“Why are the last three posts in this blog about pregnancy?” you ask. The answer is simple: because I was too lazy to design a new blog (hey, I have a two year old asking nonstop questions in the background) and found it easier to use my old one. Also, the pregnancy posts are fun reads that paint a, shall we say, more colorful portrait of who I am… or was. Being a wine connoisseur is one thing, but how a woman acts while pregnant is no joke. But, yes, this is a wine blog. Feel free to stop here [or continue reading].
I have spent the past couple of weeks on a hormonally-charged emotional rollercoaster.
I am a sensitive person; I always have been and always will be (my astrological sign is Cancer). Sadness, delight, frustration, or contentment—every feeling is intensified with pregnancy and I now experience the world through an emotional magnifying glass. People and circumstances that hardly bothered me before now drive me crazy: a friend’s superficiality; the child two rows behind me in the movie theatre with the burbling runny nose; the woman from church who is always asking why I am not in bible study but never how I am feeling; the simultaneous chirping of our four parakeets; the girl standing next to me in line chomping on gum. Instead of sitting down and writing, I waste time being irritated and annoyed.
I stopped drinking wine the day First Response gave Brandon and I the exciting news; however, I must admit I miss having a rich, full-bodied Pinot or fleshy, fruity Grenache with dinner. I often wonder how much easier the next six and a half months would be if alcohol was safe during pregnancy. Two years ago my husband and I were introduced to the wonderful world of wine. Since then we have become self-proclaimed wine connoisseurs (aka. wine nerds) and have enjoyed hundreds of bottles from regions all over the world. Now that I have a baby in my belly to care for, I fill my Riedel with lime-flavored Perrier and look forward to the day I can drink wine again.
At eleven weeks I am relieved that I am beginning to have days when I am not as tired. Dizzy spells are less frequent and my skin is no longer breaking out like a teenager. My irritability has skyrocketed, but at least I have decided to stop answering the phone sounding like my visit with Misery was being interrupted. Less than two weeks ago I began experiencing mild lower back pain and heart palpitations. Heart palpitations are a normal, but rarely talked about symptom of pregnancy. Unfortunately, my heightened emotional state caused me to mistake the frequent, irregular heartbeats for heart disease. Sheesh!
Overall, my pregnancy symptoms have been minimal. There were moments when my lack of ‘real symptoms’ had me worried that I had miscarried without knowing. Luckily, those were just fears and I am grateful that my first trimester is going as well as it is.
Basically, I cannot complain—but am embarrassed that I do anyway.
