Pregnancy 101

34 weeks 3 days and counting... Gosh! I could not believe I made it this far without the symptoms at all.. no nausea, vomiting, weird food cravings, etc. In fact, I was also able to travel to and from Japan three times all alone. Just imagine tagging along my big luggage and handcarried bag. I was also able to work part-time. Lucky me!
Before I knew I was pregnant, I felt fatigued most of the time. I sleep after arriving from work. But the first thing I noticed is that my breasts were sore, somewhat like the symptoms before having my period. So I just let it pass, thinking that my period will just come in the next days. But that symptom does not last long, after 3 days I usually have my period already. It lasted for weeks. But I did not expect anything because I might just end up feeling disappointed. So I traveled home to the Philippines, without knowing I was pregnant. But there was that instinct in me and I just prayed that if ever there is something growing in my womb. Mama Mary, please take care of him/her. Since I just rode the train to the Kansai, Osaka airport.
It was my bestfriend, Amor who insisted that I take the pregnancy test just to be sure I was pregnant or not. So I bought a kit, then took the test early morning when I woke up in order to get the best result. It was 6am then, no excitement whatsoever because I took the test a couple of times already just ending up with disappointment. Then the red lines were showing, 2 lines appeared!! I could not believe it, so I rushed to my mom with the instructions of the kit and all and asked her if it was positive. She was not sure since pregnancy kits were not used during her time. I ran to my sister in law and she confirmed it, yes it was positive. I was speechless! Then I called my hubby who was still sleeping. I told him to turn on Skype, he asked why but I just said i have something to show him. And I broke the news and showed him the kit. Antok pa sya during that time, but when he saw the 2 lines, his eyes got bigger. His first reaction was he was not impotent. Since his cousins were teasing him already. Excited as we were, we already thought of our plans.. After 2 days, when I went to the doctor for confirmation, I was already 7 weeks pregnant. Then the old wives tales kept going on and on. I have heard all the advices and stories from the moms who already experienced it before me.
So remembering the first trimester, I kept sleeping right after eating. Talk about gluttony. I just wanted to sleep and sleep. And since I was in the Philippines for 1 month, I got to eat all the foods i craved for. The frequent trips to the bathroom at the middle of the night was somewhat depriving me of getting uninterrupted sleep. Since my tummy was still small, it felt like I was not pregnant at all.
When I reached my second trimester, the craving for sleep was gone, but I noticed my tummy got bigger each week it was the time I had to sleep at night in one position only, on the left side. The dilemma of clothes that does not already fit came in. Taking a bath was sort of easy, picking up things on the floor was a little bit hard, driving was still easy. Hmm, I remember always craving for ice cream. We also kept reading articles on baby center each time I reach a certain week. And the book my bestfriend gave me, What To Expect When You're Expecting really helped a lot. Then the fight over what to name our baby came along. We even slept 3am already just discussing what names to use. Oh, the fifth month! During my pre-natal visit, the doctor asked us if we wanted to know if we're having a boy or a girl. My hubby asked how many percent was he sure, he answered 80%, it was a big chance already so we agreed to know the gender. We're having a girl! It was also during this time when me and hubby first saw my tummy move. It brought irreplaceable joy and the thought of being a mother and a father soon brought excitement. What kind of parents would we be? And for sure I have to ask my own mother on how to take care of a newborn. It is during this time that I need her most.
Third trimester, as my tummy got bigger and bigger.. picking up things on the floor was a burden, taking a bath and cutting my toe nails was hard since I could not reach my toes I had to ask Mama to cut it for me, driving was still manageable but I could hardly reach the door to close and my parents were telling me not to drive anymore so Papa was my dakilang driver when I had to do errands for ZheZtah. Gosh, nobody told me that sleeping at night was so uneasy since I have to look for a comfortable position wherein she can sleep too. And my tummy was heavy I could only move slowly to avoid hurting her. I could already feel her kick my rib cage. Gosh it kinda hurts. I could also feel her move around. And her hiccups, it is that constant rhythmic movement you can feel on your tummy. Kicking my bladder wants me to pee all the time. I got heavier, my tummy was. And at this point she is about 5 pounds already. Her face is well defined, but we still do not know if he has chinese-looking eyes like her father or big eyes like mine.. Everyone's excited to see her. And with merely 1 month more to go, the big wait seem to be longer.
Pregnancy may be quite hard and delicate but it is the best 9 months a woman can have.. It is a gift, a miracle, a blessing from above. Just imagine that from a tiny cell she was back then, now she is already human-looking, like a little me.. Now it is time to learn how to be a mother.