Pregnancy: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Found a post I started not long before Luke arrived, so I thought I'd finish it up and share:

The Good

Yes, as much as I have whined and complained, there have been several good things about being pregnant besides the obvious reward I will receive at the end.

No Depression.

This has been the best benefit of pregnancy. It has been years since I have been completely depression- and anxiety-free. It has been absolutely wonderful. I wish this side effect of pregnancy would stick around indefinitely.  I feel like a whole person again.


Beauty.

Great skin and hair for months and loads of complements on how great I look. Regardless of whether the complements were completely genuine or just nice words to make this pregnant lady feel good, I have felt more beautiful than ever. I have been glowing inside and out. Thanks to the extra estrogen I've also been feeling more girly and spending more time on my makeup (actually wearing some most days) and wearing jewelry and making more of an effort with my wardrobe.


Food.

Eating richer foods without the guilt and calorie counting...priceless :) I actually did make an effort not to overdo it in this department, but here at the end I'm eating whatever I want. My appetite has actually slowed down here lately, so I make the most of my meals when I eat them and have to make myself eat some snacks during the day even though I may not feel hungry. I can eat a really large meal and not feel miserably full for long because little bit seems to drain the food (along with all of the nutrients like iron) right out of me. To date, I think I have gained about 40 pounds, but I'm not stressing about it, because like I mentioned above, I feel beautiful. Hoping I am able to breastfeed so the weight will come off quicker and I can continue with the nice guilt-free eating for several more months.

I have to say that I love my baby bump (a very large bump these days). It sure beats the rolls of fat that caused my stomach to poke out before getting pregnant. I have displayed my bump with pride during my whole pregnancy.

The Bad

Uncomfortable.

The closer to Luke's due date I get and the larger I get, the more uncomfortable I become. I usually fall asleep on my stomach, but that has been a no-no for some time now. I have tried propping up pillows and even bought a special body pillow, but nothing seems to work. I waddle around uncomfortably and can't seem to get comfortable even sitting now. I can still manage to hoist my feet up on the bathroom counter to paint my toenails, though.  The kicking Luke is doing in there is quite painful at times too. And the indigestion has settled in recently. At least I didn't deal with that the whole time.

Worry.

I worry quite a lot. I worry about the baby, and I worry about me.  I worry about labor and delivery, and I worry about what to do with this baby when I bring him home with me. I guess something would be wrong if I wasn't worried.

The Ugly

The. "Morning." Sickness. More like twenty-four hour sickness.  Ugh, I hate feeling nauseated. Mine lasted a little into my second trimester.  I actually did not vomit that many times, but the constant feelings that I needed to were awful. I think I could have handled the nausea a little better if I had not also been so dizzy and out of sorts due to the withdrawals I was having from my depression medicine.  I slowly weaned off of them months before trying to conceive, but the withdrawals lasted for about eight months and made my life terrible.

So, my pregnancy was rather good to me.