How on earth was I happy the whole 9 months that I was preggy
By: Melow Lim
Tags: Mothers, Pregnant, Baby, Motherhood, Pregnancy

How on earth was I happy the whole 9 months that I was preggy

This journal entry is almost the same age as my son. The thoughts behind it? Still relevant to any pregnant mama. Melow Lim Oct 19, 2020·8 min read

My husband and I were on vacation in the beautiful island of Boracay when we found out that we were pregnant. Well, he was already expecting it, since for the past few weeks I’ve been displaying all the obvious symptoms; acting so weird, “throwing up” and feeling dizzy most of the time.

So when I yelled for his name after I saw the double lines on the test strip while inside the hotel room’s bath, his reaction was just neutral and cool. It wasn’t as melodramatic as all the movies I’ve seen where the husbands would cry, jump, and shout for happiness upon learning about this impending doom, I mean, upcoming joy. He was just relaxed, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Okay.” But that moment is another story.

The fact that I am pregnant and am about to go through the most changing phase of my life didn’t sink in until we got home and announced it to MIL and my family. Well, make that some 2 or 3 days after the “announcement”. Or maybe, that was right during the moment my OB pointed to that little dot on the screen of her ultrasound machine. Oh yes, the little nut is here. I’m gonna be a mommy.

Having a lot of mommy friends (new and experienced) have helped me prepare myself about what’s going to happen. I’ve made mental notes of what to’s and what not to’s while carrying that little piece of heaven in my womb. I’ve read blogs, articles online, and even downloaded an app for pregnancy. No, make that two apps.

While everything I’ve seen, read, and heard about pregnancy helped (or at least made things a little less dark for me), there’s one learning common among all: that each pregnancy is unique.

There are no two pregnant women alike. There are no two pregnancies alike. Even if you become pregnant again and again, your pregnancies will differ for your first, second, third, and nth child. I have a friend pregnant with her second saying that it wasn’t as difficult as her first, then another one saying that the first was a breeze.

So imagine how confusing it has become for a new mom like me. But I managed. I worked my way around it. I did it, got through with it, and I was happy. I was happy the whole 9 months.

And this is what this post is all about, how on earth did my pregnancy become a happy pregnancy. My son is just half a year old but I find myself giving tips to my preggy friends, feeling like a pro. I do this with one objective in mind, to help my preggy friends be pregnant and happy at the same time.

Believe me, those 9 months will not be a walk in the park for some of us. And it just takes the right attitude and frame of mind to enjoy every bit of it. After all, 9 months can come by so quickly and (thanks to the possible injectables) you’ll eventually forget what happened.

So read on. This is far from a pregnancy manual, but I pray so fervently that it helps you liven up, smile, and be happily preggy.

Accept it and all the possible hurdles that come with it. Learning that you’re pregnant, planned or unplanned, can be a shock. If it’s your first time, you must be experiencing the weirdest of things, and it might feel as if you’re being pushed out to the edge of your comfort zone. If it’s your nth pregnancy, it is highly possible that you will say, “Why?!?”, or “Oh my, I have to go through all of that crap again.”

The first step to a happy pregnancy is to accept it and everything that comes along with it. I mean, what else would you want to do, right? Your little nut is there, beating its heart out for you to feel. So instead of thinking of things that may or may not happen because you’re pregnant, just accept it. Accept it with open arms and move forward.

Your little nut is there, beating its heart out for you to feel. So instead of thinking of things that may or may not happen because you’re pregnant, just accept it. Accept it with open arms and move forward.

Eat healthy. Stay healthy. I’ve lost my appetite for food during my first trimester. I’ve read that a number of women experience this as well. There’s this thing about pregnancy hormones acting out, that suddenly a crispy and juicy piece of fried chicken becomes loathed upon by a pregnant woman’s senses. Now, this posted as a problem. How can I make sure that my little nut is getting nutrition sufficient enough to grow healthily?

To some, pregnancy meant giving up on their favorite desserts, drowning themselves with prenatal milk, taking all those vitamins that they need, and anything that will help keep them and their baby healthy. I myself had to stop eating sushi and sashimi, end my relationship with coffee, and deprive myself of the joy of having a medium-rare ribeye bloodily oozing with tenderness on my plate.

You have to be conscious of the food choices you make primarily because you want your little baby to grow properly. While that should be your ultimate goal, remember that being healthy is not only for the baby but for yourself as well.

