A few of my favorite things

I've always hoped to be a glowing pregnant woman. I envisioned myself feeling very earth motherly and maternal and that I would "know" I was pregnant the moment it happened. And, well...that's not quite the case. There's no way I knew I was pregnant. In fact, there were too many times I thought I was pregnant...was convinced and positive I was pregnant and it was probably just gas. And seriously, I'm not much of an earth mother type of gal. But there are definitely some wonderful (and not so wonderful) things about being pregnant.

The Good
* I like seeing my growing belly. I don't feel fat yet, just curvy and pregnant.
* I can't wear pantyhose or spanx. I enjoy showing my bump (what little there is) and heaven forbid I wear something uncomfortable and constricting.
* Extra food! I've never been a huge eater and I've been lucky to not really watch what I eat too much. I've always tried to be conservative in what and how much I ate. But although I'm not "eating for two" like you're not supposed to do anyway, I find myself eating a lot more than normal and actually craving healthy foods. It's a great feeling to crave an apple or a big glass of cold milk. And to feel it's perfectly acceptable that my afternoon snack is an ice cream bar. Yumm.
* Looking at Pete in a new light. Sure, I love my husband but being pregnant and seeing him react to my pregnancy has been a wonderful thing. I see him as my child's father and not just my husband and I like to imagine what our future family will be like.
* Thicker hair. Although it's need of a good style and trim, I am LOVING the thicker hair. There hasn't been much difference in my nails because they were always pretty strong but I like the feel of my hair.
* Prenatal yoga. I love going to this class and even though I've done yoga before I never learned all of the core and breathing basics. I am more in tune with my body now and will hopefully be more prepared for delivery
* Appreciation for coffee. My doctor said from the very beginning that I could have coffee. Unfortunately in the first trimester the smell made me so sick. Now that I don't get sick from the smell and I've been able to have coffee...Ahhhh. Hello, old friend, I've missed you so so much. I was a bad coffee drinker. I took coffee for granted. I will never do that again.
* I have a whole new selection of reading material. Magazines like Parenting and Chicago Baby, etc.
* I have a reason for not lifting or moving anything heavy.
* I can't use really strong cleaners or clean the litter box. "Oh, Pete, can you help your pregnant wife, please?"
* A deadline for getting household projects done. We must get everything done before the baby arrives or it will never get done.
* More energy. I guess comparing my total lack of energy to how I'm feeling now may not be fair. I am not really Super Energy Woman but I feel like it after feeling like I was crawling 75% of the time for the last 2+ months.
* I also have a reason for being moody and bitchy (not like I am ever moody or bitchy but if it should happen, I have my reason). I also have a reason for being overly sarcastic. (not really, that's Ann's fault - not because of the pregnancy)
* My favorite thing about being pregnant is pretty obvious - I'm making a life! This turns us from a couple to a FAMILY.


The Bad
* Acne. I have no pregnancy glow. I have pregnancy zits. All of a sudden I have more acne than when I was 16. It doesn't help that when it started in the first trimester I was also advised (or just paranoid) to use any any strong acne creams or astringents. The second trimester it had gotten slightly better until...
* Congestion. The great combination of fall allergy season plus pregnancy congestion and I now have acne under my raw nose from blowing so much. Higher amounts of estrogen and swollen mucous membranes are the cause of this one.
* Bleeding gums. Should I see a dentist? Yes, although I am dreading it because the end result will be that they will make them bleed more. High levels of progesterone and increased blood supply are to blame for this.
* The unknown. There is so much that will happen or could happen that when I think of the possibilities, I get terrified. This mainly applies to giving birth but hey the unknowns of what to do with the baby after it arrives have me scratching my head as well. I think my new delivery fear is that my uterus will fall out. Argh. That was one of the less than fun moments in my yoga class...my teacher telling us about her friend whose uterus fell out. Really? I know there are other worse things that can happen but this is one that petrifies me. "So I was shopping the other day, I bent down to put some dog food in the cart and my uterus fell out!"
* No sushi. No feta cheese. I can live without the lunch meat (I can always heat it up) but no sushi, feta and no alcohol really sucks.


The Annoying
* The hormones. I dislike crying and I haven't been a raging ball of hormones but I did have a few "episodes" and I wasn't a big fan of them. Put any remotely sad movie on and I'm a goner. P.S. I Love You? Yeah, cried through about 75% of it...the second time I saw it. I haven't cried at commercials yet but give me time.
* If I filled this out a month ago it would be under Bad, but since it's in the past and it doesn't affect me so much, I'm feeling like it's just an annoying memory. I could not stay awake. I love having energy now but the tiredness SUCKED.
* Obviously I'm not big enough for it to happen but if perfect strangers pat my belly, I will be annoyed. Guaranteed.

I'm sure this list will be added to in the coming months. Until then, I will continue to focus on my favorite things about being pregnant and ignore or keep my whining to a minimum about the rest.