The Young & the Pregnant, Week 10: Pregnancy Information Overload
If the last few weeks have been about adjusting to pregnancy, this week was about cramming pregnancy information into my brain. It started with an innocent run to Barnes & Nobel. I was going to pick up the book with the most pregnancy information and a prenatal workout DVD (because if my stomach is going to expand to massive proportions, I might as well have a nice butt). I walk into the bookstore and prepare to go straight for the Family and Childcare section. Unfortunately, the in-store Starbucks is on the way to that particular section and Baby wants green tea. And who am I to deny my unborn child something they’re hungry for? Naturally, on my way to said Starbucks, I run into my ob-gyn nurse (who happens to be six months pregnant herself). “I’m here to buy pregnancy books!” I tell her excitedly because I’m just oh-so proud of myself. “Oh really?” She replies. “Well I read some really good books…” And the frenzy begins. I leave Barnes & Nobel with two books (only because my ob-gyn promised to give me a third at my next office visit), one DVD, and a very pronounced need to pee thanks to the tea and the fact that my expanding uterus is squishing my tiny bladder. I get home, get comfy on the couch and start reading. And reading. And reading some more. I have a “technical” books that goes week by week and gives you every ounce of information you every wanted to know about pregnancy, called Your Pregnancy Week by Week, 6th Edition by Glade B. Curtis and Judith Schuler. I love this book. It shows you drawings of what the baby looks like in your tummy at every week. Each week of pregnancy is its own chapter and is broken down into the respective sections: the size of your baby, the size of you, how your baby is developing, changes in the mom, how your actions affect your baby’s development, your nutrition, and extra info you should know. It goes over everything from strange diseases your baby could contract in-utero to the top foods that pregnancy women crave. It even gives you different exercises to try out for every different week. It’s the Bible. The other book is called A Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. I mainly like this one because it’s funny. Don’t get me wrong…it is also very informative. It talks about pregnancy in a humorous, “yes, you can laugh at all of the inconveniences you have to encounter during pregnancy” way. I learn stuff without even realizing it because I’m laughing so hard. It’s the book I read when I need a break from technical terms and just want a smile. The workout DVD was a whole other adventure. I had one of my close friends from my “support group” (a group of exactly three friends who are aware of my current state) come over to experiment with me. We’ll call her Baby Lover. We had no sooner turned the DVD on when we’re kicking and stretching and waving our arms around like idiots. Baby Lover even stuffed her t-shirt with a giant pillow to try to fit in (even though I’m not showing yet). Then she proceeded to exaggerate every single exercise the DVD ladies told us to do. By the end, we were laughing too hard to finish the whole thing. But don’t underestimate the DVD simply because we looked like total dorks attempting to copy the women on the screen - I have never been sorer in my life. To be honest, we crapped out about half way through the video that night. But being the determined woman I am, I went back the next day and did the entire hour long exercise full out. That was Monday. I was still having trouble walking on Wednesday. So beware. But if you’re pregnant, buy it anyway. With that workout, I have no doubt that my derriere will look fantastic this summer. My thighs may hate me now, but they’ll love me in a few months. Since then, bubble baths have become my new best friend and I expect we’ll remain very close in the coming months. A few candles, some hot water, Warm Vanilla Bubble Bath gel, A Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy and it’s like heaven in a bathroom. I’m addicted. The good books, funny friends and relaxing and almost orgasmic bubble baths have done a good job of distracting me from issues with the baby’s father…Fertile Fred (And no, Fred is not his real name, but it is for the sake of this column). The shock of the news had not, apparently, worn off for him. While some of us (or rather, me) had accepted the situation, told intimate family and friends to gain a support network, and started to be proactive and study up on the whole thing, he was in the middle of a full scale panic attack. He became concerned with his future and I heard it all - his future was ruined, he wouldn’t be able to go to college where he wanted to, his family would hate him, he would get kicked out of the house, he woke up miserable every day, all of my friends hated him, everyone hated him…you would think it was the Apocalypse, not a pregnancy. And I, being the indignant and not-so-patient person that I am, was angry. I was the one carrying the baby. I was the one everyone was going to see and judge in a few months (our town is very small…of course). I had to change my eating habits and read the books and eventually give birth. There’s a diagram in the Week by Week pregnancy book that shows how big it will get down there, and Chicks, it’s not pretty. And did he ever once ask me how I was or how I was feeling or what I was thinking about everything? Not once. I fumed over this for a few days. And I mean fumed. I’m pretty sure smoke was coming out of my ears. He was in a self-induced state of panic, only residing there because he refused to be positive about anything, and here I am, literally taking the brunt of everything that has to do with this pregnancy and he doesn’t even ask, “How’s life?” Don’t think so. He and my dad set up and appointment to meet. My father had been in a similar position early in life and certainly had some good advice to give. Not to mention he could vouch for the fact that hey, maybe she needs some support since SHE is the pregnant one. I’m hoping Fertile Fred connects with that particular info. I think he will. He’s generally a sweetheart. Generally. I will have my first official prenatal visit today, but I went in on the 6th to talk insurance and family history, and have some blood drawn…fun, fun. It was about as thrilling as it sounds. The best thing I got out of it was that with our awesome insurance coverage we won’t be paying much at all. Thank you God. The appointment today should be much more interesting, and not just because I plan on asking about Kegels and crabbing about my super sore breasts. Until next week… Lil’ Mama is 18 years old and unexpectedly pregnant. This week she is craving cucumbers, strangely attached to her fat orange tabby cat, and cries every time a Hallmark commercial comes on. She’s hoping to get over that soon. Editor’s note: The Young and the Pregnant is a new series for ChickSpeak. Follow Lil’ Mama as she discusses the ups and downs of being an 18-year-old expecting mother. Her articles will come out every Monday, as a new week of her pregnancy begins.
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