Note – extreme sarcasm in the title.

Wednesday night brought along a rather unpleasant bout of pregnancy symptoms. The first was the usual low grade sensation of nausea which seems to linger most of the time. Occasionally, it would intensify into an uncomfortable churning of the stomach which may or may not be accompanied by an excess production of saliva. Sometimes, it is merely the symptom that precedes retching, while other times, the taste of the excess saliva aggravates the nausea.

The second symptom manifested while I was taking a casual walk around KLCC as part of my “light exercise” routine. I felt a discomfort in my abdomen that was not unlike period pain. I don’t remember whether it was the doctor who mentioned it or if I read somewhere but it is apparently quite normal to feel the occasional abdominal cramps. According to “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”, it may be due to implantation, increased blood flow or stretching of the ligaments as the uterus grows.

Subsequently, the usual annoyance of excess wind in my tummy ensued which further aggravated my nausea and possibly, because of the added pressure of wind, made my abdominal cramps worsen.

Add the fact that it is no longer a simple matter of popping a pill to gain resolution of these symptoms and that annoyance grows into a thorn in the side. It makes me appreciate the simple luxuries I had often overlooked as an “unpregnant” individual. Too many medications have questionable effects on the foetus and since many of these symptoms are hormonally driven, it is unlikely that the usual medications will do more than serve the placebo effect.

On their own, these individual symptoms are often merely just mildly annoying. On occasions, such as on Wednesday night, when it seems that all these symptoms are determined to wage a war upon my body in one concentrated effort, I find my mind wandering back to the numerous comments that I should “enjoy” my pregnancy. At moments such as these, I wonder if that is indeed possible.

It feels as though I can hardly recall the days of muted smells, when it would require a particularly nasty odour before my nose would find offense to it. Now it appears as though there is hardly a smell that I do not find odious. Yet, in spite of a heightened awareness of smell, my taste buds seem determined to pick fault with every meal that I have consumed, such that my favourite foods no longer appeal to me. Where then is there room to enjoy the free flow of ice creams and chocolates I had envisaged?

“Enjoy my pregnancy”? I’m starting to feel like I would like to take those words and throw it back down the throats of all those who’ve ever spoken those words to me…

Yes, the hormones are also responsible for the increased malevolence I feel within me.

Before I turn this blog into a morose account of pregnancy, I suppose I should end here and move on to other topics.

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