Disney Baby No. 2: The Joys of Pregnancy

I am only a few days away from the due date (28th April) and time has slowed down even more, testing my patience. Feeling like this is the longest pregnancy EVER! But the finishing line is so close, I am no longer counting months or weeks, I am counting days and soon hours.

My first pregnancy was a doddle. I didn’t even feel pregnant the first 8 months. But Jacob was clearly comfortable and decided he didn’t want to come out, so I had to be induced. This baby however gave me a bit more of a hard time in the beginning and yet now, 9 months later, he has decided he is too comfortable and enjoying himself. So looks like he’s going to be over due as well! Flipping great!

So due to this assumption I have decided to let my feelings out about pregnancy and the “wonderfulness” of it all. However I would like to point out that I understand and appreciate the feelings of those mothers who were not able to naturally carry their children and mean no disrespect to the amazing brilliance of what our bodies do in order to grow a baby. I’m just grateful that it’s only a 9-10 month period!

My Bladder

Since discovering I was pregnant for the second time, my bladder has slowly been squeezed and pressurised. Needing to pee every 40 minutes gets very boring and tiresome. Also, the feeling of “my bladder is going to burst if I don’t get to a toilet” and then only dribbling the tiniest amount, is really getting on my nerves. I’ve woken up during the night thinking I’m going to pee myself and then get to the toilet and only managing a tiny trickle of pee *cue eye rolling*.
Clothes

Some pregnant women have trouble with wearing clothes and feeling comfortable or feeling pretty or feeling like a woman. I have trouble with getting them on! Yes, due to the size of my belly, I can’t bend down, or reach my knees never mind my feet! I just want to get my leggings on! I don’t even bother trying to put socks on, I just live in my slippers and my slip on flats!

Alcohol
Now this wasn’t an issue for me when I was pregnant with Jacob BUT, this time I have REALLY missed alcohol! Not because I’ve wanted to get off-my-face-fall-over-and-be-sick-drunk, I’m just missing that glass of wine while cooking or having friends and family round and opening a bottle of prosecco. I mean I’ve moved in to this beautiful new house and have two bottles of Prosecco from neighbors and a bottle of champagne from the developers and I’ve not been able to open them! I’ve celebrated Christmas and New Year with no alcohol, Valentines, Jacobs birthday and most recently Easter! And to make it worse I’ve had to stop drinking Irn Bru because it was giving me…

HEARTBURN!!!

Oh the Devil! Heartburn can completely ruin your day. With Jacob, it was a couple of things that I had to avoid so I didn’t suffer. This time, I feel like its EVERYTHING I EAT! And like I said, worst of all, I’ve had to stop drinking Irn-Bru. They say if you suffer with Heartburn during your pregnancy it’s a sign that your baby has a lot of hair. This baby better come out looking like Rapunzel!

Don’t Scratch!

Your body goes through some bizarre and amazing changes. Unfortunately for us pregnant ladies, our skin is stretched like never before, and we end up with stretch marks. Some get them on their chest, thighs but mainly around the belly. But, the worst part is that they begin to itch when you get closer to the end. I want to rip my skin with my nails so much, it’s that bad! But I can’t, because if you scratch, it makes the scarring worse. Then there’s the itches that I can scratch but can’t reach. Yeah I’ve recently gotten a bite on my foot, right near my toes and I can’t get to it! Argh, the torture!

My Aching Body

From about half way through the pregnancy, I felt the aches. My feet would hurt if I walked too much or stood too long. I couldn’t sit down on a chair properly, nor get back up off the chair. I walk like a Penguin, without even realising it. My hips and pelvis are taking a lot pressure, and so in return, they are giving me a lot of pain. I can’t sleep on one side for too long, and getting out of bed takes skill!

People Around You

When everyone hears the news you’re expecting, they are 99% happy for you and excited for you. Family and friends give you support, and check in to see how you’re feeling, which is nice. My work colleagues however go further. With so much love, they point out how much bigger you are this week compared to last. They are the ones who notice you are walking like a Penguin, and they make sure you know they have noticed. Sometimes they will feel they are that close to you, they can reach down and touch your belly. I put a stop to that very early on: “NO TOUCHY!”
They will even go as far as telling you how much bigger you are looking compared to the last time you were pregnant. It’s exactly what us pregnant ladies like to hear of course, and I always reply to my colleagues with a very obviously sarcastic “Thank you!”

When men try and compare the pain of being kicked in the balls and labour pains, they are making a huge mistake even asking. But I’d like to point out that not only would men not be able to handle labour, but they couldn’t handle pregnancy in general. I believe men would cry very early on in the pregnancy, and beg for it to be over before the first trimester. Pregnancy certainly makes you stronger, and probably the main reason why we lose our patience very quickly with our partners. But that’s for another conversation.

I’m very grateful to have gotten pregnant twice, without any problems. With just a few days left to go, I will soon have another beautiful baby boy, who I’m ready to love and smother with hugs and kisses. But I’m also extremely excited to feel like myself again and can’t wait to be energetic, eat what I want again, drink what I want, and see my feet!

“I’m a Damsel. I’m in Distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day!” – Megra

Jamie