I noticed my breasts were extremely painful. I assumed it was the July weather. See, July is unusually cold in my country. However, this pain in my breasts persisted for a couple of days. I was also unnecessarily sleepy all the time. My roommate Angela told me I have to get them checked.
So on this Monday morning, I told my boss I will be coming in late because I had to pass by the hospital. I was at the doctor’s office at 9.00 AM. “When was your last period?” he asked. I was poor at tracking my periods so I just gave him a date that seemed appropriate. He ordered a pregnancy test.
After about 20 minutes, he called me back. “Congratulations Christine, you are pregnant!” I thanked him and walked out. I wasn’t too thrilled. I had just finished college, I didn’t have a stable career yet, and hadn’t discussed kids yet with my boyfriend.
So that’s how my pregnancy journey began at 25 years old. I spoke to my boyfriend about it and he wasn’t too enthusiastic but he gave me some reassurance that he’ll be there. A few weeks later I caught a bad UTI and had to be admitted. They booked me at the maternity ward! So everyone in my family had to know I was in the maternity ward when I was just 2 months pregnant. Too bad for my unmarried ass.
The journey was smooth, and I didn’t have any morning sickness or allergies. But I couldn’t stand fried onions and coriander (surprisingly, my son can’t eat onions to date!).
I got to know the gender at 5 months and that’s when I started shopping for baby items. I basically bought clothes from thrift stores because I was broke. I washed them, disinfected them, and ironed them in advance. I also took my vitamins and folic acid tabs as directed. Luckily iron and folic acid tabs are free in my country.
I didn’t do any exercise, but I started taking long walks when I got to 38 weeks. I was also keen on my diet all through. My boyfriend ensured that I had a basket full of fruits every time.
At 40 weeks, there was no sign of labor yet. I was extremely huge and tired and had gained over 22 pounds. Went to my clinic at 40 weeks for them to induce labor but they advised me to go back after 2 weeks. Those two weeks of waiting seemed like an eternity!
Luckily at 41 weeks and 5 days, I started getting signs of labor. Let’s not even discuss how I labored for 16 hours straight!