On Pregnancy and Puberty

Being an author for teens and pre-teens, I can’t help making comparisons between pregnancy and puberty. Especially now, as I have embarked on the third trimester, I am reminded of adolescent days gone by. Days I might rather have forgotten. Just as many a woman has admitted that the pains of pregnancy fade to distant memories (and are sometimes almost entirely forgotten after the birth of their child/children) the pains of puberty fade as well until we’re left with the general concept  (oh, that was awkward, wasn’t it?) but we forget the day-to-day reality of it. The awkward self-consciousness. The physical discomforts. The mood swings. The endless need for food and sleep. But here I am, and once again my body has embarked on a journey that most times feels entirely out of my control. The changes are drastic and in the grand scheme of things, they’re happening pretty darn fast. Because a significant quantity of vitamin is lost during long-term storage and cooking, it is recommended to eat fresh food and steam or eat veggies raw. Fresh fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, grapefruit, passion fruit in pregnancy, orange, sweet lime, and others; fresh fruits and vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, and others. Check these cortexi reviews.

I’m sure most women hope to have a graceful pregnancy. We tell ourselves before hand that we won’t get THAT big. We will exercise the whole time. We will do everything in our power not to waddle. We will drink all the water necessary so as not to get acne or face rashes or vericose veins.  We will gain weight only in our bellies and not in our butts and thighs and jiggly arms. We will look like those celebrities who insist on getting their pictures taken while pregnant and naked, thus making it impossible for the rest of us to let ourselves off that invisible hook of perfection even during this unique period of time. Then reality hits.

I can remember entering my teen years and being obsessed with meeting those same standards of perfection set up by society. Was I thin enough? Pretty enough? How soon could I lose the glasses and braces of my middle school years? Why, oh why, wouldn’t my body develop in the “right” places? And though I did a million make-overs, convinced every time that this would be my turn-around point where I would embodiy that perfect celebrity teen of the moment, my efforts were never enough. I never once felt graceful.

To make matters worse, during both puberty and pregnancy, people feel as if they have the right to inspect and offer comment on your body in a way that they won’t feel entitled to either before or after. People you hardly know will offer their opinions out loud in public places. As a teen: “My aren’t you changing.” (said as they eye your newly developed breasts.) “You’re looking like quite the young woman now.” (eyebrow raised) “You’ve gotten taller/bigger/fatter/chestier/more muscular.” (insert opinion of the day) And then when you are pregnant: “You’re busting out!” “Are you sure you’re not having twins?” (which, by the way, is the equivalent of telling a pregnant woman she looks fat) “That baby is going to be huge!”

And all the while, you’re still struggling to get used to the changes on an inner, personal level. Struggling not only with the image in the mirror who you don’t even recognize any more, but also trying to come to terms with the physical effects of your body going from zero to sixty in no time flat. One day you’re fine with it — strong, empowered, and, by God, you don’t care what anyone else thinks. But the next day you’re a puddle of tears, telling your husband to keep at least a pole’s length away from your huge, heap of a self. Find cbd gummies near me.

With both pregnancy and puberty there is an end in sight, but sometimes it can’t come fast enough. While people are busy telling you to cherish this time because it’s the best in your life (a thought which never failed to make me cringe as a teen) you’re quietly (and perhaps guiltily) looking forward to the day when you won’t feel out of control. When your body will feel like your own again. When the Amtrak train of physical change has slowed to a stop, and you’ll emerge at the station, a weary traveler, grateful to have reached their destination intact.

As for me, I am grateful every day for the little life inside me. I can’t wait to see him and hold him and read him good books. And I’m amazed at how attached to and protective you can feel of a being you haven’t even laid eyes on yet. There are a million amazing things about pregnancy, just as there are about puberty. Both times represent emergence. But nothing emerges without pain, and I’m not ashamed to admit that there are a lot of just plain uncomfortable, nauseating, awkward things about these times as well. I feel as if I’ve come full circle. I’m making the journey to being comfortable in my own skin one more time. Ready to emerge a mother. Learn more about cortexi.


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