Friday, April 24, 2009

A REALLY Bad Stomach Ache?

I love watching pregnancy and baby shows on TV...you know, since I don't have enough kids and pregnancy in my personal life...and by far the best place to go for your reality baby fix is TLC. Our DVR is up to about 50% capacity with recordings of A Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby which I watch in marathon form after I put the kids down for the night. I really enjoy watching my programs and oohing and awing over the new babies...but little did I know what TLC was going to bring me next. Last week they had a marathon of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. Let me say that again:

I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS PREGNANT


Wha?! Okay, I've had a couple kids now so I'm pretty sure I have a good grasp on the whole pregnancy thing...all I can think is how could you not know that there is another person living in your body? Even if you had negative pregnancy tests, you'd figure it out eventually right? What about when the baby kicks? Even if you didn't think you were pregnant the giant lurch-stab-pain from being karate chopped in the cervix would probably alert you to a potential medical issue...right? Or what about morning sickness? With Monkey my morning sickness had me laying face down in the bathtub puking into the drain for 8 months...I definitely would have consulted a physician even if I hadn't known there was a baby on the way. Maybe especially if I hadn't known.

As I sit here 36 weeks pregnant with our third 12lbs heavier, exhausted, swollen, leaking colostrum, slightly dizzy, starving, contracting 3-5 times an hour, and experiencing fiery heartburn, very discomforting back pain, and a heavy feeling in the booty area my brain just can't reach the point where I can believe a woman could sit here, pregnant just like me, and not think to herself for even a second,

"Huh. Maybe I should see a medical professional."

If I didn't know I was pregnant right now I'd be rushing myself to the ER, convinced that death (or at least serious illness) was upon me. I suppose I could just be a hypochondriac, but I really truly think that most women would do the same thing.

You would, wouldn't you?

Hubby thinks that these women have a case of severe denial...but I can't believe that strong enough denial exists which would make a woman go into labor and literally give birth on her toilet.

Seriously Geez Louise!

I love TLC...I love baby shows...but I will not be watching this show anymore, at least not until The Bean is born. I'm in no shape anymore to jump up and down on my couch and scream at the TV. I know I'm pregnant.

[PS this is my 99th post....stay tuned the next day or so for my 100th post. I'm trying to do something jazzy.]

5 comments:

Kirsty said...

My aunt gave birth to my cousin in the toilet. She had no idea she was pregnant.

For me,like you, this is inconceivable. I am always ACUTELY aware of my pregnant state from the moment of conception practically.

From what I have observed, this almost always happens to people who are very overweight and have other health issues to mask the pg, or their pregnancy is virtually symptom free (it happens-to some lucky mythical people) and they chalk the heartburn, kicking etc to the rumblings from gas.

Still...how'd it be. You've kind of got to envy them in some ways. I really envy those who miss the whole 1st trimester.

MrsM said...

When I was pregnant with Monkey I wasn't able to get a positive pregnancy test...I literally took one the night before I was induced (as a joke)-negative. I was unable to confirm my pregnancy until I got a blood test at 15 weeks...but I knew I was pregnant waaaay before that. Everyone just thought I was insane-the Pregnancy Resource
Center actually asked me if I was TRYING to get pregnant because I came in and popped so many negatives for so long!

With Baby Bug and The Bean I tested [and peed positive] at 3.5 weeks for each of them. I knew they were in there before I missed my period or had any symptoms. With The Bean I had no reason to suspect I was pregnant at all--Baby Bug was only 5 1/2 months old and I was nursing and we were using birth control. Still, I just woke up one day and I knew.

I'm not alone in here.I see the logic in what you're saying, and obviously it DOES happen, but I still have difficulty getting my brain around the idea that you could miss sharing your body with another human.

Muthering Heights said...

Yeah, I really just don't get that AT ALL...seriously, you would have to be VERY out of tune with your body to NOT know??

Lisa said...

Thanks for stopping by and commiserating. It's so hard to be sick with little kids. They won't cut you any slack. At least mine won't...
I've never understood the whole "I have to go poop... oops, nevermind, it's a baby" thing either. Pregnancy is like nothing else I've ever experienced. It's hard to imagine that you could just convince yourself it was heartburn or something.
I gained between 40 and 50 pounds when I was pregnant with each of my kids. I guess there's not much of a chance I'll ever be pregnant without knowing it.

MrsM said...

Lisa-Hee hee...for me it's the morning sickness and the kicking that are dead giveaways, but I agree-there's no way I could miss being pregnant either!

Thanks for stopping by!