Reflections on the difficulties of pregnancy by a Roman Catholic feminist
Now that I’m actually pregnant, I’m realizing it’s not quite that easy. I actually really dislike being pregnant. I felt awful for the first four-and-a-half months. By “awful,” I mean specifically that I thought I was going to throw up at any moment around the clock. I often did, and when I didn’t I usually felt even worse. I couldn’t open my refrigerator door, I couldn’t cook or prepare my own food, I couldn’t food shop — the smells were too intense and the nausea was too debilitating. I didn’t feel like I was having a baby… I felt like I had become the baby.
How I decided to become a mom
We’re starting our own photography business. Baby Fever had me in its crazy-making hold. I was one of those women… the women who linger in the infant section of any store. The women who read birth stories and mommy blogs every week. The women who stare at every baby and pregnant lady they see.
Good things come in pairs: two mamas, two cupcakes, and two babies on the way
Monica is a labor and delivery nurse in Seattle who, as she puts it, “moonlights in photography.” I’m pretty sure she’s doing a hell of a lot more than moonlighting — if this session is anything to go by, she’s ROCKING photography.
I didn’t know if I wanted to be “Mama”
I just held out the test going, “OhmygodLOOKohmygodLOOK” at which point we both burst into tears. He hugged me tightly and said, “Congratulations, Mama!” Mama? No. Call me anything, I thought, but not mama.
The Offbeat Mama’s pregnancy and birthin’ checklist
So… you’re having a baby? No two pregnancies and deliveries are the same, which means no two experiences will be. What you’ll find here is a handy checklist of a few things any Offbeat Mama may want to consider while pregnant.
Can I breastfeed if I have nipple piercings?
Jacqueline has taken the piercings out of her nipples, but still has the holes. Since she’s eight months pregnant, she’s wondering — can she breastfeed her baby with pierced nipples?
How tubal ligation fits into our family planning
Here I was, ready to talk to a doctor about getting a tubal ligation at twenty-three and with no children. Many doctors will not even consider doing a tubal on a woman unless she is over 30 and/or already has children; they worry that she will one day change her mind. Yet my husband and I had known for months that this was what we wanted.
Let’s talk about acne and pregnancy
You can go ahead and say it: acne sucks. It especially sucks as an adult, when you’re all “Shouldn’t I already be past this shit?!” My skin has never been the most stellar on its own, but after being prescribed Tazorac when I was twenty, I had it under control. Fast-forward a few years to twenty-three, when I was pregnant with Jasper. It turns out using Tazorac while pregnant is a BIG no-no, so I was suddenly stranded without my favorite skincare treatment.