First Trimester Blues

How does the confirmation of pregnancy change how it feels in my body? During the first eight weeks, I had little indication of my pregnancy. Some tiredness, some aching in my breast and stomach, as though I had cramps, yet nothing extreme as other women had mentioned (the dreaded morning sickness).

A day after my OB confirmed my pregnancy and administered the first ultrasound, I started developing nausea.

This is how I imagined it --

Body to brain, "So, now you know?"
Brain, "Yes. We're very excited. Can't you tell?"
Body, "Oh yeah. There's a lot we're feeling. Now you will to. Hahahahaha (evil laugh)."

The nausea was crippling. Barely able to function, I missed work and had to tell my supervisors before I was ready to tell my family. By the time of my second OB appointment, I had tried every home remedy, including ginger, crackers, seabands, peppermint, and meditation.

This is how I felt.  Photo credit: www.slschofield.com.

My OB prescribed me anti-nausea medication, so I could function again. Prior to my pregnancy, my OB was just OK. Post-pregnancy, she was glowing.

I was glad one of us was.

"I love babies," she said. "After 10 years of doing this, I still love bringing babies into the world." Well, that's great. I would hate if my OB despised her job. I've found OBs to be the nosiest doctors. That's not a complaint. Over the years, they've been the only ones who have asked me about my stress levels in addition to my sex life. Pregnancy was no different.

She wanted a lot of details about my partner, which made me worry about how comfortable it would be to be a teen mom or an unwed mother. After being ill, being depressed and moody, and being scared as a result of the pregnancy, I have a lot of respect for women who are pregnant and parent on their own.