Babies have always fascinated me but
I never bothered with the intricacies of how they come into this world 😊. Indian movies had taught me
well. You vomit once, then nine months later you scream once in the hospital
and you have a beautiful baby. Or so I thought when I was naive. Turns out
there is a whole lot more to pregnancy than they tell you. Some weird and some
wonderful aspects. I will take this by trimester and then postpartum.
As soon as you let people know you
are expecting a baby the unwanted advice floods in. Everyone and their uncle
wants to share their experiences or give you tips. And yet people forget to
tell you many things. So here is some info from a new mom..
The movies have got it right about
how it starts. Nausea! Morning sickness, as it is often called. Don't let the
name fool you though. It can happen at any time of the day. Trust me, I had to
puke in the middle of a job interview. No wonder I didn't get the job :P .
Certain body parts get big. I already knew
this thanks to reruns of How I met your mother. What I didn't know was that
they hurt like hell. Since you are making a little human inside you, everything
is moving aside and making way for the little one. So, everything hurts.
You have to give up not just alcohol
and tobacco,but coffee, colas, some kinds of fish and cheese. If you end up
having Gestational diabetes like me, you have to give up sugars and
carbohydrates too. Yeah! That was fun. More on that in the third trimester.
You get TIRED! The word is
capitalized for a reason. I was so tired, I thought there was something wrong
with me. There is a possibility that the men in your life and the women who
haven't been pregnant would think you are faking it. They know squat. Ignore
them , go ahead and rest. Just because it's the first trimester does not mean
your body isn't working hard.
This might come as a shock to my
Indian friends who are absolutely pampered, but you are allowed to exercise.
Prenatal yoga and aerobics make you feel great. My midwife said I could even
lift weights. I didn't think I had it in me so I never tried. However always
check with your doctor before starting any exercise regimen.
Contrary to popular belief, you will not want to eat. Yeah
cravings happen, but they come into the picture much later. For the first
trimester all the nausea might make you swear off food. In fact, you might even
lose weight. Nothing to worry about. It won't affect your baby.
Your nose works double shift. You can
smell anything from anywhere. And you develop an aversion towards certain
smells. Also your nose starts to swell. Wonderful! They say it goes away once
the baby is born. I'm still waiting five weeks postpartum.
Another thing that the movies have
got right is dizziness. This is rare but might happen due to exhaustion or low
hemoglobin levels. So don't exert yourself when alone.
My favorite part, emotions. The
pregnancy hormones make you unbelievably emotional. So if you feel like crying,
get it out. You can laugh about the reasons that made you cry later. I remember
crying because we ran out of potatoes when I really wanted to cook. I sobbed my
heart out for a few minutes then walked
out to tell the husband and we shared a
good laugh.
Your bodily functions get messed up
big time. The internet is full of symptoms if you look. So I won't waste space
on that.
I also have to stress that not
everyone has all the symptoms. Some people are lucky to have no symptoms at all
while some have all of them. Also don't let people share their birth
experiences with you already. You don't need that pressure this early. Learn to
take things one at a time
