“Eat this first…and then this…then this…” Reiner instructed as he shoved plate after plate after plate of food, soup, and fruits in front of me at the dining table.
I stared at the endless supply of food in front of me before blinking my eyes rapidly. How am I supposed to eat all this? Can an elephant finish off all this?
Maybe…probably…
“Isn’t this…?” I began asking.
“It’s not too much. I’m following exactly what the nutritionist has prescribed,” Reiner cut in with his answer to kill my pending question completely.
I glared at him and then the food. Just looking at it made me feel sick. I was sure that it wasn’t just me, but the baby probably didn’t find this appetizing either. Too much food. Too much of something mushed up together that I couldn’t tell what it was.
“After you finish eating all this, make sure to drink this…and then this…” Reiner continued with his stern instruction.
My mouth dropped opened at the cups that he lined up in front of me. How am I supposed to drink that much liquid all at once?
“I don’t think…” I began protesting.
“I can feed you. Are you feeling too tired to move your arms? Here…open up, Natalia…” Reiner said warmly as he offered me food on a spoon.
I watched in pure terror as the spoon came closer towards my face and mouth. How did I end up in this situation?
Ever since the doctor confirmed that I was pregnant, Reiner fully entered into his overprotective and caring mode. Although I appreciated his loving care and concern, his efforts could sometimes be too strict and overbearing. Reiner resorted to nothing but the best and involved consultations from professionals who were best in their respective fields. Everything about my life was tailored into a very detailed schedule and manual from my daily activities, my food, and also my exercise.
“I have to exercise? This much?!” I exclaimed in shock when I first saw the exercise manual that had been prescribed to me for the month.
“This is just the start. It will be healthy for you and the baby,” Reiner explained with a cheerful smile.
I didn’t exercise that much before my pregnancy and now that I was pregnant and my belly is growing bigger every day, I’m expected to do all of these things?!
This is just beyond crazy. I closed my eyes and sighed loudly as I willed all of this to just be a bad dream.
The worst part was that I knew that I wouldn’t win in any argument against Reiner about any of this additional care and attention that I was receiving. He would simply say on repeat that it was for my own good and that I should be doing it for the baby’s sake as well. Reiner probably wasn’t wrong, but this all seemed too much for me.
On top of this, Reiner took away a major chunk of my work because he was scared that working too much would stress me out and that would impact the baby’s development. We had a big fight about it which led to the conclusion that I could still do some overseeing work as long as I worked at home.
“You can’t just take away my work from me. There are things that I need to do and teams that need my support,” I argued desperately.
“You’re pregnant, Natalia. Stress is bad for the baby. If I let you keep all your work, you’ll end up overworking yourself needlessly,” Reiner countered with his own worries.
“I’m pregnant. I am not terminally sick,” I retorted heatedly.
Working is probably going to kill me a lot less than the exercises that he gets me to do on a daily basis. On top of the schedule of things that I had to do, he also hired two nurses to watch over me in case I needed any help.
“Stop being so stubborn. There’s no need for you to work so hard. Just take care of yourself and the baby,” Reiner encouraged with a smile.
“If I don’t get to work, I’m going to go crazy. Everything will worry me even more if I don’t know what is going on. Plus, I’m sick of all the food that that crazy nutritionist makes me eat…and all the stupid exercises…” I complained in a fit.
Reiner stared at me with unimpressed eyes as I pouted and screwed my face into a scowl. I probably said too much, but I wasn’t willing to admit it and I didn’t want to take any of the words that I had just spat out back. An awkward silence hung between us, and I started feeling even more frustrated. Chewing on my lower lip was the only thing that I could do to deal with my messy emotions.
“I’m sorry…” Reiner was the one who apologized first.
“No, I’m sorry. I know that you mean well. I just feel…very pressured…I’m sorry,” I mumbled before he could go on.
I really knew that he meant well. Reiner was doing his best in his own way by doing what he thought was best for me. Despite the fact that I hated it, the things that all the professionals were making me do were probably scientifically the best for me and the baby. It just wasn’t the best for me emotionally and because of that, I ended up taking it all out on Reiner.
“I’ll try to cut back on some of the things that the expert suggested. I’ll have another talk with them, ok?” Reiner suggested as a way to compromise.
“Thank you. Honestly, I think I can bear with all the food and exercise…if only I can work as much as possible. Of course, if I can’t take it, I’ll let you know…” I mumbled my suggestion.
If I had to choose, then I would pick keeping my job rather than cutting back on the food that I had gotten used to of the exercises that I somehow managed to perform. I glanced over at Reiner to gauge his reaction and found him staring at me with a conflicted look on his face. It was probably a hard decision for him to make and I knew that he was trying to come to an acceptable compromise for both of us.
–To be continued…