Things About Pregnancy

I decided I wanted to make a list of things about (my) pregnancy that were totally new information for me...or just felt like documenting (warning, some of this will be TMI, so read at your own risk).

• Booger, Gas, and Nausea: Holy crap! Like why did no one tell me about these things? I heard you get gas in the first trimester, which I never really did, but by the third one...there were times it surprised me. There were times it HURT like nothing else! And there were times that I thought "how could I still be doing this? I just ate a banana!!" Also, the boogers, if I didn't blow my nose eight thousand times in the morning, I was stuck with mucus in my throat ALL day long! Now the sickness, that is a whole other story almost completely (but it's still included in this lovely first part). I think it was just really awful for me because I'm NEVER sick (maybe a stuffy nose once in a while, a cough that won't go away so I have a constant tickle in my throat, but that's about it and even that was only like once every other year), but man oh man, the nausea and throwing up was just awful. I had no idea what to expect and so when I got it, it hit hard! I'm glad I wasn't so bad I needed an IV for fluids or was sick for the whole pregnancy, but it was REALLY rough. I remember it being just like the movies where I'd feel completely fine and then all of a sudden it was a race to the bathroom! I'm SO glad it never hit too bad at work (I kept PLENTY of things around me to keep it down), but once I got home it was everything I could do to eat and stay on the couch. I had to make sure I took my prenatals RIGHT before bed so that they didn't come back up and my body could actually absorb the good parts. Also, did you know motion sickness was a thing during pregnancy? That's what made it so bad, if anything gave me the feeling of motion my body would immediately want to rid itself of breakfast! Radio, TV, even people talking around me was a no go for a while there.

• Pregnancy Arthritis: What?? Again, no one told me about this! Maybe no one I knew experienced it, but apparently when you swell a lot, you get the arthritis and it HURTS as well! I'm the jar opener of the house, so when I couldn't even open apple juice one day I knew I was in trouble. Luckily I read this goes away once you have the baby and swelling goes down, I hope that's true!

• Finding out the gender: This one may not be true for everyone, but I realized when we found out we were having a girl the reason I kept crying is because this suddenly felt like a huge load on my shoulders. I was going to be the role model, I needed to show her how to be, and I needed to be a good example of the lessons I was going to teach her. I want her to have the confidence I never had and to not be shy when making friends, but how do you teach something you have such issues with? Larry made me feel better when I was talking to him about this when he reminded me whenever girls end up in bad places it's always "daddy issues" so really HE'S still the most influential. I still feel pressure that I'm going to be the one she looks to for advice and how to handle situations. Hopefully I don't screw that up.

• Speaking of finding out the gender. Because I figured this was on my shoulders to show her how to have confidence and everything, it really made me realize the important issues in my life. It made me not want to dwell on tiny things and to be the person I want her to be. I feel like I've turned into a really good version of myself; it's still a work in progress, but I really hope she can see the person I feel I am now. Even though I say the point of raising a child is to help make them be better than you so I hope I can accomplish this (this may sound like I expect more than I should, but I don't think so).

 

• Movements: movements are so insanely crazy (which everyone knows). One thing I wish I had known is that it's perfectly normal for you to have 2-3 days of insane movements and then a day or two of slowed down movements. The first few times that happened I freaked out, but then I noticed it was usually related to a growth spurt because she'd be insane the day following the slowed down parts. Larry had to remind me on several occasions that as long as she's still moving it's okay if it's slower or less because she still needs to sleep and growing can take a lot out of you (also, it was nice when the nurse in L&D told me you don't have to worry about the whole "10 movements in an hour" thing if she's been moving throughout the day so I never had to worry about that part). Also, into the third trimester the movements can hurt. Not in a scary way, but in a "she's digging her elbow into my side" or "she's using nails or bones to scratch me somehow in there" sort of pain. Not to mention they are stretching skin so that doesn't always feel the best. But aside from all that, the movements were easily my favorite parts! I got used to them so I'd forget it was a tiny human making them sometimes, but then she'd do something new (like when I swear I could feel her actual fingers moving in there or one time I SWEAR she was kneading my belly) and I'd realize that's my child! She's doing that in there and I'd try and imagine what she was trying to tell me with that. Oh except cervix kicks/punches...those ones I could've passed on. ESPECIALLY when we were out in public and I'd almost double over because they'd surprise me.

