Goodnight Mom

In my second post , I wrote about how exhausted and nauseous I was during the first trimester.  There was a good reason for that: I was creating a whole 👏 new 👏 organ 👏. That’s right, I grew an organ. The placenta. I started learning more about this marvelous miracle organ when I read the first book I bought after finding out I was pregnant. I recommend it to anyone thinking about pregnancy: Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes. This book covers so many aspects of pregnancy, birth, and post birth. Garbes addresses cultural expectations on mothers-to-be/new moms and the science behind some of the “rules” around pregnancy. (No time for reading? Listen to her 30-minute interview with Terry Gross on NPR ) We often focus so much on the miracle of creating a human child during pregnancy that the placenta doesn’t get the accolade it deserves. This organ has a huge impact on fetal health, future health of the child throug...

I’m not the most traditional person, but I do enjoy being center of attention from time to time. So if there’s an excuse for a party in which all my friends gather around me, I’m totally down. Baby showers are a great time to gather friends and family for celebration in community. With family so far away, in New York and England, I think it's likely we’ll have a couple of baby shower events. My family always joke that I grew up having more than one birthday party. A lot of this was to do with my birthday being in late August. We’d often be on vacation in America visiting my grandparents and they would want to throw me a party (1). Then back at home, I’d have some kind of party or sleepover with friends (2), and there was always some kind of family only dinner (3). I kept this tradition alive by having three weddings. We got married in Oakland with 30 family & friends (1), and we had a second ceremony and party at a big lakeside house in Georgia the summer after with 60 extende...

A friend discovered she was pregnant and had the baby about a month later, close to full term. Another pregnant woman I met had said to me, "I don't believe any woman who says she didn't know she was pregnant." The thing is, everyone is different and pregnancy can feel different to each woman. I found out that I am not like the first friend, at all! I may not have looked pregnant my first trimester, but holy moly I felt it. I went through all the work of trying to conceive, and then I was rewarded with exhaustion and 24 hour nausea for a solid 6 weeks. But on the upside, I finally learned how to spell nausea correctly! Photo by  Yuris Alhumaydy  on  Unsplash "Morning Sickness" Whoever named this was clearly a man. Morning sickness is not reserved for the mornings. Let's rename this right here, right now. Pregnancy sickness. Pregnancy sickness can impact women anywhere from the first 12-13 weeks of pregnancy (the majority) right through to birth (...

At the end of the first week, I knew I wanted to write a blog about my pregnancy. My mind had already been blown by facts about the placenta, breastfeeding, and the everlasting changes to my DNA. I was amazed that despite having had pregnant sisters (twice each) and a number of pregnant friends, there was SO MUCH I did not know. And of course not, why would I want to know about how common pregnancy hemorrhoids are?  I want to write about my experience to share with anyone interested in learning more about pregnancy, and maybe for other mothers-to-be who want to share experiences. To be clear, this isn’t a guide to pregnancy or a “what to expect”, this is my experience of pregnancy. Pregnancy is very personal and people’s experiences vary greatly. I can only speak for myself.  Trying to Conceive It’s very important to me to talk about the beginning, trying to conceive (TTC). That’s the phrase widely used for the time when a heterosexual couple has decided to hav...