5 Things That Surprised Me as a Pregnant Midwife

Hey friends, we’re trying out something new here at Rowan and Co..

While I am a midwife and have been for years, I’m finally experiencing motherhood for the first time myself! So, I thought why not blog through this intimate time and share my experiences with you?

Here are my top 5 things I’ve felt and experienced that aren’t what I thought they would be as a first time pregnant midwife:

1.     The absolute audacity of people!

I’m not even sure where to start with this one, but it blows my mind the amount of unsolicited advice, body comments, and boundary crossing that has occurred this far. I really thought as a midwife people would steer clear of some of the nonsense, that they would feel silly with their comments but it might even be the opposite. I think people are so happy to share their thoughts and (sometimes brutal) opinions  because of my career path. I don’t think people realize that their comments can be so hurtful and ignorant… an already taxed pregnant person does not need more added to their plate. Maybe try some encouragement and leave it at that.

Top three least favorite things I've been told: 

 1. I’m starving my baby and my belly should be bigger.

2. That I better not be drinking alcohol ( someone saw me post my mocktail while on a date night)

3. The complete obsession with my “due date.”

2.     How much I need to eat:

So this absolutely blew my mind! I am eating approximately 3,000 calories  on any given day. THIS IS WILD TO ME! I know I’m a very active person but the way our bodies are truly in overdrive while growing a human is mind boggling. The worst part is sometimes you feel full, or don’t even want the snack but you know you gotta push through because of your activity level. I’ve done diet logs with clients, reviewed caloric intake, helped make food edits but never once did I fully understand what it looked like for my clients to meet these goals. Go mamas, we are legit super humans!

3.     No horrible pregnancy symptoms:

When I say that I felt the bare minimum I mean it. I threw up, if you can even call It that, twice my whole pregnancy. I haven’t felt nausea except in the car, but that’s normal pre pregnancy. I thought that I would be down and out bad, at least the first trimester. Now that’s not to say the first trimester didn’t come with some hard times, like roadblock tiredness  or the need to eat every 1.5-2 hours. But this really made me feel so blessed and thankful.

4.     My dual outlook/feelings on physically being pregnant:

I mentioned above that I have had a very smooth pregnancy, which is an absolute blessing and at the same time I will be very happy when my sweet girl is no longer in my belly but in my arms. I think that so many people express to me how much they LOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE being pregnant and it made me feel a bit guilty that it's not my absolute fave. I am very happy that I am a healthy and happy home for my little one but it's all very odd to me. She moves and I get excited as well as weirded out. I can't quite pinpoint or articulate this one but just know, if you are in the middle ground of an unexplained love hate with pregnancy, I’m right there with ya.

5.     My desire for a big round belly:

This is also SOOOOOOOO odd to me. I have definitely struggled with body image issues ( like feeling too big) in high school, undergrad and even adulthood. As I moved into adulthood they definitely leveled out for the most part, or I had tools to remind myself that I am healthy and the mirror or scale doesn’t define me. So who would have thought that I was eager to gain weight and get a big round belly in pregnancy. NOT ME!

I hope you found this read easy, that you got to know me a bit better or that something resonated. As I dive into this new chapter of pregnancy and motherhood I hope I can share and build this community with you!

What would ya like me to chat about next? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram!

- Ang

[cover photo is a charcoal drawing by Bethany Phan, found on Pinterest.]