You have to be conscious of the food choices you make primarily because you want your little baby to grow properly. While that should be your ultimate goal, remember that being healthy is not only for the baby but for yourself as well.

You need to get all the energy and nutrition you can muster in preparation for the more challenging task of being a mother. So if it means having to drink glasses of water almost every minute, or reducing your carb intake and replacing it with protein, which by the way can suck if you’re a medium-rare steak eater like me because you have to eat it done well. Do it. Do it with no apprehension because you and your baby need it.

Compare notes, but don’t be hard on yourself. We love asking fellow preggies about things that we might or might not be experiencing. Perhaps it’s a natural thing for women to compare.

There were 3 of us in the office pregnant all at the same time. Every now and then we would talk about stuff from nausea to food cravings to gaining weight to being sent to bed rest, stretch marks, acne, the list goes on. There were times when I wondered why a symptom happened to both and not to me. Or how come it happened to me and not to them. But that’s fine.

When your fellow preggy doesn’t have any stretch mark or doesn’t need to follow that strict diet same as you, do not blame yourself. Do not ever think, “Poor me, I’m such an ugly pregnant woman.” Do not. Don’t. Ever.

Remember, each pregnancy is unique.

Compare notes to get tips on how you can handle your pregnancy. You do not do that to feel bad about it. Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing, although it has its own quirks. But then again, isn’t it fun to have a girl friend to laugh with about the quirks of pregnancy?

Compare notes to get tips on how you can handle your pregnancy. You do not do that to feel bad about it. Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing, although it has its own quirks.

Surround yourself with love. You know the best thing about being pregnant? Everyone is kind towards you. Suddenly everybody showers you with love and affection. From your family, to your friends, colleagues at work, to the random people you come across with.

Be thankful when people incessantly ask questions like, “How far along are you?”, “Is it a boy or a girl?”, “What baby do you want to have?” They ask not because they’re prying. More often than not, it’s just because the idea of having a baby is just too exciting! Your pregnant presence makes an experienced mother reminisce the time she herself was pregnant, inspires a married couple with no kids yet to look forward to having their own, or simply just melts the heart of any person.

The attention and affection is just so touching, you just can’t help but love yourself and your little bean some more. And oh, another perk? People would want to make you feel comfortable most of the time, simply because you’re carrying a special someone.

Surround yourself with love, and absorb it, breathe it in. Accept it, don’t push it away. People mean well. Their love will make you happy.

Surround yourself with love, and absorb it, breathe it in. Accept it, don’t push it away. People mean well. Their love will make you happy.

Take it one day at a time. I’ve heard these time and again from pregnant women: “How I wish I’m on my nth week already so I can do this and that, etc.” and “I want to give birth now to get through with this!”

It can be hard, really hard, to be pregnant. Especially when acid reflux kicks in, when your skin becomes the ugliest it has ever been, when sleeping has become so difficult to do, when the weight of your belly makes moving about a meter far feel like hiking a mountain; that among others make you want to just get it over and done with.

But think about it. You won’t be pregnant forever! In 9 months, the little bug will want to push him or herself out of you and come out to the world. Before you know it, you’ll be wondering whatever happened to you during those 9 months. And you want to be able to remember the days you had your little one inside of you, fondly.

Take it a day at a time. Don’t over plan tomorrow. Don’t over think about the pains and the difficulties you will or probably will be having.

Before you know it, you’ll be wondering whatever happened to you during those 9 months. And you want to be able to remember the days you had your little one inside of you, fondly.

Savor that day when you first found out you were pregnant, that first time you heartbreakingly said “No” to Salmon Sashimi, that day when your colleagues at work panicked because you’ve been throwing up for what seemed like an eternity, or that time when your husband and mother-in-law had to drive out in the middle of a typhoon to look for egg tarts which you craved so much only to end up with vanilla ice cream because the stores that sold egg tarts were all closed.

That day when you first saw your baby’s small body on the ultrasound screen with his tiny fingers looking like they’re reaching out to you.

That moment when you first felt him kick inside.

That night when your husband lovingly whispered to your tummy his joys and his fears and his dreams for you and your little family.

One day at a time, one moment after the other. Savor it. Enjoy it. Remember each and every bit of it, until you get to that moment when your husband holds your hand and cheers you on as both of you nervously push your little piece of heaven out in the world.