Rainbows and Unicorns

Before I got pregnant, I thought that being pregnant meant you were in this constant state of euphoria.  You know, rainbows and unicorns all the time.  Sure, I had heard of such things as morning sickness, but believed that the “high” of being pregnant was so great that the constant trips to the bathroom were no big deal, even enjoyable.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  Pregnancy, at least so far for me, has been plagued with such miserable experiences as hurling into a trash can nine times at work (in one day!), sleepless nights, constipation, hemorrhoids (which, even though I knew what they were from my years of working with geriatrics, was still an awful experience), and a thing called round ligament pain, which is basically sharp pains in the abdomen from the growing uterus.  There have been many times out of exhaustion that I have cried “I am so done!” (not seriously, of course)!   Honestly, it is not always bad, though.  I do have days that are uneventful and, for the most part, normal.  Still not the “high” I was expecting.  However, today marked a new day and a new opportunity to experience the miracle of life.  For the first time, I felt the baby move!

 It really started last night.  I was up at 2:30am, as usually, (thanks to that pregnancy bladder) but when I climbed back into bed I had trouble going back to sleep because I kept feeling something in my lower abdomen.  I was hopeful that it was the sweet flutters of my unborn.  However, I told myself that it was probably just gas or pressure because my dog was sleeping on my stomach.  When I got to work this morning I kept feeling it, though.  It is a small, faint flutter or pulse-like sensation.  Hello, rainbows and unicorns!  This is the part of pregnancy that makes all the negative aspects of pregnancy worth it: these small reminders that there is a precious human being growing inside of me.