As some of you know, I’ll be giving birth at any time now. I’m at 41 weeks with a fully baked bun of love chilling in my womb. So right before I disappear for a little while from Steemit, I’d like to give you my thoughts about the journey of pregnancy.

The first 3 months: the hardest trimester

And there I was, staring at the pregnancy test and could not believe my eyes. After so many months passed by, finally a little + appeared. So I did another test, and another, until finally, I understood that there were no false positives, only false negatives. I was definitely pregnant and it felt like a miracle. It was my fiance's birthday and I woke him up that morning with the most beautiful gift ever...he was going to become a father!

When all the thrill of the exciting news settled in and I became used to the idea that I was finally pregnant, I started thinking about what was yet to come. I’m not going to go into all the details, but one thing for sure, besides the awesome news the rest was actually very difficult to manage.

First of all, the physical transformation is intense. Nausea, mood swings, intense cravings, insomnia, chronic fatigue, loss of memory and stress. I consider myself one of the ‘’lucky ones’’ since I didn’t have any fainting and vomiting episodes. However, the morning sickness that really lasts throughout the day is dreadful.

During the first trimester, it is not recommended to let a lot of people know about your pregnancy. They say you should limit the news to your partner and maybe just a few close family members. This is, considering that the risk of miscarriage during the first three months is really high. So you don’t want to have to deal with announcing great news and then having to give the bad news shortly after to a large crowd.

Since such few people know about your pregnancy and you don’t have a belly to show yet, there is no social empathy towards your new experience of being pregnant. That makes the first trimester even harder to get through. Dealing with physical discomforts, keeping the pregnancy a secret, no tummy to show, the risk of probable miscarriage, are all the things that make the first trimester the hardest.

In order to keep my physical and moral up, I decided to take prenatal yoga and zumba classes. It was a great way to kick-start my mommy-to-be experience with other mommy’s. I definitely recommend taking these classes right from the first trimester all the way until the end of pregnancy. Of course, it is important to make sure your physician or midwife agrees that prenatal yoga is ok. In some cases of high-risk pregnancy, no types prenatal exercise is recommended.

The second trimester: pregnancy paradise

I read it in several books and blog articles, the second trimester is considered the best. The chances of miscarriage plunge and you finally get to view your baby and know its sex (if you want!) at the 20 weeks echography. Your belly bump is showing and by now most of your family and friends know the news. Besides, no more morning sickness and awful mood swings. Pregnancy paradise!

When I hit the second trimester, I thought about a list of things I wanted to do before starting to dive deep into nursery planning. One of them that was recommended was having a Babymoon. I had already stopped working and my fiancé had vacation time available, so it was a great opportunity.

Babymoon = Like a honeymoon, it is a vacation that couples take to relax and reconnect before the baby arrives.

My fiancé and I decided to go on a 2-week babymoon in Spain! Believe me, it was one of the best decisions ever during my pregnancy. We had such a great time and really enjoyed our moments together.

For those that have not read my travel series on my trip to Spain, here are the links:

• Travel to Spain part 1 of 3 - Central Spain: https://steemit.com/travel/@jessicapixie/travel-to-spain-part-1-of-3-central-spain
• Travel to Spain part 2 of 3 - Catalonia: https://steemit.com/travel/@jessicapixie/travel-to-spain-part-2-of-3-catalonia
• Travel to Spain part 3 of 3 - Andalusia: https://steemit.com/travel/@jessicapixie/travel-to-spain-part-3-of-3-andalusia

So yeah, it’s true, the second trimester is really awesome if you don’t have any health risk issues (thankfully my case). Your skin glows, your beautiful baby-bump shows, you have energy and people start calling you and treating you like a mom! And then, you hit the third trimester…

The third trimester: slowly becoming a whale

At around 27 weeks, you begin the third and final trimester or countdown to baby’s birth. I was back from Spain around that time, so I was on a cloud of happiness. Relaxed, loved, I felt blessed by life and still had a great amount of energy.

However, the nesting phase had begun. Who would’ve thought a baby needed so much stuff??!! I mean wow...it is really a good thing that baby showers exist. I am so grateful for the enormous amount of baby presents I received from family and friends. Honestly, I have spent only about 100$ from my personal money to buy baby stuff.

Amazing diaper cake my sister made for me

Of course, you don’t need everything that Baby’s R’ Us catalog suggests but still… Nevertheless, it was important for me to consider what you can get used and what is recommended new. For example, used clothes is perfectly fine, but you don’t want to get a used breast-pump, definitely not recommended.

When I hit the 36 weeks, that is when all the discomforts kicked in. Welcome back insomnia! Aghhhh… I mean really, you can only sleep on one side or another (especially recommended to sleep on the left side) and you start getting leg cramps, wake up every 2 hours to pee and have vivid dreams.

I am a whale!

Yes, heavier and heavier as the days pass by and swollen all over. Whale while resting, penguin while walking! But you know what, I decided to embrace the inflatable feeling. It’s not as if I had any other choice.

Around 36 weeks it is recommended to have your hospital bag ready in case labor hits preterm. So, there I was rushing around to make sure I had everything ready in case baby arrived early. However, it’s really fine if the nursery is not ready since baby sleeps in our room for at least the first three to six months. The nesting feeling is pretty intense though, the hormonal rush makes you want to make sure NOTHING is missing.

Ah and the cravings! Yup, those come back more often and increase in quantity. Hungry every 2 hours? Yes, it’s pretty much that. But in my case, no weird cucumbers dipped in peanut cravings. Just the obsessive feeling of wanting an ice cream dipped in chocolate or Indian food that would last for days till I ate them.

Past 40 weeks...overdue…

Between 36 and 40 weeks, finally, people start considering you and treating you as a mom. There is something really magical that happens. As if all of the sudden all these mothers start manifesting themselves, offering help and welcoming you into their little mom community. At the same time, some non-mom friends seem to drift away or even disappear! I guess it’s part of the motherhood process. I knew it would happen, but I didn’t think it would be so obvious.

The due date came and passed and I’ve been on standby ever since. However, where I live, the doctors rather not have me go beyond the 42nd week because it could be too risky for my baby or me. There is an induction scheduled soon, so baby should be born a couple of hours after.

In the meantime, I’ve read old the old wives tales recommendations to induce labor naturally including:

• Walking
• Doing household chores
• Eating spicy foods
• Eating pineapple
• Making love
• Stimulating nipples
• Acupuncture
• Drinking raspberry tea And there might be others...

I’ve applied ALL of them! But sometimes, you just need to let nature be. Baby is going to get out one way or another. Even if he thinks he can stay in my womb forever! Must be so comfy in there...

So that’s it, folks! I will be going into labor really soon and might be off Steemit for some time and nurturing baby. I’ll be living the most fulfilling experience of my life...motherhood.