Glowing pregnancy?

During my pregnancy I heard from and read about women that loved pregnancy. They felt great, they had the infamous glow, they loved their big bellies, etc. I was not one of those women.  I kind of secretly hated those women for making me feel like a bad person for not loving the whole pregnancy experience. First of all... being nauseous for 80% of the day for close to 3 months... not so enjoyable. Especially suffering through the work day surrounded by people that have no idea you're pregnant. I had to constantly be snacking to get through the nausea. But its really hard to eat when you feel sick to your stomach. And I never did have cravings. But for the first 3 months the idea of meat made me want to throw up. And of course my boyfriend's favourite restaurant is a Greek place where he likes to get a platter of meat. Even though he knew my meat aversion it never failed that when we were going out the first place he suggested was this restaurant. Nothing makes you feel like a bitch more than saying no EVERY weekend to your boyfriend's favourite place to eat. Then the one time I finally give in and go, he gives me crap that I don't want to share the platter o' meat. I wish I could have made him feel for one day how I felt for three months so he would get a clue.

I was more exhausted than I ever have been in my life too on top of the nausea. I was always such a light sleeper before I was pregnant and it always took me at least half an hour to get to sleep. Napping was nearly impossible unless I was recovering from a hang over. But turns out pregnancy is like the best sleeping pill you could ever buy. Except that it never stops working. Even in the boardroom when your vice president is talking. Nausea, hot boardroom and exhaustion are not a good mix. I started nodding off.. you know where you do the head bob when you fall asleep and instantly wake back up once your head falls. Super embarrassing. Of course my vice president didn't know I was pregnant, and even when I told him after when he confronted me on the head bobbing.. still to this day he comments how he's surprised I'm awake when he sees me. Like being a woman and having to leave work for mat leave isn't a career halter by itself... falling asleep in front of the vice president sure doesn't help matters. I literally was able to put my head down when me and my colleagues were eating lunch together and pass out in seconds. My boyfriend couldn't believe how much I was sleeping and couldn't understand why I couldn't get through a movie!

It turns out that I also had a huge complex about my weight. I did realize I was always very conscious about my weight and was always kind of thinking I needed to get back in shape. But it was really hard for me to gain weight even though it was for a good cause!!

The funny thing is... now that I've had the baby.. I actually do miss being pregnant. It's funny how mother nature works. You forget just how bad the nausea was (at the time I couldn't understand why anyone would go through it more than once!), how tired you were, how awful it felt to be fat (especially in the summer when everyone is wearing short shorts and you feel like a whale), how much your back hurt (4 pillows still couldn't keep me comfortable for more than an hour by month 8). And I would do it all over again..... given the right circumstance!