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You’re a Hypocondriac or My Pregnancy Test Story

I don’t know about you but I have been seeing a lot of pregnant people, and I have about four pregnant friends this year! It is funny because although I am not part of their club anymore, I feel very close to them. I still feel pregnant in some ways…my baby is a big girl now but it seems to me like I gave birth yesterday.

I remember last year in February, I was working at a nursery school and I thought I had a stomach bug or something more serious. I phoned my mother and said: “Mum, I am either pregnant or deadly sick!” I waited for another two weeks and bought a pregnancy test, the Clearblue brand as I didn’t think I could handle the lines and needed a response right away. I remember getting it in the store while running errands with my husband, and not mentioning anything to him. Unfortunately, the cashier wasn’t very delicate and almost threw the test at him!He said I was a hypocondriac!

I took the test that night to find out one second later (and not in just two minutes) that I was pregnant 3+ weeks! I was in shock! We wanted this baby very much but I never thought it’d work so well, the first time! I stayed right there, without moving, staring at it, with a racing mind, and a hand over my mouth…I put myself together and called my husband who was sitting in the living room, and showed him the test without a word! He lifted his arms up in the air, happy, excited and waited for me to say something.

We talked, and dreamed about this little human being we were soon to be parenting and fell asleep happy. I did another test in the morning before going to work, just to make sure. I was extremely nervous about the results this time as the idea of a baby-us was already so real to us. Again, First Response said “yes”.

I started feeling dizzy and nauseous that day. My husband brought me vitamins and What To Expect When You’Re Expecting after work. I thought it was a very thoughtful, love-ful shall I say, attention. The following day, I threw up for the first time, almost happy, as if getting sick was a proof of my pregnancy. To think it lasted 9 months!

I love reminiscing about that day who changed everything. I love to think about how little Sixtine was at that time and how excited we were, keeping this little secret of ours.

I would absolutely love for you to share your “I am pregnant!” stories with me!

10 things I do NOT miss about being pregnant

1. Severe Morning Sickness. 24/7. It was the worst about it. I was sick as a dog the first 5 months and sick until delivery. I didn’t think I would make it to the end. I had to stop working right away as I would throw up more than 7 times a day. I couldn’t sleep, and would even get sick on water. I lost a lot of weight but regained it slowly. I went through two different buckets, that would follow me everywhere in the house. When I had the baby I told my husband I didn’t want it to be anywhere near me so he would have to get rid of it before I come home.
2. Starving. I felt extremely weak if I didn’t have a little something in my stomach. In fact, if I was hungry, I would get sick. So I had to eat. And when you are weak, tired, and sick, you don’t want to fix yourself a snack, let alone cook. I went through a lot of craving phases (orange juice, watermelon, celeri, vegetarian sushis, chinese noodles, rice, purees,…).
3. Take good care of myself. Don’t get me wrong. What I mean, is, drinking a lot, taking prenatal vitamins, eating more vegetables, (…) felt like hard work. I did it for my baby but it wasn’t always easy.
4. Lower Back Pain. I used everything to get some kind of relief: maternity belt, heating bottle, massages from my husband, and still, it was really painful. Especially towards the end !
5. Lack Of Sleep. I couldn’t sleep because of severe acid reflux and sickness. I slept on the couch pretty much 5 months out of 9 during my pregnancy. I don’t know what it was but I slept better there. Until it didn’t do anything for me anymore. My husband would sometimes stay in the living room with me to keep me company. Such a sweetheart ! Since I had to sleep in an upright position, I would prop myself up in what my husband would call a “nest” with my body pillow, and a couple more propping items. We shared the same bed but there was a mountain between us.
6. Excessive Salivation. I thought I’d use some kind of “medical-sounding” term to spare you the horror parts ! But really, the first 4 months, I had to spit up constantly. It was socially-handicapping (how would you feel if you needed to keep a plastic bag with you at all times so you could spit up.) I became a complete hermit. LUCKILY, it stopped after four months. Hallelujah.
7. Needing to pee constantly – including nights.
8. Prenatal care stress. Although I feel very lucky to live in a country where prenatal care is taken seriously, I found it very stressful to get needles and tests done during 9 months. First fetal hearbeats, ultrasounds and maternal serum tests were also very stressful. I am so blessed to have a healthy baby girl.
9. Being uncomfortable in my body. The waddling, not being to tie my shoes or put nail polish on my toes, being exhausted all the time, taking forever to walk a flight of stairs…
10. Being on bed rest. Depressing. And postpartum pains. I had an episiotomy. Sorry, TMI.

That being said, I feel extremely blessed to have had a regular, healthy pregnancy (despite the severe sickness) and healthy baby girl. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My husband was so supportive of me – I honestly don’t know what I would have done without his help.

If you would like to read “the 10 things I miss about pregnancy”, click here.

How about you? Anything you don’t miss about pregnancy you would like to share?

10 Things I Miss about Pregnancy

…and I never thought I would ever miss being pregnant!

1. I miss feeling my body change and grow with baby.
2. I miss the extra attention and protection I received from my husband, family, friends and even strangers. I felt very special.
3. I miss the special bond I had with my baby.
4. I miss the respect I had for my body (eating healthy, resting, taking vitamins…)
5. I miss feeling her move inside me and above all, I miss her hiccups !
6. I miss the expression on my husband’s face when he would feel the baby move and how he would rub my belly.
7. I miss the excitement for her arrival.
8. I miss the sense of pride about it.
9. I miss my thick shiny long hair.
10. And finally, I miss my big round belly.

There will be a 10 things I don’t miss about being pregnant at a later date.

How about you? Do you miss at all being pregnant, and if so, what do you miss about it?