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SheKnows.com Presents: The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (that no one else will tell you!) Excerpt from SheKnows.com Presents: The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (that no one else will tell you!)

by Jen Klein



Imagining the Possibilities

Suddenly, you have so much more to think about. During the first few weeks of a pregnancy, a door opens to an emotional part of your brain that you didn't even know existed. It's not just that you have the huge task of wrapping your head around the idea that you will be someone's mother. There is so much more to imagine, to consider, to fret over, to confound, to educate yourself about, and beyond . . . all in addition to living your "normal" life, which, by the way, keeps plugging along, day by day. The world stops for no pregnant woman.

Your Inner Play-by-Play Announcer

Like the news ticker at the bottom of the television screen, this new emotional life provides a running dialogue underneath every moment, action, interaction, and even silence:

"I'm pregnant. Wow. Am I really pregnant? I don't feel pregnant. I don't look pregnant. Maybe the test was wrong. Should I take another one? Maybe I really am pregnant. My boobs sure are sore. And I am pretty gassy. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. I wonder what the baby will look like. Will it have my eyes or my husband's nose? I hope it doesn't have my father's ears. Will it be musical? Will it be brainy? Will it be athletic? It's a girl, I'm sure of it. Will she be girly? Do I want her to be girly? Maybe I don't. I don't know. No, no, it's definitely a boy. I hope he's tall. Oh no, what if I don't stay pregnant? What if I have a miscarriage? I don't think I could bear that. Stop thinking like that. You're pregnant and you are going to have a baby in nine months. Or eight and a half. Or something like that. I wonder how big my belly will be. Will the rest of me get big, too? I'm going to eat very carefully and never stray from healthy, organic foods. I will eat perfectly. I will. I will, I will, I will. Do I have enough life insurance? College costs how much? Maybe an only child is fine. I wonder what the maternity leave policy is at work. I'm so tired. I wish I could lie down right now and take a nap."

Repeat, with slight variations, constantly for the foreseeable future. It's overwhelming, it's scary, it's pretty normal. It's also exciting, very exciting.

"Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit."
--Bill Cosby

The first few weeks of being pregnant are obviously just the beginning, but don't dismiss the reverie of them or push them aside too quickly because it's still "too early." They really are a time to let yourself dream and hope and fear. Soon enough, realities will intrude!

The above is an excerpt from the book SheKnows.com Presents -- The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (that no one else will tell you!) by Jen Klein. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2010 Jen Klein, author of SheKnows.com Presents -- The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (that no one else will tell you!)