Confession: I used to be super-freaked out by the idea of gestating a baby. When friends would reveal their pregnancies to me, I would typically manage a hearty "congratulations!" and a few words of support, but inside I was thinking, “OK, I need to know everything and I'm too afraid to ask. Just how bad is the first trimester? Are you sick all the time? Does everything hurt? How scary is it? Is it weird to know there’s something swimming around inside you? Does it consume all your thoughts and feelings?”
I suppose, in some ways, I’m still kind of freaked out by the idea of being pregnant. I have a toddler now, and even considering another pregnancy while my little demands so much time and attention is a little overwhelming. I’m not sure he would understand that mama needs to be still for a while and finish her ginger ale and saltines before she can get up to play (and by "play," I mean lie on the floor and haphazardly push a truck around with my foot). I'm just fairly certain that anyone who manages to get through pregnanct while also parenting another child (or dear god, more than one?!) is a Grade A badass in a way that terrifies me.
In addition to the physical symptoms that so many women commonly experience during the first trimester of pregnancy, there is some extra crazy stuff happening with thoughts and feels, too. To any women out there currently going through it, I see you. In the name of unity, here’s a list of all the reasons why the first part of being knocked up is totally the worst part: