The Heartbeat
Karin is now haunted by her own heartbeat. It wakes her up. It keeps her up. The little guy (or gal) is obviously trying to get Karin's attention. But pushing her heart into her Eustachian tube is probably not the best way to do it. I, personally, prefer email or, if I'm close enough, hand-signals. Mind you, I have not tried pushing her heart into her Eustachian tube so I guess I shouldn't knock it. I just think it's not polite.
The nausea may have waned slightly but it certainly has not gone away. For example, K demanded crackers in bed yesterday morning. And she is back on her anti-nausea regimen. I thought the haunting heartbeat might distract her from the nausea and pain but apparently that's not how it works in the (choose your own adjective to insert here: wonderful, miraculous, ridiculous, absurd, fun...) world of pregnancy. Maybe the discomfort, nausea, and pain just keep escalating for 9 months so that, in contrast, the actual birth seems pleasant.
Having gone through something similar to Karin's experience, I'd like to share a theory. Why on earth should pregnancy be so challenging? Well, perhaps the nausea, pain, discomfort, distractions, runny nose, heartburn, hip and foot pain, and moodiness actually serves a purpose. First, we are taught to empathize with this new person, who is about to spend his/her time crying because s/he is spitting up, feeling bloated, feeling achy, unable to control what is coming in and what is going out, and generally just uncomfortable. Second, we are taught to give up on any 'goals' or 'plans' that we might have had for ourselves. There are larger needs to attend to now.
ReplyDeleteMy theory does NOT speak to all of those women who claim that they have sailed through pregnancy, that it was a joy.
I figure that they're lying. Or else some of us just have more to learn. No, they're definitely lying.
xo Marcia