Pregnancy Scare
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to give birth to a baby. I hear all sorts of stories about how painful, yet incredibly rewarding the entire process is once you finally have that precious baby in your hands. I personally am not at a time in my life to be popping out little minions quite yet. However, this weekend I was fairly convinced that I was indeed knocked up. And it all started out with a trip to Dos Senoritos.
It was a sun-filled Saturday afternoon when Keelin and I were at the local Gladesville library copping their free wifi, until our other roomie Hannah was due to pick us up for a day at Manly beach. We were both on our computers when we locked eyes with one another. We’ve been with each other long enough now to decipher that we were both hungry. Keelin and I are the kind of people who turn Amanda Bynes crazy if we aren’t properly nourished at all times. This was one of the rare instances in which we were both traveling without our handy dandy snack packs. Our stomachs were starting to growl and we figured it would be in everyone’s best interest to feed the lion within us before it got ahold of anyone else. I was just about to suggest going to this Mexican place we’ve been wanting to try, when Keelin took the words right out of my mouth. We’re kindred spirits I tell you. We got super amped up about our mutual desire, jumped out of our seats, and headed over to Dos Senoritos.
Australia isn’t known for their pristine Mexican food. In fact, it is known for subpar Mexican food. But this place had gotten above average reviewson Yelp, and we’d both been craving some good ol’ fashion chips and tacos. Upon opening the door, I immediately digged the vibe. The walls were covered in paintings of skeletons, maracas, cartoons, and the works. Mexican music was playing in the background. The cherry on top was that they had sombrero’s you could wear while dining. The whole setup gave me a sudden urge to skip the beach in exchange for salsa dancing in the restaurant all day, but I’d already made a prior commitment.
We munched on some tortilla chips until our tacos were ready, and then headed out the door for Hannah and the girls to pick us up. We ended up having one too many people in the car, so I willingly hopped in the back, where I could lay down and peacefully devour my tacos with minimal distractions. Somewhere in the midst of inhaling my greasy tacos and being sprawled out across the trunk of the car, I started feeling light headed, nauseous, and crampy. I know I am no doctor, but that’s what the internet is for, and I took the liberty of looking up these new sensations. When I typed in the google search bar “cramps, upset stomach, nausea symptoms”, it immediately generated links to pregnancy. I’m no fool, and knew that this impossible but as time progressed I started second guessing myself.
The cramps persisted the entire car ride, and jerkiness in the back definitely didn’t help. Luckily we were headed to the beach, where I could lay down and let my worries wash away in the ocean waves. The serene ambiance did indeed distract me from my pain for quite some time. We relaxed on the beach for a few hours and then took a ferry ride back home. I swear the beauty of nature has the ability to distract you from even the worst symptoms.
When we arrived home in the evening, I decided to make myself a nice big salad. I usually lick my plate clean after my meals (I’ve literally been caught licking my plate clean), but tonight I couldn’t even finish all of it. I felt guilty for letting the niblets go to waste, but after researching online, I knew that loss of appetite was unfortunately a symptom of pregnancy. Again, I shrugged off this notion, knowing it was highly unlikely, but the following day raised my doubts furthermore.
I decided to go to bed extra early that night because our team was flying to Brisbane early tomorrow morning. My team flies to our playing destination on the day of our game, then we fly back to Sydney immediately after playing. I’m not used to such a quick turnaround, so I figured the extra rest would help prepare me a little bit better.
At about 3am, I awoke from a shark attack nightmare. Turns our there were no sharks in sight, but it felt like some jackass was simultaneously kneading and stabbing my internal organs with an exacto knife. My first contractions!? I slept restlessly for the rest of the night, eventually waking up to my 6am alarm clock.
I was groggy after my abysmal sleep, but mustered up all my energy for our day of travel. The plane ride induced a mixture of hot and cold flashes. I happened to get assigned a middle seat sandwiched between my two teammates, Sham and Grace. I warned them that there was 72% change I’d be using the barf bag on the flight. They chuckled that I called this projectile substance “barf” instead of “vomit” or “yak” or “spew”. I thought to myself,I don’t think these Australians will be laughing once I yak-vom-spew-barf all over their faces. Fortunately, I was able to withhold any flight spewings by assuming the fetal position.
