Week 7 day 1

Another day of another phase, so apparently, my 7^th week starts today, that means I’ve got six more weeks to the end of my first trimester (T1). I woke up my husband around 4am and told him I was hungry, he went to the kitchen, brought me a big size cucumber, I ate it all, looked at him and said, “I’m still hungry”. He went back to the kitchen, made noodles garnished with sardine and I ate it all, only after eating it all did I realize he didn’t add pepper, lol. Later in the day, I ate rice, orange, banana, Irish potato and egg sauce, hmmm that was yummy. I also noticed that because I spread my food and didn’t eat large quantity at once and also ate fruits, I didn’t have indigestion, I just gassed a lot. My love for sugar is really dwindling, I really seem not to understand but I think I like it. Anything for the wellbeing of my baby is welcomed. So today I still had the morning sickness, I felt sick from last night even up till now. So how have I been coping with this? I take lots and lots of rest, I made sure I’m doing no stressful work, I let people help me as much as they want to, seriously I had to let go of the mindset that they might think I am lazy, I stopped thinking that way and let people help, like I said, anything for the well being of the baby. I’m also taking lots and lots of water even though that would mean peeing about 748 times today, water is very essential at this stage, more so it helps with digestion. Oh I have to pee right now. Water rocks.

So yesterday I said, we must welcome change that comes with the result we have always wanted. Yesterday, I heard a sad story from a woman I know. She has a child and has been expecting another one for almost 9 years now. She told me some weeks back that she was sick and had malaria although she never went to a doctor to confirm if it was really malaria. She treated for malaria and continued her daily life style. Just last week while lifting a big bucket of water, she felt a very sharp pain in her abdomen and then she went to the hospital and was told she was pregnant but it had to be evacuated for her safety as the pregnancy is spoilt and not viable. It was so painful that she cried for days. I encouraged her not to worry and that I believe before the year ends she will take in again, please do say amen to that.

Now my point is this many times, we have been expecting a miracle so long that we have stopped expecting it, to the point that even when it finally happens, we do not recognize it and may lose it in the process. No matter how long it takes, never lose hope and never stop expecting your miracle to come, keep trusting God, I’ve never known Him to fail, that is not to say I’ve not had a challenging life, I have. But for every challenge I faced, God came through for me, He has never failed and He’s not about to start with you. So sweetheart, expect your miracle, it will surely come and when it finally comes, be sure to recognize it for what it is so that you don’t lose it out of ignorance. Do have a lovely day and see you tomorrow. Love you.

WEEK 6 DAY 7

 It’s week 6 day 7 and yesterday, I noticed that there was a change in my system and symptoms. Prior to now, I only had breast soreness, indigestion and mild cramps as my first trimester symptoms. Well now, the game has changed. I feel very tired, nauseous without vomiting, feeling sick, I was tempted to think I might have malaria, I’ve been sleeping more and of course I have to pee about 685 times daily, it can be really exhausting plus the fact that I still have mild cramps shortly after I eat and also light headaches. Than strangely I’m beginning to stay away from sugary things, that is so unlike of me. The me I know is a sweet tooth but now I find myself going for food cooked with tomatoes, pepper and onions and I must taste the pepper else I would feel yuck. This is a new phase for me and really it hasn’t been easy but I’m adjusting pretty well. It’s so amazing when I think about all the changes taking place just for this little bundle of joy. The body is changing and everything is working towards a comfortable growth and development and a safe passage after nine months. Same thing in life, many times, we want to fight off change as it takes us out of our comfort zone and makes us work harder or adjust to something you’re not just used to. The next time you’re about to fight off any change, stop and ask yourself; what if this is the answer to my prayer, what if this is what I’ve been working towards, what if this change is towards birthing a bundle of joy in weeks, months and years to come. The most painful thing a person can face, is to lose their reward out of negligence and an unwillingness to let go of the status quo and embrace change. Till next time, go and win your world and always remember that change is the most constant thing. Love you.

