9 Months in Three Paragraphs

By Claudia Marion

(p1)

“Congratulations You’re Expecting!” Your news is exciting and you want to call up everyone you know and shout ‘I’m pregnant!’ but you don’t because you’ve been told to wait ten weeks, it’s thefirst trimester (or was that semester) and you don’t want to jinx it. You and your partner celebrate quietly together with sparkling water and cuddles. It isT1 now, you will soon become an expert on all three trimesters as you scour the net or the latest edition of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ and seek out expert advise on what to eat and what not to eat and how much you should be eating (not for two…shucks). When it’s finally time to tell the world you make the calls and talk for hours with your friends, some of whom are already Moms. You are energized by the camaraderie and advice and exchange of stories and you are greatly relieved that your little petal has made it safely through the initial weeks . You are part of the club now! No need to hide anything; -yet you still don’t tell your boss (that can wait). You begin to experience 24hour morning sickness and your prenatal vitamins seemingly grow larger by the day. You seek out home remedies to counter the nausea (you find Bump Boons Bars and you can keep them down! Relief!) You feel too small for dates (you should be showing right? (wrong))   You wish you were showing like the week 15 diagram in the book. You worry that something is wrong then Google images of other pregnant women with your dates and find relief. You’re increasingly tired and (still) nauseous. You are grumpy and emotional at times (he says, its like your on your cycle everyday now…and you get upset and don’t speak to him for two days. The ginger works a little and you try to eat enough when you can.  You weigh yourself each morning hoping you will be a little more up then down in weight. You think of food in terms of nutritional value not flavor because nothing tastes good right now. T2 where are you (you think gingerly)…

(to be continued- Yes, it’s a three part series!)

(2)

Thesecond trimester finally arrives. Gradually the sickness dissipates and you begin to feel like yourself again though with notable differences. You are wearing your favorite trousers a bit lower (more comfortable this way) and your breasts are increasingly robust. You got in the car yesterday and had to adjust the seat back because you felt the push of your little being against your ribs. It’s a little milestone for you. To this point you’ve only felt the baby when lying flat in bed, now she or he is commanding more of you each day.  It’s a lovely feeling and you pause with hands on belly; you can’t wait to see your little one. Tomorrow is your 1st ultrasound and you and daddy 2B can’t agree whether to find out the sex or not. You’ve been shopping for baby. You believe that you are already nesting. You are feeling very protective of your little bump. Sometimes you seem a bit too emotional (says your hubby). Your mother tells you to cherish these final months, “Your life will never be the same (its not all about you anymore sweetheart)”.  By the end of this trimester you will both look and feel pregnant. You read it and you understand that its imminent, yet it seems so far off in the distance.  

(to be continued- Sorry Mom its not Netflix!)

(3)

You wake up one day and reach for the book, You know the page, its been marked with a dog tail for months now. It is day one of yourthird trimester. You decided weeks ago not to skip ahead so much because you believe it slows the days. There is an image on the first page of T3 and its very familiar but you examine it once again just to be sure you haven’t missed anything. The baby is growing fast now. You are routinely prodded from within. You’ve begun to sleep on your side with a pillow under the bump and between your legs. You don’t feel very sexy anymore and you don’t care! Your ankles feel thick when you stand too long. Nothing fits but the maternity clothes and your belly is too itchy from stretching to wear the up and over pants anyway. Despite the growing discomfort you are happy and excited and feeling strong. You’re doctors appointments increase as they monitor the babies growth. You’ve packed your bag for the hospital. You’ve created a call list for your partner to announce the news and you’ve updated your social media status to ‘Expecting’. The book says it can happen any day (so prepare). You feel pretty good aside from increasing physical discomfort and that heart burn that just wont go away. Soon you will be on mat leave. A co-workers tells you that you are big for dates, this annoys you. The woman inline at the bank asks your due date and says the same. You try hard to be polite. Others tell you that you are carrying ‘high’ or ‘tidy’ or ‘neat’ and this also annoys you. Colleagues want to touch your belly…Grrrr!! This seriously annoys you. The clerk at the grocery store who seems to never smile (or even look up) smiles and says ‘Congratulations! You must be ready to POP?’  You find this rather crude and deploy the ‘Smile and Nod’ technique not used since you were 16. Your partner rubs your back at night (‘as he should’). Your mother calls even more frequently. The doctors examines you with a pinch and schedules you an appointment in two weeks….(you thought the examination appointment might be your last). He says, “Try to stay active (it will help)’. You plan a date night. You spend increasingly more time cleaning and straightening. You wash all of the baby clothes , sheets and blankets and fold them perfectly in neat piles. You hope that your nesting instinct kicking in, but you know its only mat leave boredom combined with your knowledge that nesting marks the proximity of birth (I nest therefore I am going into labor soon!) You finally commit to buying a buggy after months of comparative online shopping. Your friends give you a baby shower with lovely diaper cake and they make you wear a shirt that reads “Pregzilla’ because, they say,  you’re a bit snarky lately.  You attend prenatal yoga classes, sip your expectant mama blend, watch another Netflix series (while practicing your breathing technique) and… OMG you wet yourself. Too much tea perhaps?? NO., Wait…it’s…it’s the day…you water’s broken! In a few (long) hours you will be a mother.

(Hurray, Congratulations and Hallelujah are in order!! You’ve come a long way baby!!)