Pregnancy is weird. My body has been hijacked and is doing strange and unusual things. Some things I knew about and some things I was totally unprepared for! Based on what I've heard and read, I've actually had a fairly mild pregnancy. Other than being tired I feel pretty good most of the time and am very grateful for that. My mom had a rough time with both her pregnancies and hated being pregnant. Based on the problems I've always had with my ovaries and what my doctors had told me about not being able to get pregnant, I fully expected to have a horrible and complicated pregnancy but (and not like I really have anything to compare to) I have to say it has been pretty easy. But that isn't to say it has been all rainbows and sunshine.
Heartburn: this is something totally new to me as I never get heartburn and I have to say it sucks. I read somewhere that chewing gum helps alleviate it and it does help but I'd rather not spend the next 3 months chewing gum. I'm hoping this is just from the tacos I ate yesterday and not something that will occur on a regular basis.
Bellybutton: I've seen the photos and read the warnings about belly buttons becoming extreme outies. This was something always sort of grossed me out but was accepted as a fact of pregnancy. Well, I seem to have the opposite issue. My innie has become a cavern. I had no idea my belly button was so deep or that it could become so wide. I can almost fit 2 fingers in there, it is creepy! Mike and I agree that it is better than becoming an outie but still, I hope is shrinks back to normal once the bean is born!
Boobs: my boobs are ridiculous. Pre-pregnancy I was a 34F and now I'm a 36G and growing. They've always been almost comically big but now they are just obscene. Somehow my big growing belly is not nearly as depressing as my huge giant boobs. I'm terrified to see how much bigger they'll get and can only imagine how awful it will be when my milk comes in. I'd like to breastfeed but I worry my boobs are going to be too big and smother the baby. I hope they too shrink back to normal once the bean is born. Or smaller than normal would be fine too.
Cravings: I haven't really had any cravings but food does taste different. And I find myself eating things I don't normally eat. Like pastries. I don't care for doughnuts, cupcakes, cake, or cookies and hardly ever eat them. I've probably had 6 doughnuts in the past month, more than I usually eat in a year. And there have been a lot of cakes and cupcakes around the office - where I normally would pass with a polite "no thanks", now I find myself savoring each bite like they were the best tasting food on earth. Today I bought a huge m&m chocolate chip cookie and loved every bite. I couldn't tell you the last time I went out of my way to eat a cookie. Again, I don't crave these things but when presented with them, they just look and taste so much more appealing than normal. I keep waiting for that "I've got to have ____ right now" feeling but instead I just find myself wanting to eat things that normally I would pass on.
Clumsiness: I have never been a huge klutz, although I have had my share of stupid, self-inflicted injuries. But ever since getting pregnant I am the worst butter-fingers ever! I break things in stores, I've dropped entire meals, and I can't seem to hold on to pens or pencils. I guess "the dropsies" are common in pregnancy since your ligments loosen up but I am not a fan. Especially since it is getting harder to bend over!
Pregnancy Brain: pretty evident considering I forgot to even put it in the original post! I am usually pretty manic with my brain going a million miles an hour, I'm a decent multi-tasker and pride myself on being organized and paying attention to detail. Except now my brain is a big ball of mush. I lose my train of thought, forget things constantly, will ask Mike a question and five minutes later ask him if I'd already asked the question. I've walked into my boss's office a few times and totally forgotten why I'd gone in there. And little details from various events of mine have fallen through the cracks. I feel like I'm losing my mind and I hate it. I know I'm not usually like this and forgetting things, especially little things, makes me feel like a crazy person. I'm really hoping this goes away but I have a feeling that it will not get better when the Bean is here and I'm totally sleep deprived.
Hair and Nails: My nails have grown like crazy and I can barely keep up with cutting them. They look awesome as I'm never able to grow my own nails out (hence the decade or so of acrylics) so I'm enjoying that particular change. But I'm losing my hair and now my eye lashes. My hair is coming out in handfuls and is noticeably thinner and now my eyelashes are falling out and looking farily stumpy compared to my normal nice long lashes. It has been deteremined that I am anemic and am now taking an iron suppliment which may help but the doctor said it could just be how my body is reacting to the new hormones. And of course now I have even more constipation to look forward to thanks to the iron.
I hate to jinx myself but I haven't had the insomnia, leg cramps, or back pain that the books and websites basically guarantee but I still have a whole trimester to go. I'm interested to see what new changes and interesting symptoms the next few months will hold. Whatever it is, I have to say, it is totally worth it. I am so excited to be pregnant with this little guy and can't wait to meet him!
I wish this wasn't true but... this 'aint nothin' when it comes to heartburn. Once month 8 hit, it was pretty much a guarantee with anything I swallowed, including air. Tums made me gag and the only thing that really helped was milk. We still joke that for the last 2 months of my pregnancy Jacob was bringing home 2 gallons every other day. The gas station was having a 2 for 1 special but when it ended they still gave the discount because he told them what all the milk was for. I hear heartburn is a sign of a lot of hair. In Zoey's case, it was totally true. BUT - the upside - is that it's gone, literally, the instant you give birth.
ReplyDeleteLOL!! My belly button never popped, never even came close. I'm glad I'm not the only freak. ;-)
I also hate to say this, but the back pain is pretty awful; it started close to the last month.
I never got leg cramps, but I was hydrated like you wouldn't believe. I was the opposite - sweet things, candy, or anything processed - sugar or otherwise - made me feel sick and gave me raging heartburn. We lived off those fruit trays you get at Wal-Mart. I, also, didn't have psycho cravings (on Teen Mom a girl craved eating soap! Also, don't watch Teen Mom while pregnant.) but I did always crave fruit or veggies.
I always said I wasn't crazy about the idea of having a child, but I always wanted to experience being pregnant. Couldn't be more the other way around. :-) <3
I really do feel like I shouldn't complain because I know some women are so much more miserable than I am. But at the same time, my body has totally changed in so many ways and I think I deserve the right to bitch a little bit!
ReplyDeletePregnancy sucks in some fashion or another. Even people who claim to have loved being pregnant (of whom I wanted to punch when I was pregnant), I'm willing to bet they made at least one complaint at some point or another. Remind me to tell you/e-mail my 3rd trimester sex story.....
ReplyDeleteAhh, pregnancy brain. That turns into baby/toddler/child brain. One of the things that tipped me off I might be pregnant was that I kept walking into the copy room but couldn't remember what I needed.