There’s no love lost with pregnancy labors

We just want it to be over.

Chrissy’s pregnancy has been anything but a breeze.

Almost as expected, the morning sickness started not long after we found out we were pregnant. And “morning sickness,” despite its name, isn’t relegated to the time of day before noon.

It can strike at any time. It can strike often.

Such was the case during the first trimester; the first 13 weeks of gestation. It struck first after one of our more common meals.

One evening after we both returned home from work and not really in the mood to cook a full meal, we opted for the quick, Italian staple of spaghetti.

A few bites in, she ran to the bathroom. By her side, I did my best to console her during this initial bout. I cooled a towel and put it on the back of her neck in hopes of soothing her.

We haven’t eaten spaghetti since.

Her “episodes,” as I’ll call them, were by no means regular. We never knew what would trigger them, either.

We learned quickly, however, lack of eating led to nausea and could cause an episode. Bumpy rides in a car might spawn them too.

It was almost like a ticking time bomb.

As we had been told by our many other mother-friends — mind you, we’re not exactly the “traditional” age, if there is one, to which people become first-time parents — the morning sickness goes away after the first trimester.

They weren’t wrong. But they neglected to leave out one key detail; it’s not gone for good.

My wife had a reprieve for all of about six weeks during the second trimester when there was very little morning sickness. 

This time, unfortunately it came back with a vengeance.

To put it in the most sincere possible way, my wife isn’t exactly gentle when these episodes strike. It’s nearly debilitating for her and she’d prefer to not be seen in public. Therefore, if they happen when she’s at work, she takes the rest of the day off.

Remember how I said it can strike at any time? It doesn’t care if she’s at work or not. Unfortunately, it’s happened quite a bit at work these last couple of months.

It’s not just the morning sickness she’s suffered from, either.

As Baby Schanz continued to grow, however, so too did her general discomfort with being pregnant.

By discomfort, I don’t mean she was regretting being pregnant, it’s just as the 40 weeks continued to progress she just became more and more uncomfortable.

Sleeping became increasingly difficult. Typically one to sleep on her back or her stomach, the latter became impossible for obvious reasons. The former was tricky too because of the pressure she experienced on her pelvis and internal organs.

When a body pillow joined us in bed, it made her ability to sleep seem possible, but shifting from one side to the other started to be less graceful and more laborious.

No pun intended.

When we’re out and about, be it grocery shopping or buying items for the baby’s room, we have to take it easy. She can’t walk as fast as her non-pregnant self. She’s had Braxton Hicks contractions — also known as “practice contractions” — often. They generally occur when she’s on her feet for long periods of time, which is 90% of her workday as a clinical athletic trainer.

As soon as she sits down in the car ride home, be it from the store or work, they go away. Once she starts moving again, they return almost immediately.

She’s fed up with it.

To be honest, I am too.

It’s hard to put into words, but while “my job is done” in terms of the pregnancy, I feel helpless. There’s only so much I can do when she has one of those episodes. I can’t physically do anything when she has her Braxton Hicks contractions and I can’t make her any more comfortable when trying to sleep. I am handcuffed when it comes to her general discomfort.

It’s why we just want it to be over. 

We’re excited to be parents and meet our child. But I — we — also desperately want her discomfort to end.