Wednesday, October 22, 2008

My first guilt pang

I read when women are pregnant, they would feel a flood a mixed emotions that come and go like roller coaster in an amusement park. One of these amplified emotions is "fear" or "worry". Worrying about the health of the baby, worrying about the financial or job situation, worrying about the future, worrying if we can make a good mother. Out of this fear or worry, comes guilt. I am experiencing my first pang of guilt this week. At my work, I have been hanging out with this coworker who is a smoker. We usually take lunch together at the patio and after finishing her lunch, she would smoke a cigarette or two. I generally didn't like being near smoker and got a sensitive nose for smoke. I also didn't want to be a second hand smoker. But I stayed there near her coz we would chat about our similar job situation and I though it was rude to leave her since we were in the middle of the conversation. For the first two weeks, I hang out there with her, not knowing I had a growing baby inside me. When I found out I was pregnant, I felt horrified and worried but dismissed it with reasonings and excuses. "Oh, I didn't really inhale her smokes..oh, she sat quite far from me..oh, the fetus hasn't really grown that much.." Those were my attempts to calm my self down. I thought, don't make a big deal out of it, it happened anyway. So on the third week, when I still couldn't excuse myself from the lunch table when she started smoking (I told her that I was pregnant too, hoping she wouldn't smoke in front of me), I felt 1000 times more horrible. What's wrong with me?!! How come I feel bad for her but not for my baby, who should be my number one priority?! Is it because I haven't really felt "pregnant" yet? Still in denial? Yet, I can make an effort to avoid coffee and tea altogether. Yeah, I did make an attempt to sit further from her but every night or every time I feel cramps in my stomach, I feel fear and worried that the smoke causes that, and I'd feel guilty afterward. I feel like a bad mother, selfish and irresponsible. I tried to make excuses not to have lunch with her and avoid her altogether but I didn't want to hurt our friendship either. So after thinking it all night, I decided I would still have lunch with her but the minute she starts smoking, I would excuse myself from the table and tell her frankly that the smoke bothers me. I am sure she will understand.  

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