Let me start off by saying I've never really been a girlie girl. Most of my friends are guys. So when I found out I was pregnant, instead of being lavished with gifts or the expectation of a baby shower in my name, I was instead met with comments such as, 'so you won't be queuing with us at midnight to get CoD (Call of Duty to those of you who don't have gaming partners) this year then?', and 'you're going to be waaayy too fat to come with us to that gig in Oxford, there'll be nowhere for you to sit and rest your elephant ankles!'.
I was soon to learn that many things in my life would be changing. I had to Ebay my tickets for the open air late night viewing of Critters and Troll Hunters, because as much as I wanted to go, there was no way I would have been able to tolerate four hours laying on concrete till 2am... I could barely manage a good nights sleep in bed without 58 pillows supporting me every which way, and I was usually out for the count by 9pm anyway. I felt sick ALL the time, the slightest aroma of anything apart from fresh air would make me want to heave. I even told my best friend I could smell his hair gel as soon as he walked in the room and it was making me want to vomit all over him. I don't think he took it personally, at least I hope he didn't. He did however stop wearing it, much to my relief.
My partner turned out to be an absolute saint. I turned from being a relatively laid back individual into the screaming crazy woman from hell (think Linda Blair in the Exorcist, but a million times worse, and much more puke). Suddenly, the pregnancy we had both planned became all his fault; I was pretty sure I hadn't signed up for nine months of vomiting, diarrhoea, sleepless nights and peeing ever five seconds. I couldn't eat anything I actually enjoyed any more; I had fantasies about buying a whole French stick and four packets of pate, smothering the lot and devouring it whole. Every time we went out for dinner I had to ask Thom to Google half the menu to see if I could actually eat any of it. And most of the time I couldn't.
I read so much about pregnancy in a bid to clue myself up to the eyeballs so that nothing would be a surprise. I've now learnt that no amount of reading could have prepared me for being a parent and if anything, I probably paid too much attention it all. One thing I will say is that whilst it seemed to take forever, it all actually happened very quickly. I remember thinking I had six months to go, then all of a sudden she was here - my own little screaming bundle of joy. I wont say it was the easiest pregnancy, and I can't say I particularly enjoyed a lot of it (especially not being injected in the bum at 4am as I couldn't stop being sick), but it was all definitely worth it... and I'm looking forward to sharing more with you in the coming months!
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