Good intentions

There are certain things that, although they are said in a loving tone with all the best intention in the world, I simply don't want to hear as a pregnant woman. I don't mean to offend if you have been the sayer of such things, but this is my blog and I can cry if I want to. Which I probably will, if that dang Pampers commercial comes on again.

"Sleep while you can!"

I do. A lot. And it doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm tired all the time. Exhausted. Also, it's getting harder and harder to get decent rest because of the leg cramps and the acid reflux and the need for five pillows to maybe get halfway comfortable. Also, getting kicked from the inside anytime I lay down tends to mess with things too. But I'm sure trying.

(usually following a preggo complaint) "Already? It's too early to be feeling that way!"

I wish there was somewhere I could check in so I know when I have to right to complain about something, whether it's discomfort or impatience.

"If you think it's hard now, just wait til you have the baby!"

This is like the least encouraging comment ever. I'm already exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable. I know motherhood is going to be challenging, but I'm eight months into the biggest challenge I've ever experienced and now is not the time I want to be thinking about how horribly difficult the next 18 years will be if the last eight months were a relative walk in the park. Even if it is.

"I just LOVED being pregnant- it's such a miracle."

If you are a woman who has loved being pregnant, I am genuinely happy for you. A wee bit jealous, but happy. It took me a really long time to overcome the guilt I felt for not loving being pregnant. I tried really hard. But in the end I decided that how I felt about my pregnancy is not how I feel about my baby and that's good enough for me.

"It goes by so fast! Enjoy every moment!"

Every. Moment. Every moment? Here's a little summarized version of my pregnancy so far, which further explains my last response and why I have most certainly not enjoyed every moment. I spent most of the first five months so nauseous I pretty much wanted to die. Before I was given a miracle drug to stop the constant vomiting I lost ten pounds in a week and visited the emergency room twice. I was not enjoying every moment. Managed to get the puking under control after that with the aforementioned medical intervention but still felt really horrible. The couple months after that I had virtually every pregnancy discomfort which I won't go into. And then I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Hooray for me.

Here's the optimism part of this post! It certainly hasn't been all bad. Pregnancy is not without its perks, and I have enjoyed some things about it. People are very helpful, and I haven't had to lift anything heavy in a while. I'm a walking conversation piece. Strangers pay me compliments. I don't have to worry about sucking it in when a picture is taken. And nesting is the best thing to happen to my house since ever.

I just have to get through one more month of no creepy belly touching and I'll be good to go.