Pregnancy in US

[Messybrownhair 251]

I am having a difficult first trimester, and being in school makes it doubly hard. But I cant quit now. I have been doing so well here the past year and a half but now I miss home, having the support from family and having a maid. I have a great loving supportive hubby but he is deploying in 2 months.. makes me wonder how I'll survive! I have a nanny who will arrive once I give birth to help while hubby is deployed.. i plan to stay in school till December (till my 7th month), give birth on Feb and go back to school March...graduate in July. Hubby returns Sept next yr. Never realized pregnancy would be so difficult! Lol. I guess Im just seeking motivation from others who went through this and survived pregnancy without their family.

[Messybrownhair 251]

PS. Giving birth at home or going home is not an option.. my insurance is better here. My mom is coming for the birth but cant stay long coz she works too.

[M_&_R 77]

You can do it. I went through my pregnancy alone & have cared for my baby alone all this year. He'll be 1 in 2 weeks. My fiance won't be here until probably this winter at the earliest. It's not easy but women all over the world in all different circumstances raise healthy, happy babies, and you can do it too, even on your own. Take things one day at a time, or one minute if a day seems like forever! Don't put too much pressure on yourself if you have to adjust your expectations. There's nothing wrong with narrowing your focus to just what's critically important, and leaving everything else for "later" (whenever that comes, haha). Take good care of yourself and take it easy on yourself.

M

[Messybrownhair 251]

You can do it. I went through my pregnancy alone & have cared for my baby alone all this year. He'll be 1 in 2 weeks. My fiance won't be here until probably this winter at the earliest. It's not easy but women all over the world in all different circumstances raise healthy, happy babies, and you can do it too, even on your own. Take things one day at a time, or one minute if a day seems like forever! Don't put too much pressure on yourself if you have to adjust your expectations. There's nothing wrong with narrowing your focus to just what's critically important, and leaving everything else for "later" (whenever that comes, haha). Take good care of yourself and take it easy on yourself.

M

Thank you and advanced happy birthday to your baby!

[M_&_R 77]

Thank you and advanced happy birthday to your baby!

Thanks

I hope you're feeling good today. Pregnancy sure does odd things to your body! It's a blessing though.

M

[Messybrownhair 251]

I agree! Sometimes I feel that my body has been taken over and I have no control. I never dealt with nausea, constipation and heartburn prior to pregnancy. But I see so many people trying to conceive and spending tons of money for IVF, I cant help but feel blessed ^.^

[M_&_R 77]

I agree! Sometimes I feel that my body has been taken over and I have no control. I never dealt with nausea, constipation and heartburn prior to pregnancy. But I see so many people trying to conceive and spending tons of money for IVF, I cant help but feel blessed ^.^

I went through a lot to have my little man - very lucky that my insurance covered IVF, and very very lucky that it worked. There's almost no chance I'll be able to have another. I'm thankful for him every day, even though it's very hard being on my own. I do feel a little cheated that my fiance and I should have shared the special time of pregnancy, and little man's first year, and we didn't get to share that and have it strengthen our bond as a couple. But I'm keeping my eyes on the future that we're working towards.

And besides - it's easy to romanticize, but sometimes the stress of pregnancy and having a baby are really tough for a couple, in some ways there's a lot less to fight about! LOL

The heartburn is the worst! They say that there actually is a genuine correlation between the amount of hair a baby is born with, and the mother experiencing heartburn in pregnancy. Pretty cool.

I was lucky to have a pretty easy pregnancy - but towards the end my legs and ankles just swelled up like balloons. It's an experience, that's for sure.

Will you find out whether you're having a boy or a girl?

M

[Holly2234 66]

I went through pregnancy without my husband. He left when i was 15 weeks but thankfully he returned when i was 35 weeks.

The times when i was alone, i still worked so i kept busy and bought things for the baby here and there. The time passed pretty quickly. It was difficult because i had a lot of back ache, then kidney stones and all sorts of other things! But its so worth it in the end.

