Its the Village for me
I have to say when I started this journey, I expected there would be times that I would feel lonely or miss not having a partner. And there have definitely been those moments where I felt that.
An Africans proverb that I love is “its takes a village to raise a child.” It shows that when communities are at its best, its a village. A close knit unit that helps, supports, gives feedback, provides structure, brings guidance, and love to all. The African American community has lived off this for so many years. And honestly I grew up this way as well. I have to say that, my village is awesome and has been essential throughout this journey!!!
Let me start from the beginning…. Earlier this week, I found myself in so much pain dealing with what the doctors have determined is sciatica (really sharp pain going from my lower back, down my butt and into my leg). It seems that either baby girl is constantly sitting on that nerve or has irritated it so much its pinched. And when I say pain, I mean pain. I’m talking sliding up/down the wall to get up/downstairs, crawling across the floor to get to the shower, and literally tears rolling down my face with every movement. It got so bad I couldn’t get out of bed Tuesday morning. My doctor had already referred me to Physical Therapy at my last appointment. So their suggestion was take Tylenol, use heating pad, icy hot, restrict activities and be on bed rest until the psychical therapy appointment. Imagine my frustration because that meant I couldn’t go to work and had to figure out how to take care of myself for the next 3 days.
Now enter where my village stepped up. Family and friends calling to check on me to see if I needed anything, offering to go to the store to pick up essentials, and even sending me money to pay for my door dash meal (because I mean who can stand on their feet to cook anything). I also tapped into my online village of other SMC’s who gave great guidance on stretches to try, tricks that helped them with the same issue, and even just offering their love and support. The major part of my village that I am truly thankful for is my mother. Who made the sacrifice to stay with me for a couple days to help around the house and make sure I got fed. I can’t thank her enough because being able to sit brought some relief, even if it was short lived. My village is honestly, one of the main reasons that I knew I wouldn’t be completely alone in this process even if it sometimes felt that way.
Hello 3rd trimester
Well we made it to the 3rd trimester!! It honestly seems like time is flying by while taking its sweet time.
I am excited to officially be 2/3 of the way done but with everything going on, also feel like it’s a lifetime to go. This trimester has brought constant backaches, sciatica issues from my lower back down my leg, and numbness when trying to sleep. It’s also brought on real fear with these covid rates spiking 😬. And certainly last but not least the increased anxiety. I feel like I’m anxious all the time wondering what this pain or that pain means, counting fetal movement, making sure im doing the right thing, and stressing over getting the nursery/my house in order.
It’s honestly not all bad because I find myself excited about feeling my baby girl move more, nesting, seeing my sunflower nursery visions starting to form, receiving some early gifts from ppl, and even starting to plan my baby shower. I do mourn the fact that it has to be virtual and I can’t celebrate with family/friends in person but more interested in keeping everyone safe.
It balances out I guess. One thing is for sure, while I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience pregnancy and bring life into this world, baby girl might be an only child if yall waiting for me to get pregnant again LOL. So I need yall to help me in my search for finding some great cousin friends that she’ll be able to grow up with 🤣.
Just a little scare
Over the weekend, had to make a trip to labor and delivery. Was experiencing stomach cramping and what the office said was low movement count. I had little relief from the stomach cramps after speaking with the on call doctor at the office. Luckily it all was related to something else and not baby girl. I had some mild contractions according to them but it didn’t worry them because I didn’t feel it, monitoring for her checked out with strong heartbeat, as usual lots of moving around when we are with doctors, and cervix check was good.
Good thing is I didn’t have to wait in the ER and my experience was excellent. I got a first hand view of how things will be when its really time for baby girl to enter this world! And that actually brought some relief to the whole ordeal. I am definitely counting down though. 27 weeks down, 13 weeks to go!!!