My Pregnancy Journey Was Not Sunshine & Rainbows

When it comes to pregnancy – sometimes life throws a damn lemon tree at you rather than a few measly lemons! You just need to make a shitload of lemonade!

I truly believe that as women it is our duty to be completely honest with one another about the truth that is motherhood and pregnancy because in reality it is definitely full of love, laughter and happiness, but it can also be a bitch and can kick you in the proverbial nuts! Yet so many mums and mothers-to-be feel the pressure to adopt the façade of “the perfect pregnancy” or be the “perfect mother,” when in reality it is not about attaining perfection, but simply about taking each day as it comes and making the most of it.   

Personally, as much as coming across a beautifully glowing mother-to-be who claims she has enjoyed every aspect of her pregnancy makes me smile and feel truly happy for her, deep down there is a tiny part of me that wants to scream out “Screw you and your perfect pregnancy too!!!", because truth be told, pregnancy and my body DO NOT MIX! And that my dear friends is an understatement! 

I’m not one to complain, and I try my hardest to see the positive in everything, but if one more person told me that, “it would all be over soon and it will be worth it in the end when you hold that beautiful bundle of joy in your arms”, I may have bitch slapped someone silly! Don’t get me wrong – I completely agree with it all being worth it – but let’s be real – 9 months of living with your head in the toilet bowl and gagging at the sight or smell of pretty much anything does not feel like it would be over soon – it feels like a freaking lifetime!

Add to that the fact that throughout both my pregnancies I have experienced every pregnancy ailment known to mankind from the dreaded PUPPS rash, severe debilitating ligament pain that left me crippled to 9 long months of morning sickness and food aversions that it’s pretty safe to say that I won’t be rushing to do that again anytime soon!

I’m not ashamed to say that I spent most of my pregnancies in either my pajamas or tracksuit pants, with oily hair (because shampoo smells made me want to hurl), not a lick of makeup up and pretty much resembling a drowned rat and all I can say is - boy was I sexy!

THAT ladies was my pregnancy reality, and for me that was my normality. And I am ok with that, and I own that – because my pregnancy reality may not have been sunshine and rainbows but it was my journey and a journey so many of us share yet we feel the pressure to put on the mask of ‘Perfection”.

Well I say – let it all hang out! Because in the end we ALL end up with perfection no matter what our pregnancy experience has been, our little bundles of joy come into this world and the small truth behind that annoying saying “it’s all worth it in the end” is true, once we set eyes on our babies we ALMOST forget the past nine months and we look forward to our futures, full of baby smiles, hugs and kisses and that sweet baby smell, as well as spending your days elbow deep in baby poop, pee and vomit – but that is a whole other story.

What was your pregnancy like? Did you breeze through or did you experience every ailment in the book?