The Mommy Test

Whenever one of my pregnant friends (ok, so I only have 2 so that narrows it down) starts worrying about something pregnancy related (ie, not feeling kicks frequently "enough" or the ultrasound technician saying that the baby has a big head), I calmly explain that these are those moments of pregnancy that makes us into moms. I'm convinced that every pregnant women must go through some phase of over-worrisomeness in order to know that she indeed will survive motherhood, no matter how difficult and troublesome things may get.

I felt blessed to have made it through the first 18 weeks of pregnancy with total blissful ignorance. Although I knew that a few women have miscarriages, It never occurred to me that it happens as often as it does because I had no scares or worries about it. This is very unlike one of my friends who spent almost 12 weeks certain that she was losing her baby. Thankfully, everything turned out wonderfully and her baby boy is due in mid-October. This was "her scare", her time to worry. Although she sometimes does wonder if he kicks enough (yes, she over-analyzes everything), at least she knows that he's there kicking sometimes.

My first moment of worry came when the doctors first told us that our little girl may have a heart defect. Thankfully, after 4 weeks of worry and several ultrasounds, our pediatric cardiologist told us that everything looked great. I'm pretty certain that this was my "mommy test" (not the funny mommy test). Through patience and support, we waited to hear good news and were happily rewarded.

On Friday, I had my second "mommy test". I was unhappy to find myself having uncomfortable pains in my abdomen while working. As the pain grew worse, I finally decided that I had to call my doc and get in there. Although I was sure that it was just "round ligament pain", I was, as I was assured by my doctor, having contractions. Fortunately they were simple Braxton Hicks contractions, a common occurrence in the second half of pregnancy (someone could have told me that earlier, thank you!). I just needed to drink more water with the temperatures rising.

The point is, I think most of us over think every little thing that happens during pregnancy. We just need to use our intuition to figure out what are normal and what are "mommy tests". Just remember, that they all make us better parents and people in the end. I'm hoping these are the only two she puts me through though! I don't think I want to handle any more worrying!