Have you ever had a holiday that you’ll never forget? As I sipped my Guinness on that fateful Saint Patrick’s Day, I could feel my world shifting underneath me.
I will always remember and cherish Saint Patrick’s Day of 2010. That night, my life would change forever.
I KNEW I WAS PREGNANT
Somehow, I knew that Saint Patrick’s Day would be my last as a carefree, childless woman. My period wasn’t due until the following day, but as I taught my afternoon yoga class in a t-shirt stretched tight across my chest, I knew. I knew I was pregnant.
It was too soon for morning sickness and exhaustion had not set in yet. My breasts were sore and swollen, but that sometimes happened in the days before my period. But I knew. I felt it. We hadn’t been trying to conceive, in fact, I’d been lazily preventing pregnancy using natural family planning methods. But, somehow, despite never having been pregnant before, I knew I was carrying our first child.
I’LL HAVE A GUINNESS
Before confirming my suspicions by taking a pregnancy test (which I decided I would do the following morning), I decided to live my last Saint Patrick’s Day sans baby to the fullest. Yes, I knew I was pregnant and yes, I drank a beer.
The latest research on alcohol consumption and pregnancy points to those first few days after conception being a time when moderate drinking is actually no big deal. Implantation is when the placenta starts to develop and deliver nutrients to the little blastocyst that will become your baby. Implantation typically occurs in week four of pregnancy, meaning, the actions you take prior to that first missed period (when most women discover they’re expecting) shouldn’t affect your soon-to-be embryo at all.
Read Related: Facing My Infertility Part 13: Pregnant for Real?
NO MORE CROWDED BARS
Once you have children, the way you celebrate holidays changes. That Saint Patty’s Day was the last one I spent crammed in an overcrowded bar, sipping a slightly too warm Guinness in a red SOLO cup. These days, with two little ones under two, most of my holidays (Saint Patrick’s Day included) are spent snuggling with the husband, watching a movie, and sipping a Guinness (What? It’s my favorite! I’m not giving that up!) on the couch until we can’t keep our eyes open.
Three years ago, before I saw those two little lines, I knew that March 17 was the day my life would change forever. Now, I think St. Patrick’s Day may just be my favorite holiday, for obvious reasons!
