Nothing gives you a reality check than being pregnant. Yes, I said it! Yes, I am almost 5 months pregnant , and life is peachy.
Being pregnant has been a journey that is so different to anything that I have experienced. It is as if God is so much there, and you are so much aware of His presence.
The best thing about pregnancy is really falling in love with the little one. No one knows how powerful that love is. I have to say, NOW I know what my mom's love feels like towards me. Every change, every moment alarms you in such away that you end up being stressed 24/7 about this little one.
The best thing about my little one is that he/she pretty much wakes up when I wake. Whenever I take a small rest between classes, she always gives me a slight kick to say "Good job mom. Teach these kids a lesson." So, being an expecting mom has so much emotional impact on the way you perceive life, live life, and understanding life.
Even though pregnancy is the most phenomenal thing that can happen to a woman, it can also be the hardest thing to digest. If pregnancy was a walk in a park, I am sure all women would like to pregnant every day all day. However, life isn't as simple as that. People often expect pregnant women to be wide eyed happy about every single day in their lives. People think we go to bed besides ourselves happy and wake freaking excited about everything!!! YEAAHH!! Not so much. The worst, is when we don't seem so over excited about things, people start to think that we are either very regretful or blame the child. God forbid!!
Let me just give a taste of what goes on in a pregnant woman's daily life.
First few weeks when she found she was pregnant she was probably so scared that she ended up crying alone in the bathroom. You didn't even notice that.
There was no break between understanding what just happened and the sudden rush of hormones that completely took over her life. You didn't even notice that too.
She feels sick every morning. The sickness gets so bad that she eventually gets use to it. She tries to snack on things to keep the nausea down. Not once did she blame the baby or God on that. You didn't even notice.
Her footsteps are more careful. She starts to think differently, it is not just about her anymore. So she doesn't take the short cuts in life anymore. She doesn't walk on wet floors in case she slips, she checks out the traffic thoroughly before crossing the streets. You still didn't notice.
Even though she is going through the sickness and not being able to keep food down, she worries for her little one, she wants to get all the nutrients in her body for the sake of the child. She moves away from those that smoke around her, she actually ends up shouting at the smokers. How dare they!! You still didn't notice.
She still behaves like a professional woman. Regardless of the sickness, the back ache, the swollen feet, the head aches, the bleeding nose, the rapid weight gain, she STILL gets up and goes to work. At work she literally keeps her hormones down so that she doesn't shoot people. She works a full day, goes home and cooks, washes things, cares for the ones around her. You didn't bother to notice.
She goes to work even though her status is ranked so high by God where she doesn't have to carry such a burden on her, where paradise is at her feet. Yet, she still does her duty, helping those around her.
She looks at herself in the mirrors, she looks at he bump and is overwhelmed with joy, at the same time she bursts into tears as her body is transforming into something that she isn't use to. She sucks it up when people comment on her weight gain, when people call her too big for the month or when people make her feel larger than life. You still didn't notice.
She sacrifices her wants, puts her ambitions on hold for the sake of the child. Everything that she pursues change direction as she includes her little one in everything that she plans. You still didn't notice.
So a pregnant woman goes through a lot, puts up with a lot and has to deal with a lot. Yet, you didn't notice any of the hardship she endures. Image you having a gas problem, urine problem, headache, stretching joints, aching feet and heartburn all at the same time, I don't think you would be happy all the time. There is this illusion that pregnancy is full of pink and beautiful colors Yes, part of it is beautiful but there is a great part where it is not so beautiful. The best you can do is to make her feel good, to make her feel that she is not going through it all alone.
So when you do see a cranky pregnant woman, try to be understanding. Who knows the baby could be sitting on her bladder and all she wants is just some relief.
