Seven months down and pregnancy has both surpassed, and not lived up to, my expectations. My cliche philosophy at the onset of this adventure was to "expect the worst and hope for the best." We've all heard the horror stories...swollen noses, 3 months hovering over the porcelain throne, sciatic pain. For others, those 9+ months seem to pass glamorously...thick hair, maternal "glow," little basketball belly. It most ways this has been much "easier" than expected but here a few things that have taken me by surprise.
-I'm asked about cravings regularly. I've had none. I envisioned waking from a sound sleep a sudden, raging urge for fried calamari or pickles. Not so much. In the first trimester I had a slight aversion to burgers, and intermittently I've eaten large quantities of olives, mixed berry yogurt, Parmesan cheese, potato chips, and spinach. But I don't think that had much to do with the pregnancy.
-Where is my luxurious, thickened, flowing hair? I thought after a few months of prenatal vitamins and hormone fluctuations, I'd just wake up with Jen's hair, run my fingers through it and bounce at the door.
-As I reluctantly make the change to elastic waistbands, I am forced to acknowledge how ignorant it was to think I'd wear my old wardrobe, adjust slightly, right up until the delivery. I imagined buttoning my jeans below the bump, wearing longer t-shirts, and leaving my cardigans unbuttoned. Ha, ha, HA! I can pull the jeans up but they are no where near buttoning.
-I can already
see Bun moving. My stomach rolls to the left, then jabs to the right. It's fun to watch her get comfortable in there or maybe she's knitting. I've been reminding her to enjoy the space while she has it; it's going to get a lot tighter for both of us.
-Last Thursday I came home from work with swollen ankles. My blood pressure is consistently, pre-pregnancy and during, 110/70. I thought that eliminated any need to worry about ankle swelling. If they're already showing early signs, what in the world will they look like in 3 months!? I don't have a "put your feet up for a few minutes" kind of job. (BTW-I googled images and they were just too gross to post.)
Indigestion, leg cramps, swollen gums, bladder infections, and sleeplessness are a few bullets I've dodged so far. Needless to say, we are very excited for April! We can't wait to meet this little person and I'm looking forward to being able to bend in the middle again.
At least, for the time being, I have thin ankles at 7:00a.m.
