Pregnancy Chronicles (Part I)

Courtesy of Eclipse Photography by Design (James Williams)

   First Trimester

     I remember seeing pregnant women walking along their merry way while smiling from ear to ear, with their hair blowing in the wind, and a glow on their faces that was contagious.  I would often see them rub their ever expanding baby bellies while gleefully sharing their excitement for their new addition to be. I would see people doting over them as the mommies-to-be relished in their delicate state and I thought that they looked so happy. So when I became pregnant with our sweet Alayna, I just knew in my heart that I would share the same sentiments.  I knew that I would have that special glow that pregnant mommies often have and I would not have any discomforts, especially since I rarely caught a cold.  Just a few shorts days after our positive pregnancy test, the reality of pregnancy came in like a mighty rushing wind.  I would wake up in the morning with an upchuck episode and these episodes kept coming to the point that I would have about five per day. Day after day.  It would happen anywhere in the home, in the car, and at work.  In fact, I missed a lot of work during this time because things were so rough. I started driving hubby's car instead of mine because the smell of my own car sparked an episode.  The smell of grease outside of restaurants would trigger an episode, as did the smell of garlic. Although I was a hungry woman, I couldn't keep anything down and the major source of my nutrition came from the IV fluids they gave me in the emergency room.  I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which is an excess of nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.  By the end of my first trimester, I had lost 20 pounds and it was noticeable.  When people began to notice my slimmer face,  I just passed it off as having been under the weather since I wasn't ready to share the news yet. The thing that really kept me going during this time was seeing our baby moving around during an ultrasound.  Just to see the heartbeat and wiggly legs, I knew that this discomfort was worth it.

Second Trimester

     Around the 13th week, the nausea subsided, but I still had an average of five episodes per day.  I was feeling a bit better and was able to resume my normal work schedule, yet I still had not told many people what was going on especially since I was not showing.  On top of this, Mr. Awesome was deployed, so I was in the battle semi alone.  At this time, we were trying to figure out if we wanted to know the sex of the baby.  I wanted to know but Mr. Awesome sternly claimed that he did not want to know until the birth.  We had many debates over this and it turned out that he was just as excited to find out before the birth, but felt the need to play around with me.  Since he was on deployment, we used Facetime during the appointed time in which we both found out that our baby was a girl.  Thank God for technology.  After the initial shock of finding out that our baby was a girl, I began to buy little outfits and hair bows to get prepared for the mountain of cuteness that was on its way.  It was also during this time that an unfortunate family emergency brought Mr. Awesome home from deployment early.  Even with the emergency, I was glad to have him home to share the rest of the pregnancy with.

Third Trimester

      As they say, the third trimester is tough.  Space was getting tight, my hips were taking a beating, and this is when the waddle became real.  This was also when people really knew for certain that I was pregnant without wondering if my belly was just flabby. Yes, baby girl was showing.  Finally, I did have a glow as I was anticipating the arrival of our little one.  However, that glow did not show the inner readiness to feel like a normal person again.  The glow did not show the desire to have  my energy back.  The glow definitely did not show the lack of sleep that I was getting, because I had to sit up most nights to be comfortable.  The glow did not show the effect of the summer heat on a pregnant body and my relief with a cup of ice and Coca Cola.  I never liked Coke until I was pregnant.  But, with all of the discomforts of the third trimester, I was so ready and excited to meet our baby girl................. Then one morning, labor started . . .  . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .