The Things I'll Miss

This morning driving into work Dave looked at me and said, "Aren't you going to miss being pregnant?". Cue the "are you serious?" stare. Absolutely, positively, no way. In between the traffic-induced nausea I probably actually uttered something like "ummm no" and that was the end of that conversation. Back to listening to my husband complain about all the idiots on the road at 7am.

But as I've had some time to think today I realized that maybe there a few things about pregnancy I'll miss. Now don't get me wrong - I am definitely not a pregnancy woman. You know what I'm talking about. There are some women who love being pregnant and can't wait to do it over and over again. I am not, nor never will be, one of those women. At best, I'm one of those women who will look back and say I gave it a try, didn't like it, but will admit it's worth it when you see your beautiful baby being born. I still have a preference to adopt the rest of our children, though. Dave's still trying to bargain for one more biological child first. That's a battle to be continued.

Anyways, back to the things I will actually miss about pregnancy. While I look forward to holding my baby in my arms, it will be a little strange to not feel her moving around in my belly all the time. Dave still gets so excited every time he feels her move. To me, it's become second nature. I fall asleep to her gentle kicks and wake up to her swift punches, indicating I've gone far too long without feeding her. It'll be weird to not spend my days counting her kicks or giving her little high fives.

I’ll definitely miss chocolate. I’ve had a terrible sweet tooth, especially throughout the later half of this pregnancy when I’ve been feeling my best. I love everything chocolate. Unfortunately, chocolate doesn’t fit into my “get back in shape post-baby” diet and I’m pretty sure it would be counter-productive to all the exercise I plan to find time for so I’ve already declared that my relationship with chocolate ends as soon as she vacates my body. I know it’ll be hard to quit this terrible little addiction cold turkey so perhaps a piece or two of dark chocolate a day will be necessary for the weaning process. Afterall, dark chocolate does provide SOME nutritional value according to the latest research and I will need a little caffeine to keep me energized for all those diaper changes and feedings.

I’ll also miss making friends with strangers. It’s so easy to make new friends while pregnant. Everyone wants to know when you’re due or what you’re having and of course if you’ve picked a name. I’ve met new people in the locker room at the gym, washing my hands in the bathroom at work (usually other pregnant ladies since that is where we spend most of our day), nice cashiers and baggers at the grocery store, other young couples at church, and just about any other public place where people enjoy talking about pregnancy. While it still creeps me out when people touch my belly, I do enjoy sharing about our pregnancy and it’s always an easy conversation starter. Heck, I even made friends with the old macho body builder dude at the gym last night whose skinny yet freakishly muscular body totally freaks me out – who would’ve thought a big Cretine-loving man like that would care about a baby!

I wish I could say I will miss being spoiled by my husband with foot and back rubs, him helping with the laundry and cooking, or his need to be over-protective of me but I really don’t think that’ll end after pregnancy. I’ve always known my husband to be an incredibly caring and considerate man but pregnancy has made him even more of a softie (a very manly softie I assure you) and having a baby girl only made his heart a little softer. He reminds me constantly that I’m the most important girl in his life and I’m prepared to share that title with our baby girl soon. I also know that he’ll continue to help out around the house and he’ll do the best he can to make my job as a mom easier, especially in the early weeks. Although, on second thought, those foot rubs definitely will come to an end due to our mutual hatred of feet. I could do without the foot rubs once all this swelling goes away!

Finally, I’ll miss being able to use the constant hormonal changes as an excuse for speaking my mind or acting like a complete mad woman at times. While I look forward to my hormones getting back to normal, it has been nice to say exactly what’s on my mind and not worry about the consequences. Everyone gives a pregnant woman a pass. Hormones can be a fabulous little weapon. I wonder if women going through menopause use this excuse as well. That would explain soooo much. Just saying.

I’ve spent the past nine months with a baby inside my belly – my daily routine and life have been impacted by her being inside of there in so many ways. So while I am looking forward to not being pregnant so very soon, I know there will be little things I’ll miss, especially at first. I’ll be curious to see if my feelings towards pregnancy chance once she’s finally here.