Aside from being very ill one day (before I knew I was pregnant), after I had a couple glasses of wine the previous night, I had hardly any side effects. Well, at least when you compare with other peoples' pregnancies. At 4 months along, I started to feel acid reflux coming on and I couldn't drink hot beverages because they made me nauseous. What I didn't see coming was emotional retardation. This is a side effect of pregnancy that no one really goes into detail about. For me, not being able to control my emotions is the worst thing. I was not myself at all. When a pregnant woman says "it's the hormones talking", she is not just finding something to blame. She's being honest.
Thankfully, emotional retardation only lasted 2 weeks. After that, I just had to get over being embarrassed that I said things that were out of my control.
Then, there's the H word...haemorrhoids. I really don't think this needs explanation. Although, I would like to point out that when you push out a baby...these also get pushed out. Thankfully...you can't feel them for at least 4 weeks after delivery.
The last thing t
hat took me by surprise was post-partum hair loss. I knew I'd lose hair...but I had no idea how much. It was everywhere. Normally when you have long hair it finds it's way around the vacuum cleaner brush, in the dishwater, in the occasional meal and in tufts under the bed. At the peak of post-partum hair loss, there was not an inch of floor spared...we found it in ice cubes, weaved into clothing, clogging every drain, in the toilet and when I finally found a piece in my daughter's diaper I began wearing a ponytail to restrain it.
But when it comes down to it, this little girl was worth it. She is beautiful and truly one of God's gifts to us in this harsh world.
