Skip to main content

How Pregnancy Changed My Marriage

 My pregnancy was really difficult and somewhat traumatic. When we first found out I was pregnant, the first OB I saw thought it was an ectopic pregnancy—it was quickly confirmed that it was a perfectly healthy pregnancy, I had just been earlier along than we thought and they couldn't see anything at that point. As my pregnancy progressed, my symptoms became much worse than I expected, including horrible tachycardia that would make my chest hurt and my head spin; fatigue that kept me from being able to do much of anything most days; nausea that persisted without causing me to actually vomit which may have been something of a relief at that point; intense sensitivity to smell that made anything being heated up repulsive, smells around the house bothersome, and even made it hard for me to kiss my husband because of the smell of his breath. 

    Then I got Covid-19 when I was 17 weeks along and travelling that made things even worse! Blessedly, my husband seems to be immune to Covid-19 and he was able to take care of me for those few weeks of suffering. The congestion through the pressure in a plane was miserable and wearing a mask made it feel stuffy and hard to breathe with the tachycardia, but the benefit of Covid was that it reduced my sense of smell for a bit so things were more manageable in that area, at least.

    My second trimester was the worst one. All of my symptoms became so severe that I was essentially bedridden for a few months. I was completely unable to do housework, cook, and I was only barely able to take care of myself by sitting on the ground in the shower and on a stool to brush my hair and teeth. This is when I felt my marriage shift the most--but maybe not in the way you would expect.

    This suffering that I was experiencing provided my incredible husband with an opportunity to serve and love me deeper than he ever has before. He took amazing care of us. He made food for us every day when he got back from school and work, took me to every appointment I needed to go to, prayed with and for me, encouraged me to take care of myself, gave me massages, and overall gave me all the attention I needed. I had never experienced such love and devotion before in my life and it was life changing, in a way, to see how well someone can love me. How much I am capable of being loved. And it made me love and appreciate him deeper than ever before, too. Because in this time where I could have felt like nothing but a burden, he made me feel like I was the most wonderful part of his life and like our child is his greatest joy to care for--and that's the truth for him. And I feel the same way for him and our daughter. 

    Truly, I pray that everyone is able to feel so cherished in their lives at some point. I hope that when our children grow up and get married, they feel so treasured by their spouses and that the difficult times only make that sense of devotion stronger for each other. Because even though my pregnancy was rough, I want to give this incredible man as many children as he wants! He's not perfect, of course, but he is exactly what I need. Our marriage is that much stronger due to my pregnancy. And now we have our love, hope, connection, and joy embodied in our little girl.  



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Birth Story

Birth was one of the most fascinating experiences. I remember most of it, but as my husband could tell you, I was definitely delirious at some points and I don't remember much of the conversations I had then.        It was very fast. From the time my contractions started (that I was aware of) to the time my baby was born was a span of only 6 hours! I labored for 4 hours and pushed for 2 hours. It all happened so rapidly!       3 nights before my scheduled c-section,  I felt that I needed to go to bed early — which I now recognize as a prompting from God to prepare me for a joyful, although sleepless, night. So, I went to bed around 7pm and woke up to terrible gas pains at about 9:15pm. After using the bathroom, I hoped the pain would stop and moved to go back to bed when I got hit with another bout of pains. I told my husband I was going to go sit in the living room since sleep was unlikely with the aching I was having. The pains were primarily in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Almost A Mom

 I was almost a mom, kind of. I think Seth and I have a baby in heaven now, at least. Last week, I should have gotten my period and took a test which resulted in a positive. The next day was negative. I decided to take a break for a few days, but on Saturday the 25th, I felt in my heart and soul that I was pregnant. Symptoms from me and my husband made me believe it, but more than that it was like a spiritual knowledge that my baby was with me at the time. On the 26th, we got our solid positive test and we were so excited, so we told all of our family members immediately, because I have never understood waiting to tell others.      My birthday was on Monday and it was perfect so we could tell all my family members that were in town. It was wonderful. Because I had suspected from the Wednesday before that I may be pregnant, I purchased a pregnancy journal and some small announcement gifts for them that I figured I could save for the future if I wasn't pregnant. But be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Things to Add to Your Wedding Registry (That You'll Actually Use)

Now that I have been married for about a year and a half, I have a good idea on what items from our registry were actually helpful and what I wish I had added! So here's a quick list of my favorite 10 items to have as a married couple. I'll include Amazon links that I've gotten from the affiliate program (meaning I would receive a commission if you purchase from these links) so you can get to them easily and see what I've really enjoyed! 1.  A Kitchen Aid Mixe r      I have  loved  having my KitchenAid. They are SO helpful in getting meals prepped, baking, and multitasking with limited counter space. They are a great addition to your kitchen together. 2. Hair Clippers      Learning how to cut your husband's hair is a great way to save money, so hair clippers are a handy investment. Either I or my sister use our hair clippers to cut my husband's hair now, and it's also helpful for any of our friends and family in the area who need a haircut be...
Post a Comment
Read more