The Second Time Around: Learn Not to Scare Yourself

In light of spending the morning in the maternity triage unit at our local hospital the other day, I thought that the sentiments in this blog post over at Teal in Motion were rather pertinent. Mostly, I love the part where she says:

When something new popped up, my thoughts were along the lines of "Wow! What was that?" The second time around, anytime something new happens, meaning I didn't experience it with the first pregnancy, my thoughts become, "Whoa. What the hell was that?"

That was definitely one of my thoughts the other day. I mean, when - for no reason - you wake up in excruciating pain all across your lower back, if you're not crying in agony, you're wondering what on earth you must have done to make yourself hurt so badly. Especially when you haven't hurt this much since that one time you pushed a seven-pound-six-ounce baby out of your body.

Obviously, this is one of those times that Dr. Google is not your friend. Maybe it's a UTI, maybe your placenta is tearing away from your insides, maybe it's preterm labour, maybe it's an ectopic pregnancy...maybe you're dying.

via, HelloGiggles.com

Needless to say, I tried to keep my skeptical-and-disinterested hat on when doing any Googling yesterday. That's definitely the difficulty of being a control freak: the need to know everything. Right. Now. Yes, I could just wait for the test results to come back and the midwives to call...or I could obsessively Google it all and have my own diagnosis waiting in the wings just to be able to say, 'I told you so!' when the actual problem is pronounced.

Something I have learned from my first pregnancy is that it's basically never a bad idea to ask questions. Yes, some questions can be answered satisfactorily with a bit of judicious and intelligent Googling, but sometimes asking a real, live person face-to-face is going to give you, not only the best answer, but the most reassuring one as well. Never put yourself off asking things or asking for things when it comes to being pregnant. It's your health, your body, and your baby. Therefore, it's your right to ask whatever you need to in order to Keep Calm and Grow a Person. I admit, part of this ethos comes from the Husband, who constantly reassured me that it was - in fact - okay to send him out for burgers and chips and pizza and Ritz crackers and orange juice because nothing else would do and I felt like death.

So, embrace your inner Sherlock Holmes. Ask questions about everything if it makes you feel better. And then go an embrace your inner Augustus Gloop, because that half a cheesecake isn't going to eat itself, you know.

via, Tumblr