5 Things No One Told Me About Pregnancy
We’ve all heard about what to expect when you’re expecting: morning sickness, fatigue, food cravings, a cute little baby bump, waddling around in your 3rd trimester. But ladies, I’m about to get real with you all, because these are the 5 symptoms that I suffered from that no one told me about pregnancy beforehand.
1. Extreme Motion Sickness
Yes, I had my fair share of nausea and vomiting during my pregnancy, and I knew this came with the territory, but I wasn’t expecting the level of motion sickness I would get, and I had some of my most embarrassing moments to date because of it.
Prior to learning I was pregnant, I had planned a vacation with my husband to New Orleans. After we found out we were expecting, I thought “oh, I’ll be past my first trimester by that time so I’ll be fine”. BIG MISTAKE! I had major motion sickness throughout my entire pregnancy, and riding around on the trolleys and buses in New Orleans was absolutely miserable for me. Not to mention the plane ride getting there!
While on the plane, I let my husband sit in the window seat because I thought the views rushing by the window would make me sick, so I took the middle seat. I was stuck between my husband and a complete stranger when I started feeling like I was about to vomit, so I frantically ransacked the seat pocket in front of me for an airsick bag, and there was nothing there! I told my husband I was going to puke, so he stood up and started shouting at the flight attendants across the plane that his wife was going to throw up and we needed a bag quick! Can you say MORTIFIED!!!! OMG, can you imagine my shame as everyone on the plane turned to stare at me, and one of the flight attendants shoved a plastic bag at me which I promptly puked into with every eye on me. Then, my husband stood up again and told the crowd “don’t worry, she’s not contagious, she’s just pregnant!” The horror!
2. Food Aversions
The foods that I actually craved during pregnancy were pears and French onion soup, but I had such a strong aversion to eggs, barbecue sauce, and any type of canned meat (cat food, tuna, spam) during my first AND second trimesters that if I even caught a whiff of any of them, it sent me running for the toilet.
3. Major Anxiety!
I had, of course, heard about Postpartum Depression quite a bit before becoming pregnant, but I did not know of PPA, or Postpartum Anxiety, which I suffered from for about a year after my daughter was born. But, prior to all of this, I also suffered from extreme anxiety during my pregnancy as well. I was so worried that my baby would be born with a deformity or a disease, or that I was doing something wrong that would cause me to lose her that I would anxiously stay awake tossing and turning almost every night during my pregnancy.
4. No cute little baby bump
For about 7.5 months of my pregnancy, people constantly told me that they did not know I was pregnant just by looking at me. That was because I carried my baby across my body instead of out front, and it made me wider instead of just having that cute little bump like most moms get. So basically people knew I was gaining weight, but didn’t know why unless I told them. This was especially vexing to me because I wanted to take cute pictures of my growing belly like most moms do, but mine would have been like, “Oh look at how wide I’m getting, isn’t that cute” (NOT!!!).
5. When your water breaks, it can feel like Niagara Falls
Having my water break in public was something that I was worried about because I had heard of women looking like they peed their pants in front of someone embarrassing, and I didn’t want that to happen to me! So I read up on it and some people said they had a small gush when their water broke, and some people said they didn’t even notice it at all or that their water had to be broken for them in the hospital. Well, because I am a planner and an over-thinker by nature, I started carrying around towels with me just in case mine turned out to be more of a gusher, and I had a little talk with God and asked him to please let my water break during my last check up with my doctor before my due date. And what do you know, that’s exactly what happened! And thank God too, because all those little trickles and gushes I’d read about did not live up to the sopping wet mess that I actually had. Like seriously, my pants were soaked and I was leaving a trail behind me wherever I went! It was still embarrassing, but much better to have it happen in front of professionals who knew what’s up rather than my boss or a client at work!
So, have I scared you yet? Haha! I hope not, because, despite the fact that these things happened to me that no one told me about pregnancy, I would do it all again! Becoming a mom is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me, and those sweet little babes are worth all that they put us through!
Do you have something else to add to my list, or want to share your own pregnancy stories? Please feel free to add them below in the comments section!
