There I said it – pregnancy isn’t pretty. Before anyone gets all crazy – the ability to bring life into the world is beautiful, amazing and wonderful. I am hugely blessed to be pregnant for the second time, and I am grateful. But reality sets in, and pregnancy isn’t pretty.
As with all media images, we are bombarded with pictures of beautiful pregnant women who truly posses that pregnancy glow. We see that glow in other pregnant women we know, those who seem to glide through the stages of pregnancy with ease, looking more beautiful and happy as their belly swells and they ooze with stories of how wonderful being pregnant is. They make us WANT to be pregnant, it seems so glamorous.
But we know the truth.
Those women who are magically blessed with loving every moment of their pregnancy, they are the lucky ones. For the rest of us, I dare say — most of us — pregnancy is a time of bodily changes that reflect the true miracle of life — the miracle that we survive pregnancy, birth and those first few weeks of life on no sleep.
From days spent racing to the bathroom to vomit in the early weeks months to days spent racing to the bathroom to pee in latter months, pregnancy has moments of downright misery. (BTW – I am somehow stuck in the limbo land of both wonderful experiences at the same time.)
Even some of those preggos who appear to sail through pregnancy (like fellow mom blogger Trisha who looks like a pregnancy cover model) are often secretly miserable (not so secret with Trisha as she’s pretty open, but ya wouldn’t know it looking at her!). I for one, do not look like a pregnancy model; I look as miserable as I feel, which, of course, makes things worse!
Pregnancy is an all-consuming process. Some find themselves craving and eating everything in sight, while others (like myself) can barely stomach our favorite foods. (I joke that I have become a Jewish vegetarian with this pregnancy since I am still eating hubby’s matzos long after Passover and chicken is currently repulsive.)
Once you finally overcome that “is she or isn’t she” stage when people don’t know whether to ask about the baby or offer you diet options, you realize you can no longer bend in the middle. While this strange inability was odd with baby #1, it is downright annoying with baby #2 because I have a toddler running around who wants me to play on the floor, needs be to put on her clothes and shoes and somehow manages to drop something during every meal.
Oh pregnancy, oh pregnancy… the joys are never ending…
The stretching and pulling, the aches and pains, and don’t even get me started on the acne!
As if the months of suffering — as the mom-to-be manages to get through her days with a plastered smile on her face — are not enough, then comes labor. And if mom has any sense of modesty left, she can kiss it goodbye.
Ahhh yes. Pregnancy isn’t pretty, but those tiny bundles of joy certainly win our hearts. So I find myself, as so many other do, doing it all over again. Is it October yet?
17 Weeks and counting…
Aww, you are way too kind to me…trust me, i often feel disgusting. I am not a happy go lucky PG person. I cant wait to get this baby out of my body and into like…a boppy.
LOL
Twenty-two years later, it is still worth il, but I do remember barely being able to see my alien, Dough Boy feet. They would rise like bread dough, swelling so much in the course of a day that, if I took my shoes off, I couldn’t put them back on until the next morning. In the end, they were never quite the same. They ended up wider and a half size larger. Happy Mother’s Day! Children are the greatest gift, despite the feet and the photos taken immediately after delivery!
I was one of those lucky ones who had a wonderful pregnancy. No nausea. No vomiting. My back pain from a car accident and a work injury, which I thought would be unbearable as my belly grew, miraculously went away. I did get the terrible swelling in my feet and ankles during the last few months, and the first few weeks after delivery were not very comfortable, but it’s so easy to forget about all that when you’re holding a precious bundle of joy. I hope you manage to have some enjoyable days/weeks/months of pregnancy, and I wish you many blessings for an easy, happy, healthy delivery! You look great, by the way!
Pregnancy = bliss…
1. Up 60lbs on delivery day
2. So swollen the skin on my feet cracked
3. Cellulite on my knees, threatened the idea of shorts and skirts for the rest of my life (thank God that went away!)
4. Back aches, side aches, aches, aches, aches
5. My whole face changed – I looked like a completely different person!
I always dreamed of pregnancy. The cute clothes, the basketball of a belly, the “oh you are such a cute pregnant woman!” Yeah – none of that for me! However, it is totally worth it and I would do it again in a heart beat! I love the little blessing that all of the 10 months of yuck handed me.
For what it is worth, I think you look amazing! 🙂
Aw you poor thing! Reading posts like this remind me why I stopped at one child. LOL
I think you look great!
Pregnancy can be so hard though. I’m pregnant with #6 and dealt with 6 months of vomiting (which at least I can now look back at) and severe chronic pain made a lot worse with all the extra pain on top of it. It’s all worth it in the end though, isn’t it? I look so forward to holding my darling baby in my arms.
My pregnancy was so miserable my husband had the V-surgery 6 weeks after my son was born. We adopted #2.
You look great! I can’t wait to do it all over again too!