ChickSpeak

When you are pregnant, there are a lot of things become important to you. What you eat, activities you participate in, books you read, classes you take…you starting think about these things much more frequently than you used to.

But today, I am here to tell Chicks everywhere the absolute, number one most important thing you need during pregnancy: a support group.

Now by support group, I don’t mean a group that you visit weekly, where you sit in a circle and discuss your lives (thought I’m sure those are helpful for some people). I’m talking about your parents, friends, family and everyone in between. I am almost positive that pregnancy would not be half as fun or enjoyable without some parents or family who care for you and friends who joke around with you.

For instance, my friend Snowboarding Sam can’t go anywhere with me without touching my belly and she has taken to calling the baby “Queso.” Yes, I know queso means cheese in Spanish and no, I have no idea why she’s calling it that. All I know is she refuses to call the baby anything else and she even has me referring to the baby as Queso. She absolutely demands that I call her the second I go into labor because she wants to be there for me through the whole process.

Another friend, whom we’ll call The Godmother, swears she has sympathy everything - bladder, cravings, back pain…everything. She will watch T.V. when I want to watch T.V. and she’ll go out on the town when I feel like a girl’s night out. She was there for me when I took the first tests (which came back negative and wrongly so) and she has offered repeatedly to come with me to doctor’s appointments, just like Snowboarding Sam wants to be my “baby daddy” at my childbirth classes.

I have two other friends who will take me out for crazy girl’s nights even when my stomach obscures my feet from my vision. I have another friend, The Baby Lover, who wants to know absolutely everything there is to know about pregnancy and asks me if I’m showing every time I talk to her. So far, my answer has always been “no,” much to her disappointment.

None of them judge me, none of them tell me what a mistake I’ve made, none of them try to tell me what to do…they are all adamant that I have fun, enjoy life and know that they love me no matter what. I absolutely love them for this. They make me smile and I always have fun and feel cared for around them. Never underestimate the power of you girlfriends!

My parents have also been a Godsend. They could have been furious, called me names and refused to help me out but they have been so supportive, it’s almost surprising. My mother helped me to find an ob-gyn and helped me to figure out all of the financials involved and she is currently helping me find/investigate adoption agencies.

My father is the worrier he has always been (which is actually a good thing) so he helps me watch me diet and is always the first to point out certain precautions I should take that I wouldn’t have thought of originally. He likes to call the baby “Eggbert.” I suppose we’ll see how he reacts to “Queso.”

I know a lot of pregnant teens don’t get the kind of support I have received. They don’t have friends to lean on and more often than not, their parents are too mad at them to be any help at all. Thankfully, I lucked out.

 I have a huge support group and wonderful parents. I have people who want me to have fun rather than punish me for my mistakes. They tell me I’m brave instead of stupid. They go out with me rather than acting ashamed of me. They let me have fun and I will be forever grateful.

As for the actual pregnancy, not too much has changed. I am definitely on my way to showing. Sucking in has gotten more difficult and I feel like I’m constantly bloated. I’m also starting to have to sleep on my sides. Sleeping on my back just feels uncomfortable and sleeping on my stomach hurts. And all of this is just a prelude to what’s to come…oh goodie.

I have another doctor’s appointment this coming Wednesday so I’m hoping to learn more about what’s ahead for the next few weeks. Snowboarding Sam is coming with me and she might be more excited than me.

Lil’  Mama is 18 years old and unexpectedly pregnant. She absolutely adores her girlfriends, was very excited to see the Saints in the Superbowl and wants to live at the beach one day. She is going to see a horror film on Valentine’s Day but firmly believes that there is someone for everyone…but also firmly believes that single life is highly enjoyable.