5 Weird Things About Pregnancy Nobody Ever Told You

YAY!  You’re pregnant!  You think you know what to expect … morning sickness, cravings, weight gain, moodiness … that’s probably about the extent of what you’re expecting when you look at the pee stick with the plus on it.  But then you realize over the next few months that there are some really weird things about pregnancy people don’t tell you!

I think it’s because you forget them so soon after you have your little bundle … a protection mechanism to ensure you are crazy enough to potentially do the pregnancy thing again!

Here are some weird things about pregnancy I learned that people don’t tell you:

  • Prepare for lots of needle sticking

    Just to confirm your pregnancy you need 2 blood tests 3 days apart (not just one like they do in the movies!) and it doesn’t stop there … it feels like you are constantly being stuck and blood being drawn!  You will probably be tested for Gestational Diabetes, your Rhesus status, the likelihood of Downs Syndrome, and about a million more tests!  Get used to needles!

  • Oh my word – those sore hips!

    Do yourself a favor and start seeing a Chiropractor regularly before you get to the 20 week mark.  From 20 / 24 weeks on until the end, most pregnant woman struggle with sciatica like joint pain, especially in the hips … it’s all in preparation for child birth of course, and lots of a hormone called Relaxin floating around your system … but flip it is sore and uncomfortable unless you are getting adjusted by a chiro regularly!  Chiro changed my life in that period – I don’t know why the gynae’s don’t tell you to see a Chiro in the beginning.  Just do it.

  • Pregnancy Carpal Tunnel agony

    This was one of the things that stressed me out most at the end of my pregnancy – because my work is online, I’m tapping away at my computer keys all day long … so in that 3rd trimester when my hands and wrists started seizing up I had visions of being in agony forever and how that would affect my whole life.  Thankfully it goes away almost instantly after birth … but expect some discomfort in those last couple of months.  Getting a wrist brace can help – and chiro can help – but it’s sore no matter what you try.

  • Being kept awake by your kicking baby in the belly

    “Get sleep now before baby arrives”, is the advice you’ll be given by everyone … what a bloody joke.  Charlotte was so active in the belly that she kept me awake most nights.  I averaged 3.5 hours sleep a night during my pregnancy (according to my trusty FitBit) and 7.5 hours a night with a newborn!  So the sleep before baby thing was total hogwash for us!

  • Moles and skin tags in weird and wonderful places

    Everyone knows about the pregnancy glow … you expect to have this perfect glowing skin … but wait … what the hell?  Suddenly you get moles and skin tags in all sorts of weird places!  Thanks to all the extra blood and hormones flowing in your body expect this to happen – but don’t worry … they go away in the months after birth as things get back to normal.

 

Thank goodness that most of these things magically disappear shortly after you give birth to your bundle

Posted in Pregnancy