• The comments/questions: Yes I know I have a belly, no I don't know what's going on with my face in pictures - it just does that now!, yes I'm sure I'm not having twins. No I'm not miserable because I'm so big, I'm actually enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, I knew about the comments, but I didn't realize how bugged I could be by them. I'm sure people mean so very well, but man oh man were there times I had to try so hard to just laugh it off and move on. Luckily I never had to deal with the strangers touching my belly. I guess I give off a "don't touch this" vibe haha.

• Bathroom Breaks: Yes, I knew you go to the bathroom a lot, I wasn't surprised by this at all. But did you know the baby can make you pee your pants even after you've gone to the bathroom...like how is that possible? Maybe it's just because BB was breech so she was kicking my bladder more than bumping her head into it, but that one through me through a loop! One time I swear my water broke during a Costco run, I was freaking out!

• Aches and Pains. I mistakenly made a statement to Larry one day during my second trimester...something along the lines of "if I'm comfortable I feel like something is wrong, shouldn't this be uncomfortable?" Uh, yeah, past Jodi, the third trimester will hit and you will never be comfortable again! Sure you'll have good days where it's tolerable, but then there are days that you slept maybe 3 solid hours, you have to go to the bathroom in some form all freaking day (and an office chair SUCKS on those days), everything you eat just feels so heavy and makes you feel more bloated, and you could slap someone just for looking at you the wrong way (even though they really aren't, you're just sure you need a reason to slap someone). Enjoy the 2nd trimester, as long as things are going smoothly and you don't have any issues, just freaking enjoy the best part of this whole process! 

• Pregnancy Brain and Clumsiness (I'm totally bulking this into one point because I'm pretty sure they are related). So I knew pregnancy brain was a thing, I've seen it with friends, I knew it had to do with being forgetful. But for me, it involved making up words that didn't exist (how about when I asked one of my midwife's about "inducement"...what?!). I also got to the point where I literally had to write things down or within a minute they'd be gone. I never got to the "put the milk in the pantry and the cereal in the fridge" part, but I didn't realize there were other levels to it! Also, I swear I've never dropped things more in my life! And it just figures it would mostly happen as I got bigger and couldn't bend over as easily to pick them up. Maybe I only noticed it when it became a problem, but I was the biggest butterfingers there could be!

• Myths: Don't believe that whole "if your mom didn't get stretch marks you won't". That isn't hereditary, it's about how moisturized you keep your skin and how you carry. I think I carried larger than my mom did (or so it seemed with how surprised she always was to see my bump haha) so obviously I got them! It wasn't my favorite part, but they aren't as bad as other ones I've seen on people. Also, all gender predictors are basically a myth. Sometimes they apply, sometimes they don't. Heck, if you see my weekly updates I was 50/50 on the myths. I think it just has to do with your body and how you respond to pregnancy (for example, I don't normally break out, which is supposed to happen when you're pregnant with a girl. So if I got a zit every now and then maybe that was pregnancy related, but I didn't get anything crazy...probably just how my skin works).

• This really is one of the most amazing experiences! I used to be SO convinced that parents wanted non-parents to have kids because "misery loves company." I thought with all the complaints I heard that there is just no way people could be THAT enthused about someone else having a kid when they still had their freedom. It was one of the reasons I was okay if we didn't have kids before all of this. But when I heard of other people being pregnant after I found out about us, I was genuinely excited for them! It's not that this is miserable, it's just that there are adjustments with it since it is a huge change. There are good and bad parts, although I don't feel I got too much of the bad parts...or at least nothing that was a complete deal breaker. Plus seeing how excited people were for us and how happy they were, it made it even better!