A ‘Different Stroke’

‘I felt that familiar strange taste in my mouth. My hormones started making me act strange. Soon after that, I found the culprit-I was nine weeks pregnant,’ Mary narrates to Pregnant.

New me                                                                                                                                                                             She says her previous pregnancy was a lot easier, citing being able to move about with ease until the eighth month. Her current state has greatly curtailed her social life, because she gets tired at a whim. Unfortunately, her work doesn’t seem to get any signals from her fatigued body-that is shouting for help. Her desk-tray has more responsibilities; stretching her working hours further. Being 33 weeks along and due for maternity leave soon doesn’t make it any easier.

She is to hand over her work to a new person, which calls for extra time to orient-besides her deadlines. Her motherly and wifely duties, instinctively, can’t be put down either. So she has seen herself engaged round the clock to make sure all is well. Mary says this, to a good degree, makes her understand why her body feels weather-beaten. Then you would say that she would lapse into a black-out as soon as her body hits the bed at night. The bump, however, not making room for that only spells more fatigue.

As indicated earlier, the hormones seem to have given her tongue a mind of its own. ‘I tend to be a bit snappy with my immediate family. This was never the case with my first one,’ she says laughing.

Low hemoglobin was detected somewhere along her prior months, but that was quickly rectified bya healthier diet. Other than the mentioned, Mary’s pregnancy has been complication-free.

Cravings 
Mary can do anything for sparkling water/Soda Water. She has been the perpetrator of eating raw rice, though in small portions, which has caused her stomach acidity a number of times. She dislikes vegetables- whether cooked or raw, except for carrots. She has had to give up ice- cream because she can’t stand sugar.

Lessons
She has definitely learnt that she needs to take better care of herself physically, spiritually and emotionally. ‘People may not know what exactly you need,’ she explains saying it is therefore important that you don’t expect too much from them. She confesses that motherhood has made her see the bigger picture. ‘It extends even to caring for other children. Now I understand why people adopt kids,’ she says. Wow times. The fast-forward thoughts to when she shall be holding her baby.

Fears 
Given her previous delivery experience was an emergency Cs, Mary has not yet decided whether she wants a normal delivery or the Cs that she has already been subjected to. She has since been praying for peace and wisdom to make the right decision.

Baby Names 
Mary wants her baby’s gender to be a surprise for everyone. However, she is into meaningful, simple names and reveals that she will give her child a Christian name and a Kikuyu one.

END: PG 33 /20-21