How Are You Feeling?

Pregnancy is a mysterious process and, at least from what I've heard and read, it affects every woman a little differently. The biological development appears to be the same over the 9 month duration, but each pregnancy seems to affect a woman with a whole slew of varying symptoms and emotions.

I was fortunate enough to not experience the Dreaded Morning Sickness, usually associated with the first trimester. On one hand, it was great, because I could easily go along normally with my daily life and work routine. On the other hand, it was a bit disconcerting. The lines on the pregnancy test said I was pregnant, but since I didn't really feel anything, I would be constantly concerned that maybe something was wrong with the pregnancy. When I finally made it public to family and friends that I was pregnant, people would inevitably ask how I was feeling. It was hard for me to smile and tell people that essentially I felt nothing, without that nagging worry that maybe something was wrong. We were excited to pass through that stage with reassurances from the doctors that Baby was growing as it should and all the test results were satisfactory.

In the second trimester, my body was changing faster than I could send out blog updates. (Also, some of the changes are rather personal, and my practical husband tells me that sometimes people don't need to know all the gorey details.) I, personally, find the natural bodily changes fascinating. I've been taking my pregnancy as a science research project and I am constantly reading articles on the Internet and books about pregnancy, and talking to experienced moms to find out what biological and psychological changes are supposed to be happening, and comparing my findings with my own experience.

Pretty much every week, or even every couple of days, something is different or new to me. Now, when people ask me how I'm feeling, I always have something to say. Because of my comfort and fascination with the medical and psychological processes, I could happily yap away with great detail about all the strange changes in my body and in my head. However, I usually politely try to bite my tongue, because I know that to many people's dismay, especially my husband's, I am often the purveyor of TMI (too much information). I think people just generally want to know if I'm feeling sick or uncomfortable, which I really haven't been.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like all the changes are no problem and everything is hunky-dory over here. I definitely don't feel "normal." I'm tired, a LOT, because apparently making a baby drains all of your body's energy. I can't get a good night's sleep in a nice, flat, comfy bed, because the distribution of weight and hormones in my body is all screwy. Teaching in the computer lab at school is difficult, because I can't breathe well, because Someone is pushing up on my diaphragm. (This one is particularly difficult, because I like to talk a lot.) I can't do more than one or two errands at a time, because I become so ravenously hungry to the point that it is difficult to concentrate on doing the errand or even drive. (Beware of the crazy, hungry, pregnant Asian female behind the wheel in her new SUV!) But They tell me that all of these things are "normal" for pregnant women. So, how am I feeling? I feel "fine," I guess.

We are in the home stretch, in the third trimester! Time has passed so quickly! This is where the psychological twist kicks in. In a couple of months, Dan and I are going to be responsible for another human life, 24/7. We are getting the room ready and the hospital bag packed. We're signed up for Childbirth Preparation, New Baby Care and Breastfeeding classes in March. We are nervous and excited and we both know what we have no idea how much our lives are going to change. Yet we are looking forward to this next big adventure in our lives, and meeting this half-Henjyoji, half-Burnett new human being, who will no doubt be as entertaining and interesting as we both were as kids.... Oh, dear! What have we gotten ourselves in to?