I got pregnant and cut my hair

I have always taken care of babies and loved it, having seen two of my younger sisters being born. My elder brother’s sons have also visited and stayed with me frequently so I thought I knew a lot about pregnancy and babies-till I got pregnant. Nothing ever prepared me for the all-day sickness and strange cravings while in a foreign country.

My husband and I were in Holland, his mother country, when I learnt that I was expectant. We had gone to take some photos at a studio and I felt strange. I thought that cold weather was affecting me since it was winter. But then a noticeable glow on my face was starting to show and my mouth felt salty. It was becoming hard for me to eat anything in the morning because of the nausea. And when Peter, my husband noticed the changes, I still denied, claiming that two months of marriage were too soon for us to be expecting.

However, I bought a pregnancy test kit because he was insistent. Yet I did not take it because we were both not sure we were ready for the outcome. Then, two days later, I woke up early in the morning and tiptoed to the washroom to have the test alone. It was positive. Unknown to me, my husband had been behind me all the while and he got to see the test turn positive. It was unbelievable.

Meanwhile I was adjusting to so many changes: Living in a new country, pregnancy, new food and marriage. I could hardly eat and thus I was always dizzy. The hormonal changes were so severe that instead of having morning sickness, I had all-day sickness. Interestingly, I could concentrate on my studies for at least two hours every day.

Fish fan
Cravings are weird. I have never preferred having fish in my diet before pregnancy. But in my first trimester, I craved it. All I wanted was fish in every meal I had. One day I accompanied my husband to work but the craving struck and I had to leave earlier to buy and prepare fish. I had to leave at least half of it for my husband, but seeing the remaining piece had me salivate. I left the kitchen and even went to take a shower so as not to finish it up but I still thought of it. When he rang the bell to signal that he had come home, I went to the kitchen first and ate up his entire share. He walked in the house saying that there was a pleasant smell emanating from the kitchen, only to find that it was just that and nothing to show for it. The pan was empty and I was the guilty one, having finished his share.

At first he thought I was joking and started looking for it everywhere in the kitchen. Then when it was evident there was nothing, he called my mother-in-law and told her what had transpired. I also longed for brown ugali, wild vegetables, and brown porridge. Of course, these were unavailable items and there was no middle ground for me. If what I wanted was unavailable, I could not take a substitute. I lost a lot of weight due to that and we had to break the news to my mother-in-law because she was worried I seemed unhealthy.

I also adopted a weird character. One of my husband’s colleagues was always at the receiving end of my strange behaviour because I always wanted to eat what he was eating and I would want it from his plate. Mind you, none of them were aware that I was expectant. Now I look back and shudder at the impression I must have created, though they later understood when we told them of our expectancy.

Hair goes down!
I had a problem with scents. I would only apply odourless oils and bathe with scentless-soap. I had relaxed my hair and the scent of the treatment simply nauseated me. Worse still, the only person who was available to plait hair was highly priced. One evening, I took some scissors and chopped off my hair. Problem was I had cut it unevenly, leaving some parts standing out. When my husband arrived home from work he commented on how beautiful I looked… then went on to give my hair a neat trimming.

Gender prediction
My mother-in-law gave us a blue outfit for the forthcoming baby. My husband was not amused because he prefers a baby girl and he thought the outfit was meant to show that his mother preferred a baby boy. However, a closer look at the outfit revealed that it had a girly design. Talk of wisdom!

Back in the country
I left my husband in his country and came back just when my second trimester began. In a short while, I gained weight and my blood count improved, mostly due to having what I craved for in plenty. My improvement has had him decide that it is in everyone’s best interest for me to be in Kenya.

Support
While abroad, I would call my mother every day and share my concerns, and she gave me a lot of encouragement. She would encourage me to talk of the things I was missing even if she could not provide them. I would give her descriptive details of the food I longed to have and surprisingly, that was therapeutic enough to help me cope.

END: PG 26 /18-19