The Downside of Having a Baby

At 32 weeks pregnant, I’m starting to shift out of the “fun” pregnant part into the “ugh” pregnant part. My back aches, I’m tired, my breasts are sore, I can’t tie my shoes, I’m peeing constantly…you know, the usual. I’m starting to remember how bad everything hurts. For some reason, I had pushed my labor way back in a safe place in my memory, but now it’s starting to come back to me. In fact, all of the not-so-fun parts are coming back to me…

Labor and delivery:

There’s really no reason to get into specifics on this one. Even “good” deliveries are still painful. It’s just that afterwards, that whole area (you know, down there) it’s just, well, an unfortunate situation. Plus, it goes on for longer than anyone told me it would. So, not looking forward to that.

Sore nipples:

I’ve read that if you breastfeed properly than your nipples shouldn’t get sore. B.S.! There’s about a month in there where you can barely stand it…where you grit your teeth and wait for the pain to go away at every feeding. It does eventually pass, and until it does, Lansinoh is your bestie.

The Baby Carrier:

Ugh. The first time I was able to put my son in the front seat of the grocery cart was a huge milestone for me (see, I even took a picture). Lugging that thing around for a year is such a pain.

Being Tired:

I’m not a huge sleeper, but I am a human. However, around week 3, it sure doesn’t feel that way.

Being Crazy:

I’m pretty sure this one and the one above are related, and I’m hoping that this time around I’m a little more chill (wishful thinking). I wasn’t one of those “do you want to hold my baby?” moms…I was more like “here, read this 50 page pamphlet about proper neck support, wash your hands, take a strep test and hold my baby” moms. To my defense, he was a preemie and it was in the middle of the 2009 Swine Flu epidemic.

Being Crazy, cont.:

I was talking to a good friend who has a 4-month-old and she said that she can’t rest because she’s always checking to make sure her baby is still breathing.

“When does that stop?” she asked.

“Umm, I’ll let you know when I stop checking.” I said.

I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people who immediately jumps to worst case scenario. A bang on the head is a concussion. A cough is the flu. Again, to my defense, my child has had some crazy illnesses in his 2 1/2 years. So, I’m just not looking forward to being so anxious all of the time.

There’s so much more (cleaning bottles, pumping, losing the weight, etc.), but I’ll stop complaining. It is all worth it, of course. Very, very worth it.