One of the things I first learned about pregnancy was to not listen to anything that anybody told me. I got a lot of people trying to give me a heads up about what to expect, and no offense to everyone's good intentions, but almost none of it happened!
Fist of all, in the very beginnings of my pregnancy I knew the very moment I was pregnant. Instantly my body seemed to respond by putting on an extra 5 pounds of water weight and I was sluggish and bloated. Impossible you say? My doctors gave me a funny look when I said this too, but I am telling you, I knew the exact moment I conceived. It would be about 3 or 4 weeks before I would convince myself to take a test, and yup. Just like I thought, a little pink plus sign showed up in less than a second. After confirming the pregnancy with the doctor, I decided that maybe I should put my natural chef training to good use. I had even done extensive research on prenatal health and nutrition and written a paper on it, and I felt I was prepared to eat an excellently balanced diet for me and for my baby. But you know what I found in those first few weeks? Screw "nutrition" I could hardly get myself to eat! All I wanted, and I mean the only things in the world, was bagels and cream cheese. I am not exaggerating when I say I ate bagels and cream cheese sprinkled with garlic salt for three meals a day, every day. Part of me was thinking, "this isn't very good for me!" and the other part thought, "who the hell cares?!" So I went with it. And it seems my baby is no less healthy for it, in fact she is active and happy and my own weight is a little under average. Eat healthy you say? Kiss my ass, you have probably never been pregnant.
Next came my love for anything sour and for iced tea. And I found something that blessed me with both! Peace Tea in the sweet lemon flavor. It came in this huge can and I could only find it at Lucky's in the refrigerator section. Beau bought armfuls of it and I took it everywhere with me. It was around this time that I was reading more about pregnancy and trying to prepare myself for what was to come. They told me to expect to be tired and they told me to take my prenatal vitamins and they said it would still be a while before I would "show". Well, I was anything but tired since I didn't have a choice but to be wide awake. My job was very physically demanding and I was working very hard, 5 days a week, sometimes 6. My prenatals seemed to be the biggest cause of my "morning sickness" so I was not taking them and I already had the tiniest of little bellies. So already, nothing was going as it was suppose to. (or as I had read it was suppose to.) I was very aware of my body at this time and I could almost feel the changes going on inside of me. Maybe it had something to do with my years of yoga practice and being aware of myself, but I felt my pelvis grow heavier and my belly was becoming rounder. Apparently feeling pressure in your pelvis is not something everyone else notices, but the pain would have me laying on the hard floor rocking back on forth on my back. I don't have a clue as to how women can go months and months and not know they are pregnant!
By about 4 months, I really began to realize that you cannot trust everyone else when it comes to pregnancy. I felt the baby move for the first time, and even though my doctor said it was impossible, I knew what I had felt and it was a teeny little goldfish sized baby fluttering around in my tummy. Also around this time I was slowly weaning myself off of bagels and was finding a new love in the classic sour things like pickles. I also ate salt and vinegar chips and sour patch kids (until my mom told me how bad that sour candy is for you!) And then my greatest craving of all... sushi. I knew how bad it was to want sushi, so I tried to repress it at first, but eventually I decided that a little sushi wouldn't kill me and I caved. I ate mostly the cooked stuff but would sneak some salmon every now and then. (which I later read can be an excellent mood booster!) Sushi with tons and tons of wasabi on it and smothered in soy sauce. That is what I wanted at least once a week. Unfortunately my work was taking it's toll on my back, and soon I suffered a back injury that forced me to quit my job and stay on bed rest for a few weeks. Without my income, sushi was no longer affordable, but Beau and I still go out every once in a while when I am wanting it really bad.
The biggest lie of all of the pregnancy lies was that the 2nd trimester would be the easiest. In my 2nd trimester I made several trips to the ER for various things. Pain, bleeding, a horrible flu, you name it. I was sick multiple times and this was also when my back was injured so I was bored on the couch most of the time. But the good that came out of it all was that I discovered my new craving was really spicy Mexican Food and I took comfort in chili rellenos... lots of chili rellenos. I was also able to start taking my prenatal vitamins without getting sick.
Thankfully, my back began to heal and my 2nd trimester was coming to a close. I had not gained nearly as much weight as everyone said I would. I walked every day with Beau and was feeling really good, even on days when I got almost no sleep. I mentally prepared myself for the third trimester and everything that the books said would come along with it... you will be constipated, you will have hemorrhoids, you will have swollen feet and be tired and crabby, etc. I kept thinking "holy crap, the 3rd trimester must be awful!" But so far, as with everything else, none of it has come true! Could it be becuase my new favorite food is yogurt? I know yogurt helps with digestion, and I have taken to eating two homemade yogurts a day for the last couple weeks. Also, strawberries and other fruits are in season and I fill up on those all day long. As for my "crabby mood", I have read that omega-3's are really good for a mood booster and I take a fish oil supplement every day! So no crabby Jasmine here! I am actually feeling better than I have for this whole pregnancy. And on top of my yogurt craving, I have found the most fantastic thing in the whole universe. Ben and Jerry's Key Lime Pie ice cream!
Now I am in the home stretch and I have about 10 more weeks tops of being preggo. I am suppose to expect to "continue to be constipated, etc. and to feel uncomfortable. Swollen feet, fatigue, moody..." But we will see how that goes.
So far I have followed none of the rules that I thought I would follow when I got pregnant (I have always been such a health nut! The old me would have passed out to hear of me eating bagels 3 times a day!) and my body has followed none of them either. And now while I read all of these books about what to expect after the baby is born, I have been taking it all with a grain of salt. I think the best thing I have learned throughout this whole expereince is to stop trying to control everyting so much! Just listen to your body and go with the flow. :)
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