My family werent there a whole lot and being alone wasnt a big deal once i was used to it. Im sure you will feel better about it once you get into the second trimester. The horrible sicky feeling goes away for most people by then and its the most enjoyable part of pregnancy. I sometimes wonder how people do it! I was only 17 (18 when my daughter was born) and i felt like an old woman by the end! And i came out of it pretty well In the end, we are all very lucky that we get these chances

There will be loads of times to enjoy ahead. Plus your husband gets back at a brilliant age for babies! Its all fun and games then

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Honestly, for me getting pregnant here actually helped. I made some new "mommy friends", and had stuff to do (doctors appointments, hanging out on baby boards online), so I felt less home sick. The cravings were bad, because I missed the "home comfort foods".

[adiiann 163]

Yep! Being a busy mom-to-be is really hard but not that bad. I am in my second trimester and working on-shift work. The hardest part for me is the day shift as I get really sleepy after I eat lunch.

First trimester is really really awful, changes in your body, changes on your mood, and most of the time you can't understand yourself. I didn't have morning sickness but I oftern have nausea.

I can't really give good advice as every pregnant woman is different. But once you surpass first trimester, you will feel a bit better. Just take more rest as much you can.

[adiiann 163]

Honestly, for me getting pregnant here actually helped. I made some new "mommy friends", and had stuff to do (doctors appointments, hanging out on baby boards online), so I felt less home sick. The cravings were bad, because I missed the "home comfort foods".

Definitely home comfort food esp if you can't wait to have it cook and you really want to eat right away, it's frustrating.

I am really craving for philippine indian mango but nowhere to find here in Missouri.

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

Aww. Yeah, I think it can be pretty hard. I went through my first pregnancy without my husband in the country, and for my current one, I'm with my husband but FAAAARRRRR from my family. I think this time is actually harder, just feeling really alone without family nearby. Husband has been so supportive and helpful, but there's nothing like being near people who have actually done the pregnancy and childbirth thing. Fortunately I've connected with a lot of other expat moms in Korea thanks to online groups and such, but most of them live kind of far from me and their circumstances are different (married to Koreans, not working full-time outside home), so there's still a bit of a disconnect. But I also think first trimester was just so much more miserable. I had morning sickness for 3 1/2 months this time, and working through all the gagging and nausea, losing weight from not being able to eat, I was just in total despair a lot. Once that ended about 2 weeks ago, I felt like I had stepped into the light and everything was so much more manageable. Hopefully the same happens for you!

[Messybrownhair 251]

Thank you everyone. I am 10 weeks now, hopefully I'll start feeling better soon!

[Diana and Chris 25]

Congratulations! I'm due beginning of January and I'm done with first trimester, but this sickness is still taking the best out of me... having a supportive husband in this cases where you feel like you can't handle it anymore is of vital importance. It was a process to get him to understand that it's not me being lazy or playing sick, but that having a baby and growing a baby in your body really takes a toll of your whole system. There are days when I just say that this body isn't mine, it's the baby's and whatever he/she wants to happen that day, it will. It's just random like that.

I also have a couple of pregnant woman forums where you can complain, fuzz and feel like you can talk about more things than people that are not pregnant and will just simply think that you are simply exaggerating. This has really helped.

Daily talks to my mom on skype has been valuable beyond believe. She helps me when ever I'm feeling tired, sick or simply out of place. In a sense she makes me feel a little less lonely, like she is still spoiling me with attention...though husband has been my first pillar of strength.

It's hard, but I've find it to be an amazing experience and I am -even though I can't wait for my sickness to pass- happy.

[chrissbe17 3]

I am 25 weeks now and my first trimester was terrible. Luckily my husband has been around the entire time but i miss my family and really wish i had my mother and my sister. I just focus on the little gitl who will be here soon and being happy for her. I wish you a happy and healthy pregnancy!