Changes in my Life

When I got pregnant, a lot of things have changed. There were things that I used to do when I wasn’t pregnant that I had to stop doing now. There were things I had to sacrifice because I want everything to be okay for my baby.

1. Goodbye to my favorite chips!

 I have to cut back on eating salty foods, so goodbye Pringles, Cheetos, Lays, and PikNik.  But I am oh so craving for salty foods, whew! An old friend of mine from Uzbekistan told me that if I crave for salty foods when I am pregnant that means that my baby is a boy. I superstitious beliefs are “only in the Philippines” but I guess people from different parts of the world have their own myths.

2. Sweet becomes sour, sour becomes bitter…

My taste buds have changed. I used to finish chocolate bars weighing 400grams in just one-sitting, but now, I don’t know, I just don’t want to eat chocolates anymore. Most of all, I don’t like the color of chocolates that’s why I don’t eat it. Chocolate-lover turned chocolate-hater? There are foods that I used to eat when I wasn’t pregnant that I could no longer eat, not for any other reasons but it’s just that I simply don’t like it…LOL, weird!

 3. Nose of a wolf.

Ewww! My sense of smell seems to be very sensitive nowadays. I hate the smell of cooking oil. Even from afar, I can smell whatever I can smell, and I hate it. I so like the smell of peanuts being sold on the streets. I feel like a dog sniffing around finding where this or that smell is coming from.

 4. Hello pimples!

I remember having one pimple on my forehead once in a blue moon only when I was still a teenager (between 15-17 years old); but now that I am already 28 years old, oh my gosh, I really panicked the moment I saw not just one but more than three pimples on my forehead. I feel so helpless that I could not treat it because as per babycenter.com, differin gel (adapalene) is not allowed for pregnant woman. Well, it’s okay, I hope that after nine months it will all be gone!

5. It’s getting hot in here.

I want to take a bath three times a day because it’s so hot in here! Aside from the fact that in Dubai our house is air-conditioned all over and here in the Philippines it’s not, it just feels so hot, really hot. My body temperature has changed. During the first trimester, I was enjoying the feeling that my underarms weren’t sweating, but immediately at the beginning of the second trimester, gosh, do I have a faucet in my armpits? I don’t know what happened.
6. My jeans don’t fit me.

I have to buy new clothes that would fit me. I can’t wear for now my favorite skinny jeans and tank top. My waistline seems to get bigger and bigger every day. But it’s okay; I enjoy looking at the mirror every hour just to see my tummy with my baby inside. Well for me, the sexiest woman in the world is…A PREGNANT WOMAN!

7. Weird dreams every night.

My dreams seem to be so clear to me. I hate it whenever I am having a nightmare, I don’t know why, but it’s really scary that sometimes I don’t want to go back to sleep because I’m afraid I might dream the same thing again.

8. No to mall-hopping.

My husband and I are both mall hoppers, but now, we can’t do it anymore because I easily get exhausted. Expect to feel backache after an hour of roaming around, so no choice, I have to sit down and rest, then go home.

9. Just bummin’ around.

This is the biggest change in my life. I had to leave my job in Dubai just for us to have a baby and settle here in the Philippines. I was just starting to look for a job then when I found out that I was pregnant, so I had to stop job hunting and just stay at home. Everything has changed. The workaholic me became a plain housewife? Well, we consider this baby a miracle, so whatever I need to sacrifice for his sake, I am more than willing to do.

10. Am I a celebrity?

I can’t go even to the nearest grocery store to shop for food, so my husband does it for me. I cannot visit my parents, so they have to be the one to visit me. It's not that a paparazzi will chase me when I don't have a companion, it's just that my husband cares fo me so much. He knows that I don’t know how to commute so he doesn’t allow me to go out alone especially now that I am pregnant. Yes, I must admit, the independent me is now overly dependent on others.

11. To the left, to the left.

Same position every night…left side. For nine months, I will be sleeping on my left side because according to studies, it’s the best sleeping position during pregnancy because the blood will be able to flow properly, and no other internal organs will be hit on the left side when all my weight is drawn there. I tried sleeping on my right side but my baby seems to be squirming every time I turn to my right; he doesn’t stop moving and kicking so have to stick on my left side position.

12. Ewww, dark underarms!

This is something I have no control over…skin pigmentation/discoloration - melasma of pregnancy? I have no choice, my underarms are getting darker. So while pregnant, I need to refrain from wearing sleeveless blouses and spaghetti strapped tank tops. Hope it will get back to its normal color after giving birth.

13. Ouch, my legs!

Screaming in the middle of the night because of leg cramps, ouch! I feel so helpless whenever I feel the pain.

14. Sleepless nights

Been having sleepless nights especially when my baby’s awake at night.

15. Heartburn

The doctor advised me not to slouch or lie down within one to two hours after eating because I might throw up what I ate. When the baby gets bigger, he keeps on pushing on the upper part of my stomach which can cause me to have reflux.

16. Frequent Visitor

I need to go to the washroom every now and then. Gosh, feels like my bladder is always full. Need to get up in the middle of the night just to pee.

17. Let go of beauty regimes

I am oh so vain but when I learned I am pregnant, I stopped applying anything on my face and body. I have read in books and websites that there are some ingredients that are harmful to the unborn baby such as salicylic acid, retinoin, etc, so better be safe than sorry.

No matter how many things I have to compromise for this pregnancy, I could only say that…it’s all worth it! I am willing to embrace more changes in my life just for my baby!