Melanie J. Pellowski - The Pregnancy Primer: The Expectant Mothers Guide to All 9 Months

Copyright 2019 by Melanie J. Pellowski

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Laura Klynstra and Daniel Brount

Cover illustrations by Melanie J. Pellowski and gettyimages

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4585-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-4586-5

Printed in China

To my mom and dearest friend, Judy. You have been there through every minor moment and major life milestoneI hope to one day be the kind of Supermom you have always been to me.

When my first child was born, we didnt have all of the technology afforded today. I still dont know if I would want to know the sex of my child before it was born. Every time my obstetrician would tell me it looked like I was having a boy, and with my third child, I remember in the delivery room him saying, Well, we have a cheerleader here! I was excited, of course, at first to have a healthy baby, but really excited because I had a baby girl!

Judy

Table of Contents

A Note for Mommies-to-Be

We mommies-to-be sure are a special bunch. We come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. We have nothing to worry about and everything to be concerned about. Is that why were queasy? Call it nerves, anxiety, or biologyour bodies are built to handle it, and our minds are, well, filled with ideas, hopes, and dreams!

Our personalities are peculiar, unique, and lets just say it, totally awesome. But our pasts are our own and we might have different ideas about how to approach this weirdly beautiful, somehow manageable, definitely challenging, hardly perfect, but absolutely heartwarming and rewarding pregnancy journey. We can all agree that its obviously a blessing, but everything else might be up for discussion. So, how do we get through it without losing our minds, our sex appeal, and ourselves?

Fret not, future momswe all have our own tale of how we became beautiful women, and well write our own stories as we become mothers too. We arent the same, but our futures have something in common: were all about to give birth to the cutest baby of all time!

BORN TO BE A MOM

Some of us were born to be mothers. We carried a reproductive spark in our genes before we even understood how babies are made. As little girls, we cared for our baby dolls as if every imaginary breath hung in the balance of how we held a plastic bottle or pushed a pretend stroller. We adorably rocked our little doll dumplings, dressed them up, changed their diapers, and treated them as the real deal.

Its telling how we took care of those pretend babies by feeding them fake food from our shopping carts or rock-solid cookies baked fresh from our Easy-Bake Ovens. We were the most legit mothers-in-training and probably should have earned a badge, ribbon, or Girl Scout patch signifying our accomplishments. We had an innate aptitude for parenting as adorable big sister helpers who cared for our younger siblings in the cutest of all ways.

We have longed for the day when we could carry our own, when we too could fulfill our destinies as devoted caregivers. Truly, everything else we have done in life was merely a prelude in the story of who we were fated to become. We can hardly contain our excitement when we see a babys tiny feetwe cant help but smell their stinky toes and like it! We are psyched to become parents and hardly feel complete before we give birth to a smaller version of ourselves. We are the women who already know, deep within us, that becoming a mother will be our greatest achievement and most valuable role.

REBORN AS A MOM

Some of us women are anxious to be mothers. For whatever reason, we might have always wanted to have children one day, but suddenly the reality of that one day dream crept up on us, as time typically does. We look at pictures of ourselves and dont understand the lines that have formed near our eyes. What the heck is that, anyway? Stupid crows feetmust be a shadow. The same time-space conspiracy that shrunk our jeans in the dryer.

Maybe the giving birth part seems like a harsh technicality of something special. Its not that we timid ladies arent ready to mother, its that in our minds we will never be ready, not until the birds and bees fly in and buzz the words, Hey girlfriend, you have always been ready. Still, it might feel like a sting, not quite the soft transition and life milestone we once imagined in a few fleeting thoughts. Wed get there, one day, and that day is now here. Eek!

Some of us might be surprised to suddenly harbor motherly charm we didnt realize we had, but the mom gene runs in all of our veins. We might be a little nervous, but we worrying types holding onto our pre-pregnant bodies are going to be great moms too. Our sense of adventure must be passed down to the next generation of giggly girlfriends, and well be the ones setting the curfews.

RECRUITED FROM ABOVE

Maybe we didnt always dream of mothering. Maybe we thought that being the worlds greatest aunt was enough. Perhaps becoming a mother is a mixture of emotions. Sure, its exciting and beautiful, but also the most terrifying job any woman will ever take. Its more of an internship, really, and our babies have no say in hiring us. They are stuck with us, placed with us by a divine recruiter.

These babies have no idea how lucky they are, do they? What a bunch of little dough balls; we cant help but cherish them. One day, theyll learn the concept of appreciation. Theyll remember everything we did for them, and likely the one thing we didnt do for them. How did our own moms do it? They sure were amazing. No matter what, we are bound to discover this to be the most rewarding, fulfilling, special, and inexplicably purposeful thing any woman will accomplish.

A MOST REWARDING ROLE

Becoming a mother is a mixed bag. Its going to be hard. Its going to be brilliant. At times, its going to be wretched (but never wickedsave that for the evil step-mothers). Its bound to be exhausting most of the time, and painful many times. Its also going to be lovely, hilarious, magical, momentous, and enchanting. Whether a woman always carried that mommy idea in the back of her brain or even if she never thought shed be the one to reproduce, every type of woman has the potential to be the best kind of mom. Congratulations, first-time mom, let your pregnancy journey begin and your new adventure continue to be cherished for years to come.