The Miracle of Life

A lot of parents say they can hardly remember their life before their child was born.

Well, I can hardly remember my life before I was pregnant. It's only week nine but no matter where I turn, it seems everything is about babies, pregnancy, labour, parenthood.

We tested at home on October 23rd at 10pm and as the stick showed the unmistaken 'pregnant' symbol, we stood in the bathroom in disbelief and relief. I was not surprised I was pregnant, just surprised it all happened so fast. And yes, there was a bit of mild panic mixed in there somewhere. I mean, this is something that can't be reversed or erased. Right?

I have the best support system right now from a very caring and sympathetic husband (he's so good he even snacks and naps with me) to the bunch of women (all moms and some even grandmas!) at work. Working in an environment that is surrounded with young children, babies and new parents, I am constantly bombarded by the goodwill of people, their sound advice and their generous gifts and encouragement.

'Morning sickness' is a misleading condition. It is fact that it not only strikes in the morning, so why continue calling it 'morning sickness'? These past few days, the nausea and sickness has struck me hard. At first it was mainly the incredible bouts of fatigue I would get and I thought that was bad enough - I have never been as inactive in my life as I am now!

But since the gag reflex in me is showing its strength in leaps and bounds, I have had absolutely no desire to do anything except lie in a horizontal position and rest my body. If I could put the world on 'pause' i could sleep for a hundred years, I'm sure of it.

But I am told this too shall pass. But first it gets worse before it gets better. I have within arms-reach at all times, a box of Ritz crackers, the sodium-reduced kind so it's a bit better. At any slight notice of dizziness or nausea, I pop one of them in my mouth and the feeling subsides.

Still, I make time in my day for at least one, if not more, naps. And by naps I mean a nice long relaxing sleep that can last from half an hour to several hours. There is no shame in how lazy I've become.

Despite the physical maladies, I am in an increasing feeling of awe and admiration for my body who seems to know what to do, without any direction or urging from me. And the thought that a little person is growing inside of me is just indescribable. It is truly a miracle.

I read in my pregnancy guidebook(s) that today the fetus is about the size of a green olive and its features are verging more on the human-side, versus alien-form a few weeks prior. Hooray!

Upon announcing to the world our pregnancy and expected due date (July 4, 2010), Matt put his creative talents to work and drew a fairly 'realistic' representation of what my belly will soon resemble. See photo.

Tomorrow we see our family doctor for our first prenatal appointment. Apparently the heartbeat can be heard now, I wonder if we should be so lucky...