Facciamo le corna....

Dare I say it? Dare I even think it???
After an entire month of feeling horribly nauseous, pretty much at all times in all places, I have been feeling almost “normal” for the past few days. Not completely normal, obviously – as demonstrated by this morning’s little episode of opening the fridge to get the milk out and having to run to the bathroom upon spotting a jar of black olives….. But, for the most part I only feel sick when I think about food. So, it’s good news and bad news!
Today I reached 10 weeks, so I can officially say I’m in my “eleventh week”, which sounds much better than ten! My waistline is rapidly expanding (more as a result of the consumption of junk food than anything else – it’s been all I can stand lately!) and it’s becoming more and more difficult to conceal this little “secret” in the office. The good thing is, it now being august, the entire world is on holiday (as will we be this time next week!!) until September so the number of people from whom I have to do the concealing is rapidly diminishing….
Luca is more and more like a kid the night before Christmas every day. I appear to have gone from girlfriend to goddess and his affection for me and mini-bump is so great that yesterday I had to ask him to leave me alone for 5 minutes as the hair-stroking, cuddling, nuzzling and general constant attention was starting to make my head spin. Don’t get me wrong… I am NOT in any way complaining about the love and devotion demonstrated by the father of my unborn child, but mamma mia…when your hormones are telling your that every moving object which crosses your path must be spontaneously obliterated, well it’s hard to feel lovey-dovey schmoozy-woozy. Get my drift?? Bless him though… I know I am very lucky, and I repeat – I am not knocking it!
I’ve been watching those documentaries on SKY which follow the goings-on in the maternity department of the hospital in Bologna (Reparto Maternità) and I have to say I am almost numb to the amount of hysterical screaming and evident suffering that they always show. Friends keep telling me that every woman is different, not everyone has a terrible experience and you just have to be prepared etc. I’m sure it’s true, but the way I see it, at the end of the day there’s not really anything you can do anyway. You can ask for pain relief, but here in Italy you’re never guaranteed to get it, so maybe you’ll just have to stick it out without. You can create a detailed birth plan and make sure that everyone involved is aware of your choices, but you can’t be sure that you won’t have an emergency that doesn’t throw that out of the window, so again – you just have to live with it. You can every try to mentally prepare yourself for labour, do yoga and breathing exercises, and anti-natal classes, but ultimately these (albeit useful) add-ons won’t completely take away the pain and trauma involved in bringing a new person into the world, by whatever means…. So, although I still have over 6 months to go (God willing…), and therefore find it quite easy to be philosophical, this is the road I have decided to take. We’ll talk about it again pre-labour and see whether I’m quite so breezy! And, as they say in Italian “facciamo le corna” (make the sign of the horns – or “knock on wood” to the rest of us), here’s hoping that these past few days of relative comfort are the start of a more enjoyable, easier pregnancy experience than the one I’ve had until now! Fingers and toes and eyes crossed….