Grumblings of a Pregnant Woman

The more I think about pregnancy the more I have a bone to pick with God. I understand that creating a new life is a miracle. Really, I do. Sometimes I look at Gavin and wonder how it is possible that I was party to making him; or that he was small enough to live inside me and then come out.

My beef isn't in the wonderment of knowing a new human being is made from two teeny tiny parts. No, the beef is with the actual process of pregnancy.

Parenting is a lot of work; its constant. Sure it is rewarding but it is exhausting. I hear the physical exhaustion gives way to emotional exhaustion at some point but I'm dealing with what I know right now.

Wouldn't it make sense to make pregnancy a relaxing experience knowing that the years that lie ahead are going to be full of running after toddlers in the store, keeping an eye out for constant dangers (like buttons and paperclips, poisonous houseplants, knives, scissors...), midnight feedings which turn into midnight consolations, tantrums, meal time chaos, interrupted phone calls.... blah, blah, blah. I feel like I need to put in a disclaimer here that I wouldn't give up Gavin for all of the personal time in the world. I love the little guy more than life itself.... but my point here is that the work is never ending so shouldn't pregnancy be a time of physical well being?

I don't buy into the lie that its just getting us ready for what lies ahead. Who gets ready for big meeting at work the next day by dealing with heart burn, insomnia and 3 trips to the potty? How is that helpful?

Of course I think this pregnancy is going better than Gavin's did. I think my body hurts less and is experiencing less swelling because I'm not strapped to a desk all day but am instead running after a toddler and changing his diapers all day. Getting a nap every day helps, too.

Even though this pregnancy isn't as disastrous (relatively speaking) as the first it would still be nice to function above the zombie level for the first couple of hours in the morning. Speaking of morning. The sun is starting to rise... well, it's getting lighter out - I see no yellow glow but the gray of the skies lightening up a bit. Time for me to get a little snack that won't exacerbate the heart burn and go back to bed for an hour before Gavin wakes up.