When we landed, we drove straight to a cafe for a pre-game meal. My order was extremely unintelligent for an upset stomach: smoked salmon, hashbrowns, and fruit. Aside form the fruit, none of that sounded good in my tummy. Thankfully, I had brought along one of my famous snack packs and chose to consume a milder meal of rice cakes and peanut butter. At the restaurant, I double checked with Keelin what time our game commenced since there was a one hour time difference from Sydney to Brisbane. She told me 2:00 pm. I calculated that I had 3 hours before the whistle blew to let my food digest. I consumed a hearty amount in attempt to fill the holey sensations in my stomach. The food made me feel better, but very full. The food settled my stomach and I I started to feel like I was being overly dramatic about this whole situation.
We arrived at the locker room with plenty of time to spare. I took my sweet time going through my pre-game routine-foam rolling, listening to music, brushing my teeth, the usual. I was getting my neck massaged by our trainer, when our head coach Norm began his ritual pre-game spiel. I thought it was strange he was giving his talk at 12:10, almost 2 hours before kickoff, but I went with it. He metaphorically talked about how we needed to put our 0–4 record in the past, and then finished his pep talk with “now let’s go out there and get a good warm-up in!”
Huh? I got extremely confused as I watched all my teammates get up and walk out to the field. I asked my coach why we were going out so early, and he responded that this was how early we usually go out. Turns out, I was given false information by my American comrade (that beeyotch!) and our kickoff was actually at 1:00pm. I hadn’t even put on my socks yet and my food was still sloshing around in my stomach. There was nothing I could do about it now though, so I laced up my cleats and headed out the door with a reframed mindset.
It was at the precise moment in which I stepped on the field to warmup in which I became 82% certain that there was another person, let’s call him Jerry, in my stomach. By the time the whistle blew, Jerry was weighing in at approximately 11 pounds and was kicking at my gut as if he wanted to join in on the game. I contemplated telling our trainer that I needed to head straight to the delivery room. Yet something inside of me (now that I reflect back, it was probably Jerry) told me to keep going. So I pushed-or didn’t push depending on how you look at it-through. We ended up scoring first, only to concede a goal at the end of the first half. At halftime, I went to the restroom to control my contractions, took a few deep breaths, and then headed back out there for the second half. About midway through, we received a corner kick on the right side. This was my side to take the kick, but my stomach was churning like crazy. I told Jerry to pull himself together, and we jogged over to the corner flag. I took three steps backwards, than whipped in a cross that went flying to a player who miraculously headed the ball into the back of the net. That girl happened to be on the other team…but a goal’s a goal!Jerry seemed happy because he cooled his jets a bit, but we still had 30 minutes left. It was a scrappy, gutsy 30 minutes, that couldn’t come by faster. I was about to wave the white flag, but then it happened. The whistle blew, and we gave birth to sweet sweet victory! I have never felt such an intense combination of pain and joy in those few seconds. We had secured our first win!
Hannah, Keelin, and I arranged a flight back to Sydney for a couple days later so we could celebrate the big life event. The next day, we biked around the city until the afternoon and then got on the bus for the highlight of trip. We ventured to the Lone Pine Koala sanctuary where we got to hold a koala, spoon a kangaroo, ride and Emu, and so so so much more. It was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever been a part of.
Looking back, there’s a small chance I may have gotten food poisoning from Dos Senoritos rather than being pregnant, but that’s neither here nor there. Amidst the pain and struggle, this was a weekend for the record books. I’d like to commend all you mother’s out there who have come out alive through the process. I am very grateful for what you went through, but I also see that it is all worth it in the end. These days taught me the pure beauty that comes with bringing a child into this world, but most importantly, that one should never ever have Mexican food while visiting Australia.
P.S I’d like to give a COLOSSAL shout out to our Wanderers trainer Donna, who after reading my prior blog, assembled me a care package filled with peanut butter, rice cakes, granola bars, and drum roll please…. a blender! Words cannot describe the bliss this masterpiece has brought me in the morning, especially on days like my pregnancy scare. I am forever indebted to Donna. I graciously accept all gifts with open arms. Message me for further inquiries.