You’ve got to love the way literature makes pregnancy sound so incredibly romantic.
Take babycenter.com for example. I love this site, really I do, but I’m sorry, no matter how you paint it, there is nothing desirable about that dark line running from your belly button to your pubic bone (referred to medically as the “dark line”). Even the name is horrible. Why can’t they call it something more appealing, like really ugly line. That would be better.
Or how about all their awesome heartburn advice, like avoiding chocolate, carbonation, orange juice, fatty, fried foods, and anything else that might taste even remotely appetizing to a depressed middle-aged mama who’s quickly losing her waistline (please do not connect the dots with the loss of waist line and my diet, thank you very much).
The thing is, I can’t help feeling all the time like this is it, I am never going to do this again. My ticket to eat like a reckless truck driver at a carnival is going to be short lived, especially now that the heartburn is starting to kick into high gear. I’m 19 weeks, and in no time flat this kid is going to crowd my stomach out of any enjoyment. I’ll be down to tablespoon portions just so I can sleep at night. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we start on heartburn management.
But even with everything I know about motherhood, all the crap and the sleep deprivation and the stretch marks and the loss of breast tissue (yes, it happens), not to mention the stuffed up nose, migraine’s, and regular vertigo (probably off kilter from all the rapid weight gain), I still sit on the couch by myself before bed every night, and wonder at the wonder of this little angel coming into our life. I’m amazed that there’s already so much room in my heart for another needy little ameba.
No doubt this will all be worth it by the time It’s 18 and moving out of the house. Until then, you’re probably going to listen to me whine about this one. A lot.
It makes me really depressed to know that I have the stretchmarks and loss of breast tissue, withoutever having given birth.
With pregnancy comes the right to whine, thats my philosophy anyway. Lol!
I have an 18 day old little bundle of joy and I cried, whined and complained the entire time I was pregnant. He’s my second and my last. My DH says HE can’t handle another pregnancy because I’m so miserable and whiny. It must be so rough to be a man! LOL!
You know what’s cool about the 4th? You enjoy everything so much more (I am thinking up to the terrible two’s anyway), at least that’s what I am finding so far. I must admit I didn’t enjoy the pregnancy. Not. At. All. But babies, ooooo-ooo I love me a newborn with a squishy face. I think I also realized at how much of a miracle life really is.
The dark line, heart burn, stretch marks, the “girls” who seem to take on a life of their own, and don’t forget “pregnancy mask” which I have gotten with the last two kids… it all helps me not feel so crappy after I give birth. The way I see it, I may still have 5 lbs to go, and the stretch marks are still pink…but it could be worse. I could be preggers, but I am not. I have a baby. π
My pretty linea negra still hasn’t disappeared and Spencer is 3 1/2 months old. Well, neither have the last 10-15 pounds. I’m sure they’ll all disappear soon (without me having to stop pigging out on cookies and brownies on a daily basis). But hey, I haven’t had heartburn for MONTHS. Heaven, I tell you.
Whine all you want! I think the more pregnancies you have, the harder they get! Your body is like FREAKING STOP ALREADY!! π Atleast thats what mine is saying to me, and I’m feeling pretty miserable.
Another post to make me glad I’m not pregnant.
I felt kinda the same this last time. I felt like I had wanted this child for so long that I didn’t deserve to complain. Or rather, didn’t want to. I didn’t mind all the pregnancy yuckiness because I was getting my little girl. Though to be fair, my pregnancy yuckiness was incredibly mild. I puked more on her birthday than throughout the entire pregnancy. I had heartburn, but never bad enough to pop a tums.
On second thought, I probably don’t need to be sharing all this. May look like gloating.
Anyway………heartburn sucks. Babies rock.
I hate that ugly dark line. And the heartburn. I’m right behind you at 12 weeks. This is kid #4 for us, so we have one more to go after this. One more round of heartburn, nausea, feeling like I have nothing to wear to Church but a potato sack and flip flops (cause my feet get too fat for regular shoes), and watching my skin breakout in zits and a weird red rash on my chin.
I’ll be in Provo in a couple weeks, we should eat food together and let our kids play.
You name the time and place, and we’ll do lunch. And yes, I forgot to mention to joys of pregnant acne.
I think it’s great that you are pregnant. And if we have to deal with all that stuff and nonsense, at least we get a baby out of it, right? Sorry you’re feeling cruddy, though. No one enjoys that!
If it helps at all and you can stomach it – I use a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water and it helps when I have heartburn….or indigestion. Good job a cute baby “slips” outta there or we’d all be up a creek.
Annie-
I know you from Jessica McFarland. I love your blog, and by the way I’m going to be your BFF in about 2 seconds….. The trick for Heartburn, even Pregnancy heartburn believe it or not………….. Vinegar. WHAT? I know, Vinegar. You can buy vinegar pills even apple cider vinegar pills at the Health Food Store. They work wonders! It may take 6 pills, but they are amazing!It’s just vinegar, so it doesn’t matter how much you take.I was 8 months pregnant on a Disney Cruise and talk about a trucker at a Carnival, I ate my heart out. My Saver… Vinegar. Try it, you wont be dissapointed. I downed them about 1/2 hour before I ate, and they worked. Good luck, keep blogging, you make me feel like I’m not the only crazy one. lol
I hated the heartburn but I loved the amoeba. =]
“The thing is, I canβt help feeling all the time like this is it, I am never going to do this again.”
AMEN.
I keep forgetting you’re pregnant!
The last one was the hardest for me, I am with whoever said the pregnancies just keep getting harder. I totally agree. Felt totally 30 weeks preggo when I was about 20 weeks and wondered how in the heck I would ever endure.
Can’t wait to see you during the summer. I was the one about to pop at the family reunion last year…now it’ll be your turn!
Oh, I never tried apple cider vinegar for heartburn, but highly recommend using it on a daily basis due to all of it’s nautrally healing qualites. Good luck.
Seriously? Cry me a river. My heart’s a breakin’. C’mon Annie. You just saw M.B. — it’s going to be okay.
Good luck with the heartburn. I hated that. Do Tums work for you?