Have you read the book My Girlfriends Guide To Pregnancy? Its pretty hilarious and mentions things that happen during pregnancy that you can't prepare for but still nice to have a heads up that your not alone in your preg ups and downs. The most important thing that I read was that everyone experience is different. Here are somethings that I was not prepared for...
insomnia I always heard from my girlfriends that all they wanted to do while they were pregnant was sleep. In fact most of them realized they were preg cause all they did was sleep. I am the opposite. I can't sleep! At the beginning it was because I got my morning sickness at night. I would get really bad cramping pains and feel nauseous and totally not have an appetite... I would wake up every couple of hours and crawl into the kitchen to force down a ritz cracker and some sprite. Once my night hunger pains were over I would still have restless nights- maybe worrying about potentially losing the baby since it was early on or just all the hormones keeping me awake. The only way I would get any sleep is if I laid flat on my stomach (super weird for me cause before I was a side sleeper- and now that I'm preg all I want to do is sleep on my stomach or back.) Now that I'm in my second trimester I am sleeping a little better but I've started to have these terrible hot sweats... where I wake up and feel like I'm going to pass out while laying down. I'm constantly taking off my covers and putting them back on. Not to mention having to pee twice a night. Its different every night due to my growing belly and the positions that are comfortable at the time. Plus our little boy is a total night owl... My OB recommends taking naps and benadryl. Not possible since I work full time! Its been so difficult being on a set schedule with working since my body feels different every day.
rash I started getting a really bad rash around 21 weeks all over my belly and chest. It felt like a heat rash and looked awful. My girlfriends that did experience anything similar said that they only got it like a before birth. My OB said its very common in later pregnancy and diagosised it as PUPP, saying I will most likely have it the rest of my pregnancy. The dermatologist that I work for said not to worry about it unless it starts to itch really bad. I took acouple mornings off of work so I could take benadryl at night and not have to worry about getting up to my alarm. Luckily its gotten better :)
complain or not to complain How am I
really feeling? This girl says it perfectly on her
blog. Pregnancy has been so amazing but so crazy at the same time. What has really taken me by surprise is how certain people react to me being preg. For the past couple years most my of LDS friends harrassed us with the typical preg questions.. "when are you guys going to start trying?! Your sick.. are you pregnant?" But now that I am pregnant its rare if they asks me any questions now.. instead I get the look "of course your pregnant". Like its totally normal that I'm growing a baby in my belly. Maybe its cause its my first time with all these freaky yet amazing changes but still a simple "how are you doing being pregnant now" would be refreshingly nice to hear. Its kinda funny how some my LDS girlfriends talked to me all the time about pregnancy/babies before I got preg and now that I am its mostly my nonLDS girlfriends who actually ask me how I am doing with everything.
baby already on board the other day scotty and I were discussing a possible babymoon. Maybe go down to Chicago for a couple nights or up North for a little getaway before we have a baby. Reality hit me that we already have a baby!! I've had a baby for the past 6 months... I don't know whats more inconvenient- having to tote around a baby or feeling all the joys of being pregnant with traveling. I would almost rather have to deal with an actual infant so at least scott can take turns taking care of the baby instead of me being super sick/tired/hungry/urge to pee every second/immobile/and huge. Our little guy is1.5 lbs now and apparently my uterus is the size of a soccer ball. I can barely make it through an 8 hour work day, let alone a weekend exploring a city.. unless by city you meant spa.
charlie horses so I've heard of leg cramps during pregnancy before and have experienced the painful calf and knee charlie horses in the middle of the night. But what I didn't expect was the constant feeling of cramping in the arches of my feet. At any moment if I point my foot I could get the painful feeling that a charlie horse was about to happen... so strange. I'm constantly flexing my feet and avoiding even the slightess extent of pointing. I've even got one driving the other week cause I was wearing my not so flexible boots and my foot spasmed for what seemed like an hour... torture. So funny looking back at that now.
underwear Like what most women say, don't invest in maternity garments... I do sleep in the tops cause they are super comfy and huge but my other cotton tops still work for night. Its tough for the first couple months... since this baby is now moving up in life its easier for me to wear my other bottoms cause I don't feel nauseous whenever there is something tight around my waist. Just get caranessa bottoms size B and larger caranessa tops, just saying. Also if you are even thinking about getting a maternity bra- do it! Don't wait. They have ones can expand while you grow.. and trust me you will just continue to get bigger. I got the best one when I was 12 weeks at Pea in the Pod, expensive, but if your anything like me its worth every penny.
fetal movements This one has been my favorite surprise yet. Apparently fetus's are supposed to move all the time. I never realized the freakyness of this since my interactions with preggers have been about their growing belly and not so much on the actual baby growing inside. I started feeling our little guy early on and he has been very active every since. The feeling is undescribable. amazing. exhausting. When I lay down to relax he starts moving all over the place... for the entire night. There have been some nights where I have to get up in the dead of sleep and walk around until he calms down so I can get some sleep. I'm already bouncing on my excerise ball nightly instead of getting the "sleep now while you can" sleep. Whenever another preg would say quick feel my stomach the baby is moving... I though it was a rarity to actually catch the baby kicking your side. But I was pleasantly surprised... I can feel this boy moving around all the time. I'm consistanly putting my hands on my belly and feeling little kicks or huge movements throughout the day/night. We can now see him through my shirt.. crazy :) Driving has become a challenge.. he doesn't like it when I sit upright, so working full-time at a desk is difficult. The other week scotty said "you act like its the first time that he's kicked" ... well sorry world- to me every time he kicks is like the first time... I dont know how anyone could get used to how unreal the feeling is. So if you see me rubbing my belly its not cause I'm showing off my lovely lady lump, its because I'm soothing this active boy to sleep so this girl can feel a little relief from the constant yet welcoming beating on my uterus.
thats all I can think of right now. Its true what they say... some stages can be difficult but eventually you forget all about those times and you would do it all over again
