25w6d – Things I dislike about pregnancy so far

As a follow up to my last post, I feel it is important to capture the things I just *hate* about pregnancy. As you could imagine, there are plenty of those as well.

• People touching my belly. At this point most of the culprits have been coworkers. And not my good friend coworkers (which would also be strange). But it’s people who I know in passing, or Mike’s coworkers who I barely know at all. It’s creepy. Note: if you *really* want to touch my belly, ask me first. I may be in a good enough mood to allow it, or may make you a deal for a touch at a later time (like when she is doing something). But I do not like the sneak attack thing. Be prepared for me to say no.
• “You can’t eat / drink that!” I work in the food industry. I read about health and nutrition for fun. I am a chemical engineer who minored in chemistry in grad school. I pay very good attention to the advice of my doctors. Oh, and I’m not an idiot. So, yes, if I am eating it then I can eat it. Note: It’s okay for people to ask me about the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy eating if it is a curiosity thing. It’s the criticism that I can’t stand.
• “You’re not supposed to exercise / carry that / work in the lab / fly!” See above.
• I can no longer walk up more than 1 flight of stairs without getting winded. I used to take stairs like a champ. Now, well, not so much. Sometimes I need to sit down at the landing before I can move on to the next flight. Sadly, the elevator at work is SLOW and I don’t have the patience to wait for it.
• All the extra snot!
• All the extra peeing!
• The constipation!
• I’m hungry ALL THE TIME. And I don’t want to eat healthy things. I want to eat chocolate things. And cake. I could go for a chocolate cupcake right now, in fact.
• My lack of energy. A lot of it has come back, but not 100%.
• Interrupted sleep.
• The fact that I dislike cooked vegetables. It’s another strange one, as I used to be a really good vegetable eater. Now I can’t be bothered. I do love salad, though. So that’s a good thing.
• My weight. I know, I know… I’m supposed to gain weight. But with all the weight I gained in the few years before I got pregnant (thanks so much to my completely shot immune system!), I am not heavier than ever. It makes me very insecure, and very nervous that I will always be this heavy. It’s probably part of why I don’t like having my belly touched – I don’t want people fondling my belly fat.
• The insecurity. Similar to above, but sometimes pregnancy just makes me feel, well, gross. And the sleepiness makes me feel incompetent. I need a LOT more validation than I ever did before. It’s weird, and rather unlike me.
• I can no longer make decisions. Also weird and unlike me.
• No wine or diet soda. I could go for a Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi like you wouldn't believe. The only thing I want more than that is a glass of pinot noir!