On the way walking to the bus station after an English class last semester, Duong, the only Vietnamese classmate of mine said to me, “Sister, you are now thirty-two years old, right? A lot of people your age have at least two or three kids. Why don’t you have one? You are old enough to have kids, Phuc. ” There is much truth in Duong’s words because they truly aroused me. “I don’t think about it yet, it is not my target right now, Duong, I answer. Frankly, I am now at the age that people have called it a transition between young adulthood and middle adulthood.
According to Vietnamese custom, the right age to have a baby is from 20-25 years old. Although most people consider it “late” to have a baby at the age of 30, the idea of having a baby was never on my mind in the two years of marriage. At the time, my goal was to finish college and get a stable job. Two months later, I’ve became pregnant. It is like a happy “accident” that has come and filled my mind with joy and love. Last semester was my first year in college. Although I was taking three classes carrying twelve credits and working two jobs at the same time, I didn’t feel exhausted.
However, working and studying truly kept me busy, and I did not notice that I neglected my health and disregarded my body. I wasn’t aware of the baby inside of me until I felt nauseous and abnormally sick. The news about the expected baby usually brings a blessing for many people; but it was a shock for me because I wasn’t prepared for it. Nevertheless, it actually changed my habits and my academic goals. It is changing my life. As months went by, preparing to be a mother has gradually and positively affected my eating habits. Before noticing the baby inside of me, I used to eat just once or twice a day.
I would have a quick breakfast with milk and bread. Eating was just a mean for survival for me at the time. Cheese steaks and hamburgers was my favorite fast food for lunch. I almost always skipped dinner. It was a very unhealthy lifestyle and definitely unfit for someone with an unborn baby. However, in my first trimester of pregnancy, my appetite totally changed, my body required some specific kinds of food such as pickles, green mango, and many kinds of Vietnamese cuisine such as Sticky Rice, Vietnamese Noodle Soups like Pho, Bun Bo Hue.
Most of the food I used to eat in large quantities during my childhood. For the Vietnamese food that I could not cook, my husband would take me to the Vietnamese restaurants. Otherwise, I had to learn how to cook by surfing the web for Vietnamese cuisine or reading cook books on Vietnamese food. As a mother-to-be, I am aware of the importance of nutrient-rich input from daily meal. So, eating has become my first priority. Any kinds of food are recommended for pregnant woman would be certainly in my everyday menu.
I’ve been eating various kinds of food that help for the development of the baby like eggs, fishes and beef to strengthen the baby’s brain; seafood to gain the calcium and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetable to enhance the digestive system. I have stayed away from Coffee, Coke or any kinds of drinks that contain caffeine as per the doctor’s advice that caffeine may affect the baby’s brain. Instead, I have drunk at least 16 oz of milk or fruit juice everyday which can meet the requirement for important nutrients such as protein, vitamin D, and calcium.
As a result, I could easily go through the tough first trimester of pregnancy, and I have gained 20 pounds during seven months of pregnancy. As a human being, everybody has a goal to pursue. I also have my own academic goal. I have planned to finish college degree in two years. However, being a mother has likely changed my school plan. The fall semester started on Sept 4th and last until Dec 22nd. The baby will come at any time regardless of my plan to complete the fall semester which ends in Dec 22nd. Despite a lot of recommendation that I should stay at home preparing to be a mother, I chose to take three classes this semester.
Although I only took three classes instead of four classes as a full time student, I feel happy; because I strongly understand a concept that “a big time dreamer, a long time procrastinator . Having a baby is a lifelong project that requires the parents’ patience and time. Therefore, not everyone could finish their goal with the burden of having kids generally. Let’s see if I can overcome those obstacles to reach my goal. Back to the time before pregnancy, I were planning to go back to Vietnam to visit my family and travel to some other countries such as: China, Canada, Mexico, but those plans need to be “on hold until the baby is born.
Pregnancy not only changes my plan, but also changes my life. I cannot spend a lot of time with my friends or hang out with them for eating, shopping, going to a night club. Instead, I stay at home learning how to cook and reading books like a monk. Besides, I always think very carefully about every penny I spend. I and my husband had a careful discussion and a concrete plan for our budget. We need more financial account ability. My husband had to find new job to cover the family’s expense. To approach that, he enrolled a training program for a Medical Biller.
We had to borrow the money for the program, so no travels for pleasure, but more bills, more concerns and more loans. Pregnancy has become a misadventure and a sweet incident in my life. I now feel very wonderful to wait for the baby to be born. I also do enjoy my pregnancy time when I feel the baby moving inside of me. Being pregnant is a nice experience for anyone who is expecting a baby. It is like a gift of the entire life and a true happiness. Anybody who has kids would understand my happiness and my statement about having baby would change the habits, the current lifestyle and all the plans.
