2.6.17
“Once my secret was out with the hygienist, it was an amazing moment of relief. For just maybe 10 minutes, I could tell someone what I was going through.”
Turns out, when your dentist asks if there have been any recent changes in your health, becoming pregnant qualifies.
I went to the dentist and, throughout the appointment, learned I had to come back and have a quick procedure that would require some local anesthesia. Being asked whether there were any changes in my health didn’t seem to merit sharing my secret, but being told I would have local anesthesia did. After the dentist left the room, I asked my hygienist, “So, can you have local anesthesia if you’re pregnant?”
From there, it was like everything just came gushing out of me. I shared my excitement, my nerves, my questions, my emotions… I don’t even know my hygienist’s name, but I think I could have taken her out to coffee and given her a hug for finally being someone I could talk to about it without getting in trouble with my husband for leaking our secret.
I would suggest finding that person in the early stages of pregnancy – someone you can spill everything to without feeling like you’re giving your secret away. I’ll be forever grateful for the conversations and excitement we had pre-trauma, while things were still “normal”.
So thanks, dental hygienist whose name I do not know… you played an important roll in a special time of my life, and props to you for being the first person to know I was pregnant. If I recall correctly, when you asked why I didn’t tell you, my response was, “Because my own mom doesn’t even know yet.”
Also notable: We bought cross country skis in December. While you should probably not downhill ski while pregnant (though I think people do it), I’m so glad we got out on those skis when we did. In a year where I’d become so inactive, it was nice to at least have seen the woods – to have used my body.
In the stats:
Gestational Age: 7 weeks, 2 days