Isn’t the beginning of pregnancy funny? You feel like your stomach is growing right away. It certainly feels different. Regardless, you know that everyone else sees a typical figure; and unless you’re a celebrity, they’ll suspect bloat or a big lunch before they ever suspect a baby. It’s hard to look halfway: to be too big for your normal clothes and not quite big enough for your maternity wardrobe. I was seventeen weeks along before the mailman who delivered to my office each morning finally felt comfortable extending his congratulations. Apparently he had congratulated a new mom on her pregnancy and would never make that mistake again. I couldn’t believe he waited so long, though, since by the time I was seventeen weeks, I already looked like I had stuffed a volleyball under my shirt. Then there is the ironic combination of sheer excitement and horrible sickness (unless you are one of the lucky few to skip morning sickness). More than once I have heard a mom-to-be express guilt over being miserable during one of the happiest times of her life. If you are one of those moms, don’t feel guilty. You don’t have to love pregnancy to love your baby.
I think the hardest part for me was all the waiting: waiting to actually look pregnant, waiting to find out the gender, waiting to tour the hospital and take childbirth classes, waiting to have maternity pictures taken, and so many other happy milestones. The waiting game never ends in pregnancy, does it. Even in those final hours, we are all just desperately waiting to meet the precious child we have cradled within us for nine long months. Oh, is it ever worth it! That first moment when you gaze upon your child; it takes your breath away. In fact, that moment alone makes every negative aspect of pregnancy worth it.
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