From the moment sperm and egg unite, your life, body, and emotions change. Once you find out that you’re pregnant, your life spins in so many different directions, you’ll begin to wonder if it you will ever be the same again. The answer is no: Once you conceive and bear a child, you become a new person and your life changes forever.
THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PREGNANCY
From the moment sperm and egg unite, your life, body, and emotions change. Once you find out that you’re pregnant, your life spins in so many different directions, you’ll begin to wonder if it you will ever be the same again. The answer is no:
Once you conceive and bear a child, you become a new person and your life changes forever.
First, you’ll need to find a romantic or fun way to tell your partner. Next, you’ll need to notify your insurance company (isn’t that romantic?). Then you’ll want to find the right health care providers and decide who should know your little secret right from the start.
As you make all of these routine decisions, you will also start to notice that the person you call “me” is rapidly changing. You’re tired and grumpy. Your breasts hurt and your waistline is disappearing. You may be spending a lot of time in the bathroom. Looking down the line, you find out that more discomforts are in store for you.
You’ll find out that there are many ways to protect the health of your baby. If you are over 35 or under 20, have asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, or a number of other diseases or disorders, you will learn how to take precautions that will keep both you and your baby in tip-top shape. All moms-to-be, even those without “special” needs, are offered a long list of tests that provide information and evaluate the progress of a pregnancy.
CONFIRMING THE PREGNANCY
You’re pregnant. Now you’re about to enter into the very exclusive society of pregnant women. Here you’ll spend nine months balancing your feelings about the magic of conception with a surprising assortment of physical and emotional changes that will turn you into someone you’ve never met before.
It’s quite an adventure that will take you on that proverbial up-and-down roller-coaster ride. So strap yourself in and get ready for some fun, some tears, and a whole lot of changes.
When There’s No Doubt about It
How many times have you taken the home pregnancy test? Are you convinced yet? If you need more proof, check out these changes in your body. Even before your baby is the size of a small pea, your body knows it’s got a roommate and it almost instantly makes some changes:
·- The curse is gone! Yes, it’s that time of month and you haven’t used your tampons or pads. This is the age-old signal that there’s a chance you’re no longer alone when you slip into the bathroom.
· – Your sweaters are looking tight. It’s not your imagination; just a few days after conception, your breasts will probably become very tender and begin to enlarge.
·- You’re feeling a bit green. That queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach that grows into a dry heave is a common indicator that you’re on the mommy track.
·- You’re tired. Exhausted is a better word for the way some women feel right from the start. If you’re one of these women, it has probably taken you three days to get to this page of the book. It’s just too tiring to stay at any task too long.
·- You’re spotting. Instead of the flow of menstrual blood you’re used to with your period, you may see small spots of blood sometimes; usually it’s brownish and has no clots or clumps in it. – – Spotting is rarely cause for alarm.
It may happen on and off for several months. However, you should call your doctor if you are concerned. Some women experience dizziness and headaches right in the beginning. These symptoms are usually mild but persistent.
· You’re an emotional messand you don’t know it. Everyone around you will be saying, “Are you all right? You don’t seem yourself lately.
-You’ll feel persecuted and unfairly attacked. That’s the effect of raging reproductive hormones that are so excited to be active now that you’re pregnant.
If you’re having fantasies of hog-tying your partner and leaving him for dead because he mentioned that he might play golf on Saturday, consider that you just might “not be yourself” todayor tomorrowor for the next nine months, for that matter.
Start Spreading the News toyour Family and friends
At some point in your pregnancy everyone you know and even strangers on the street will know that you are expecting. Right now the question is who to tell first and when.
Some newly expectant moms and dads decide to keep the news to themselves for awhile. There are many reasons for this: First, it’s fun to have a secret. Secondly, in the very beginning, the risk of miscarriage is always a possibility; some couples wait until after the first three months pass and the pregnancy is a safer bet before spreading the news. And third, some choose to keep quiet for career reasons.
t’s fun to spread this kind of happy news, but once you let the world know, get ready to hear everyone’s pregnancy and childbirth story. You will hear about every pain, discomfort, problem, and obstetric snafu known to womankind. You will get more advice than you could possibly use in 10 lifetimes.
