I am pregnant. Not disabled. I appreciate all the people who want to hold doors for me, help me carry my coffee to my car (yes, coffee), and I especially thank all of the nuggets of wisdom I receive from people who I have never met in regards to issues which do not concern them.
Please don’t get me wrong, I truly am thankful for any and all additional help I am receiving. I will be the first to admit it is difficult being pregnant while also carrying for a fourteen months old baby.
All that I ask is to not be treated as though I should be in a wheel chair, donning a hospital gown while everyone refers to the “condition” I am in. I am a grown woman, capable of making informed decisions. This is not my first pregnancy, so I was well aware of what I was getting myself into, and judging from my beautiful daughter, I think I did okay the first time around.
Here are some things I never gave up while pregnant, or after, and I have no intention of exnaying in the future.
1. High Heels.
I have been wearing high heels since I was old enough to walk. My feet are practically shaped in the form of swanky Manolo Blahniks. Not to mention I can just about run a marathon in the darn things while inadvertently breaking some sort of record, without breaking my neck, mind you.
2. Make-Up.
I concede that now, as a mother, I no longer have the time or wont for many frivolous beauty treatments. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I got anything as basic as a manicure. Yet I cannot fathom any reason to appear in public as if I just rolled out of bed. Sure, I am glowing in my third trimester, but my skin is also blotchy due to all the hormones, and after I slather on a few layers of sun block, my glowing complexion now looks greasy and unkempt. So please stop insinuating that somehow my daughter will be traumatized by the few minutes she has to entertain herself in the morning while I attempt to make myself look decent. In fact, she is having a blast hanging out with daddy in the kitchen while she has her snacks. As for my unborn son, he will be fine too.
3. Coffee.
Of course I decreased my caffeine intake as soon as I found out I was pregnant. “Decreased” being the operative term. When I was pregnant with my daughter I swore of coffee immediately. However, I then realized coffee was not the perpetrator of my caffeine intake. I was getting so much caffeine from soda, chocolate, and tea, the cup or so of coffee I was having in the morning was quite innocuous. This time around I kept the coffee and ditched some of the other culprits. I managed to decrease my overall caffeine intake while still blissfully enjoying my steaming cup in the morning, and all with my doctor’s consent. So please stop glaring at me at Starbucks. I assure you, I am not slowly harming my unborn child.