I really appreciate her honesty. You always hear celebs (and regular moms) gush about how wonderful their pregnancies are, but you rarely hear anyone admit that their pregnancy…sucked.
I dreamed of having an amazing pregnancy. I pictured myself happy and glowing, going to prenatal yoga, eating wonderfully healthy meals, looking fabulous the whole way through. In reality, though, my first pregnancy was absolutely miserable.
I had such severe “morning” sickness throughout with my pregnancy with my son Mason that I was hospitalized twice and only gained seven pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight by the time he was born. Despite treatment, I had to sleep sitting up because of the reflux, which lead to terrible insomina. By the time I hit 20 weeks, I was suffering from brutal anxiety and depression.
I had hoped and wished and prayed for Mason, and halfway through the pregnancy I was so miserable I just wanted it to be over. I felt isolated and alone. What was wrong with me that I was having such a hard time? I was sure that it was a sign that I was going to be a bad mother. If I hated pregnancy this much, how could I possibly be a loving mother?
Once Mason was born, it took a good six months to feel totally normal again. Fortunately I discovered that I loved motherhood (and Mason) more than anything. My nasty pregnancy (and how I felt about it) had nothing to do with my ability to love my son or be a good mom.
While I was pregnant with Mason I swore I never wanted to be pregnant again. But after parenting my amazing boy for three years now, I want nothing more than to have another baby. I’d love to experience the baby years again, and I’d love to give Mason a brother or sister one day. Of course, I hope my second pregnancy isn’t as brutal as the first one, but that’s out of my hands.
Have you ever had a rough pregnancy? How did you cope? Did you get pregnant again, or decide that you were done?
