wont have to go through this again. Now to convince hubby to choose a surgical form of birth control... =)