MY PREGO DIARY

My Prego Diary

Hi guys, just recently I found out that I’m pregnant and this is my first pregnancy. It’s a rather interesting journey that started with me getting married to the love of my life in April this year, had a short honeymoon and then settling in Lagos Nigeria with my husband. Then life started with all the hurdles and challenges to cross and face and for some reason, I wanted to get pregnant that same month, I wanted to give birth to my first child before our next anniversary. Why? I don’t know really, I found myself measuring myself with my friends and some other ladies I know, I wanted that same experience and somewhere in my heart, I had this fear that I couldn’t conceive. So when the first month passed and I saw my period, I thought to myself since it’s the first month, I could let it pass, I still have 11 months to go. Then the time for the second period came, and that day I saw spotting and was excited that could this be it? Well I discovered later that my body was playing tricks on me as the period came in full force that night. Note that at this time, I had no idea what my cycle was like, I didn’t know about ovulation, I didn’t know when I was ovulating, I didn’t know I had to plan and all, I just thought it was going to happen, and I was still using heavy lubrication which was a kind of contraceptive. So after this particular period, I went into study, I read about best positions to get pregnant, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself by worrying and thinking the worst case scenarios. I got another rude deception the next month when I didn’t see my period after the normal cycle of 29-31 days for me, I started getting happy as the days passed, I was waiting for the worst case of 35days cycle to pass before using the strip. On Day 34, I couldn’t wait anymore, I rushed to get two strips from the pharmacy, dipped it in my urine and the waiting started, 3 minutes seemed like 3 hours. At last, with heart in my mouth, I checked and it was negative, I was shocked and devastated but still held on the to the hope that since I haven’t seen my period, it’s possible the strip hasn’t picked the HCG yet. So I waited till early the next morning and did it again with my concentrated urine, same result and same hope, at least my period had not started still.

9am in the morning, I had a strong cramp and BAM! The period started to flow and it flowed really strong, I couldn’t pretend that was spotting. In any case, I knew I had to ease myself of every pressure I was putting on myself and husband unnecessarily. The next day, I made a resolution to God and to myself, that I wouldn’t wait for His perfect timing, I would stop comparing myself with others and I would resume my workout, I gave myself a 60-day workout challenge and I stuck to it. I later came across an article on the importance of folic acid before and during pregnancy, so I got me one pack and started the daily ritual of working out and taking my folic acid. I also traced my fertile window and planned to get pregnant, this time without the rush and without the pressure. I had peace and was so at rest that even when I started feeling sick, I didn’t think it could be pregnancy, I thought I was coming down with malaria or so, but I was careful not to take any medication, instead I made sure to eat well with lots of vegetables and fruits. It was when I had missed my period for about 7 days and the 35 days’ worst case cycle had passed that I decided to use another strip and BAM! It was positive, I used the second one the next morning, it was positive, I went for a blood pregnancy test and it was still positive. It’s almost 7 weeks gone now and I am pushing strong, the experience so far I must say has not been pleasant, morning sickness and all, but I’m grateful to be experiencing these symptoms, because this what I would call paying the price to gain the prize.

Lessons learnt from this experience are;

1.       Don’t compare yourself with another, that is a foolish thing to do

2.     Don’t create unnecessary pressure and worry for yourself by creating an imaginary problem that is  insurmountable. Pressure and worry causes more harm to us than the problem we might be facing.

3.       Flow at your own pace. If you need to incorporate a lifestyle change to get what you want, please do, only make sure they are healthy changes.

4.       Enjoy the process and live your life to the fullest. Wait for your time, don’t rush process. If you rush, you might have to repeat process.

Watch this space daily for my daily prego diary, it promises to be exciting as I can’t wait to share the good, the bad and the ugly. You can also share your own daily experience by dropping a comment in the comment box below. I will see you tomorrow, but until then, have a blast of a day.