Every pregnancy, I’ve learned something. The first time around was my introduction to round ligament pains and not being able to get out of bed without rolling off. I learned the that taking metformin all the way up to the 20 week mark causes weeks of roller coaster sugar imbalance. And of course, there was the inherent beauty in feeling the baby move. And the not-so-beautiful moment when I stepped on the scales and discovered that I weighed more than my husband.
The second time around, I learned the joys of butt shots. Christian was really good; I’m convinced I could never stick someone with a needle, but he has managed my progesterone injections for two pregnancies now. After two weeks, my hips were beet red and very itchy. I got itchy in the second trimester, too, except this time it was all over my body. When I told the doctor, he had me stop using scented body soap. Who’d’a thunk it?
So by this time around, I ought to know it all, but here comes the cliché: every pregnancy is different. This time around, the round ligament pains are sharper, and they last much longer. Last night they woke me up twice, and I wasn’t even moving. Baby was moving, though, and that was enough to set them off.
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at the computer after dinner when there was a sudden horrible pain in my front, as if my belly button was about to split right in two. I laid down on the floor, but it didn’t help. Alex was leaning over me asking who knows what—how do we build carpet, no doubt—and I was wincing and whispering, “I can’t talk to you right now, Alex,” as the blood drained out of Christian’s face. Of course, out of pain, out of mind; I forgot all about calling the doctor, so it was only a week ago, when I went for my checkup, that I remembered to ask. Dr. Dixon poked, prodded, and had me raise my legs—which is ridiculously hard, even at 24 weeks—and then told me I have a hernia.
Another plus in the planned C-section column. As much as I wanted to have drug-free, intervention-free births, now that my body and my children have betrayed me into surgical births, I’m perfectly happy to continue as I have begun. It’s easier to plan the trip to St. Louis; it’s easier for Christian to be ready to leave work for a week; it’s easier to plan child care. And this time, I get to have my hernia fixed without extra surgery (not to mention extra deductibles and copays!).
Now, before I scare everyone reading this out of ever having a baby, I must add: Even round ligament pains only last two or three minutes, and sometimes I go several days with none at all, especially now that I’m paying attention to my posture. In the grand scheme of things, having the flu is much worse. And think of those warm, soft baby cheeks! Those little sighs of contentment at the end of nursing. Smiles and giggles and triumph and oh, so much beauty and unconditional love. Oh, yes, it’s worth it.
It’s harder to focus on pregnancy the third time around. Alex and Julianna (and writing, and keeping up with housework) occupy too much of my attention. Yet sometimes new awareness creeps in. Lately I’ve been aware that sometimes baby “kicks” actually feel like Baby “pulls.” As if my skin is withdrawing instead of expanding with the movement. I’m not sure how that works, unless S/He is hooking a little arm or leg around an organ and tugging. Seems like that would be hard, when S/He is enclosed in a bag of muscles. But it’s fun, when I have a few moments, to try to guess what part of Baby’s body I am feeling.
The time till March seems interminably long. Can I just skip the third trimester?
Kathleen M. Basi 