Pregnant Discoveries

Since I found out I was pregnant in February it’s been quite a learning experience and although everyone has an opinion or piece of advice (which I don’t mind hearing) there are some things former pregnant women and doctors just don’t tell you.

Warning: it may get ugly in here. Keep reading if you dare (men, if you are reading this you may want to turn away and come back for a blog post that is more user-friendly).

Alright shall we carry on.

The Things No One Told Me

• Pins and needles. Pins and what!? Yes, girl. You will feel a sharp or prickly, at times painful, feeling in her feet or hands. In my case it was the left foot. The side of my left foot to be exact. I remember it well because the emotional trauma still haunts me. OK. I’m being a little bit more dramatic than it was, but ask my husband and he’ll tell you I was a “big baby” about the whole situation. Note: I am a wimp when it comes to pain. Headache, I take aspirin. Feet hurt, girl my heels come off and on go the flip flops. You get the point. But back to the pins and needles. The pain was only relieved by prayer, cause I sure cried out to sweet baby Jesus. I also put a hot water bottle on my foot and took 2 Tylenols.
• Eat small meals. I hear so many women tell me “Oh I ate everything in sight,” or “I ate a whole pizza,” or “I snuck down to the kitchen and ate dinner, AGAIN.” OK, maybe that last one was an exaggeration, but I’m sure there is some pregnant woman out there or former fetus host who ate dinner again. (Don’t raise your hand if that’s you). Every single time I eat a heavy meal it makes sick, literally. Or I get such a bloated feeling that few things give me relief. Big meals may have worked for most, but not this mama. I stick to a good breakfast (always, even before Baby Walker), a medium sized lunch and dinner and two or three healthy snacks in between. Speaking of food.
• Cravings. Every one wants to know “do you have any weird cravings?” Weird like how? Pickles and ice cream, fish and spaghetti, uh NO. I have always had an eclectic palate so honestly no food is really weird. But since we’re talking cravings. I so crave strawberries. The sweeter the better. The bigger the better, but I don’t discriminate against the baby ones. I’ve loved fruit since I was a kid, but Baby Walker and I have taken it to the nth degree. We eat fresh pineapples, green grapes, plums, apples, etc. But strawberries we’ll have a love affair with any day.

I haven’t craved anything weird, mostly juicy strawberries.

• Hot flashes. I thought that was for menopausal women. You mean I’m going to be hot one minute and cold the next. Who said? Well, apparently the hormones said it. In all the advice giving no one told me I’d be cold and then sweat like a pig going to the slaughterhouse. I’ve always been cold natured and anemic, but that’s another story for another day. But these sudden bursts of hotness, hello!?
• No glow, just dry. Maybe my glow will make its appearance later in pregnancy life, but right now my skin is dry like the desert. Normally, I’m a grease ball and in the winter I get a little dry around the nose and mouth area. It’s 80-degree May weather here in North Carolina and I’m all dried up. Luckily, I have a host of beauty products to try. Hopefully they’ll work because trust me it’s not cute looking all flaky and dry.
• Alert, protect the bump. Baby Walker has not arrived and according to my “What to Expect” app, is the size of a turnip. Who knew I’d be so protective over a turnip. I don’t know what it is, but when people go in to touch the belly I get all ninja on them. I’m sure I’ve reached out and touched someone’s baby bump over the years, but I didn’t know how annoying it would be until now. Actually, it’s not so much annoying but I feel like it’s an invasion of our personal space. I’ve had a few people ask and I’ve had people who reach out and get a slap on the hand. I’ve considered getting a T-shirt that says “You Can’t Touch This” or something else more sarcastic, cause that’s what I do. For now I’ll be deploying the ninja skills and deflecting the hands.

My mini Walker bump. Photo cred: Jeanie Groh

• Your breasteses will be sore. In the beginning of my first trimester I didn’t know the boobies would do that. I read it and I’m sure someone told me. It was all I could do to wear a bra and trust me these jugs need all the bra support they can get. So going bra-less was not an option. (TMI, well I did warn you).

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What Every One Told Me

There are some things I hear often, nearly every day. Also there are tidbits about pregnant life that I already knew like the following:

• Morning sickness will happen. It happened. It happened in the morning. It happened at night. It happened in the evening. I haven’t so much as gotten sick (just a few times), but mostly nausea. ALL DAY. I’ve eaten crackers, sucked on peppermint, drank ginger ale (Reed’s Ginger Brew, to be exact), and chewed these taffy-like ginger candies from my local health food store.

Ginger candy, Reed’s Ginger Brew (looks like beer, but just stroooong ginger ale) and Crystallized ginger have seen me through nausea.

• Exhaustion is real. It’s an understatement. Now I’ve always been a fan of naps and don’t have a problem going to sleep quickly. But I’m tired even when I do have a nap. I’m tired if I go to bed at 8 p.m., which I have done. I’m tired when I think I have energy, cause it doesn’t last. I guess it’s foreshadowing what’s to come.
• Cherish. I’ve heard it and I believe it. Cherish every moment, every pain, every emotion, every joy because it will sooner than you think be over. I can’t wait for our little one to arrive. I’m roughly four and a half months preggo and I’m relishing in the ups and downs of this journey and looking forward to the rest of the ride.

If you’re pregnant or have been, share your tips with me below. Don’t forget to follow us on our social media sites including facebook, twitter and instagram. Got a baby bump, share your pictures with me.