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P Is for Pregnancy
Pregnancy by the Letters
By I.J. Schecter
E is for exhaustion. Before you got pregnant, your body was accustomed to using everything it took in just for you. During the first weeks of pregnancy, it has to get used to supporting two systems: yours and your baby's. And that's draining. Extremely. You may find yourself becoming astonishingly sleepy at the drop of a hat throughout the first trimester. Don't feel guilty; it's your body's way of preserving its energy so it can keep sustaining that little miracle growing inside. And the good news is that is E also stands for euphoria, energy and exhilaration – all things you'll likely feel when that second-trimester high kicks in.
G is for girth. Reading the charts that tell you how many calories you're expected to accommodate so both you and your baby will be properly nourished, you imagine the people who designed them must have been crazy – or at least they must never have been pregnant. The fact is you do need to consume plenty, in the form of food and drink, because your baby demands it. And that translates to inevitable increases all over your body. Your breasts are going to balloon. Your waistline is going to expand. Your wrists and ankles may swell to proportions you'd never have believed. But there's a silver lining: Once the baby arrives, you can start taking off that weight and getting back to your former self. Is it hard? Sure. Is it impossible? Not in the least.
N is for nesting. I'm not suggesting you didn't like things orderly before being pregnant – but now that you are, you may be surprised at the sheer power of the impulse coursing through you to clean up and get organized. Maybe it's your body's way of telling you that you'll have far less time to tidy once the baby arrives. Maybe it's an evolutionary instinct that still persists eons after it first took hold. Whatever the reason, this might be a good time to tell your partner that, even though you asked him to rearrange the furniture three days ago, there's a pretty good chance you'll be asking him to do it again three days from now, too.
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