the truth about pregnancy

Before I was pregnant with Elijah, pregnancy seemed like such a magical time. 
I never really heard many negative [truthful] things about pregnancy and just thought baby bumps were cute and your skin & hair was supposed to become super beautiful or something. 


And then with this pregnancy, I had high hopes that things would be different. 
Maybe I was just a weakling, no endurance, did something wrong... 
This time it would be all the wonderful stuff I heard about. 


This clip pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly. 

Everything in this clip is sooooooo true! 

Although I am so so so incredibly grateful to be pregnant and have 2 kids, it is not all sunshine and roses and beautiful baby bump pictures every day. 

And if I'm being completely honest, though the kids are great, the process can really suck at times. 

So here's my {pregnancy rant} list of truths to help prepare other mothers with incredibly high-expectations like I did. And to hopefully show some support to other mothers who may be feeling the same thing. 

Cause I can't be the only one right? 

WARNING: TMI's ahead ;)

Pregnancy Truths 

::: Morning sickness does not just last the first trimester nor in the mornings. 
If you're lucky, you can be sick the whole pregnancy. 
You get a good ab workout. 

::: And it can come out both ends. 
The whole pregnancy. 
Your body will feel like it's exploding.

::: Not every woman gets cravings. 
And cravings don't always mean you should actually eat it.
(contrary to what my doctor said the first round...) 
AND food aversions can change and last through the whole pregnancy. 
To the point that you feel like you can literally eat nothing even though you feel like you want to eat everything cause you're so hungry. 

::: Hemorroids are real. 
And you can't sit down without crying.

::: Acid reflux you can feel in your knees up to you ears.
Yes, your ears burn.
And NOTHING helps!
Pepcid AC is just like candy to me at this point. 

::: It gets to the point where your stomach is so big your ski hurts
Not hurts like itching from the stretching, but hurts like it's being spread so thin it's sensitive. 

::: Baby kicks are so fun the first 20-30 weeks. 
After that, every kick & punch feels like it's causing internal damage. 
I'm pretty sure I have some organ bleeding somewhere. 

::: Your bones & muscles feel like they are literally breaking especially toward the end. 
Cause they kind of are, getting softer & ready to push a baby out. 

::: You have to pee all.the.freaking.time. 
Even if you just went, be prepared to have to empty your bladder again in 5-10 minutes. 

::: And if you wait to go to the bathroom, it starts to hurt. 
The baby is on your bladder, your bladder is full, and it is putting so much pressure on you that it just becomes painful. 

::: Braxton-hicks contractions can start early.
And toward the end they start to happen so frequently, so intensely, that it's just so uncomfortable. 

::: Your stomach warps into weird shapes a lot. 
Either from the baby kicking or from the contractions tightening your stomach, you'll see lots of weird stomach positions.

::: Before you even have to push the baby out, your lady parts feel like they are falling apart.
Especially when the baby is low and kicks you right in the cervix...
Fun times. 

::: Emotions are hiiiighhh!! 
My family kind of hates me now. 
I'm either angry, depressed, happy, excited, overwhelmed, or crying. 

::: Exhaustion. Exhaustion. Exhaustion. 
And towards the end I'm even more exhausted. 
That whole "nesting" energy peak? 
That does not kick in for everyone. 

::: Pregnancy glow is a joke. 
Though I've never had clear skin, my skin gets much worse when pregnant. 
I feel like a hormonal teenager with grease dripping from my skin.

::: You know what else is a joke?? Thick, luscious hair.
My hair doesn't grow when I'm pregnant.
It's nice for shaving cause I don't have to every day anymore.
But that full head of beautiful locks that I have always coveted? Never happens.

::: Really you just feel gross constantly.
Your body is doing weird things getting ready for the baby to come.
[Weird things down there.]
You're way bigger than you ever thought possible, and only growing exponentially.
You just aren't yourself.
All the things you used to criticize you now miss more than ever.

::: Back pain. 
Back pain!! 

::: Anything you wear makes it feel like you can't breathe. 
All I want to do is take all my clothes off the minute I am home. 
Shirts become constricting, bras are torture, pants are useless. 
Collars or anything around my neck is complete and utter torture. 

::: Those weight gain charts become your worst enemy. 
And you hate anyone who says anything about how big you are. 
I have a long list of names of people I want to punch. 
Sometimes that includes Adam and his "little jokes." 

::: Bloody noses can happen often. 
It's gross and freaky. 
I've never had a bloody nose in my life before being pregnant with this little girl.

::: And the biggest truth of all: Sometimes the connection to your baby doesn't always happen during pregnancy. And feelings of nervousness and anxiety are common and normal.

[I'm sure there's more but I can't think of it all right now.... oh another pregnancy truth: forgetfullness!]


With all that suckiness that comes with pregnancy, there is so much good and blessed.
Especially at the end when you get a perfect, precious, sweet little baby to hold.

It's amazing what your body can endure to bring a perfect little baby into the world.
Though newborns come with their own struggles, just being in the presence of one you can feel so much peace and closer to heaven.

I may not like being pregnant all the time,
but I love that sweet little prize at the end.

That's what makes it all worth it!

Do you have any of these symptoms or others??
I'd love to hear about your experience!
{Unless it's perfect and you had the most amazing, magical time being pregnant ever then you can maybe just pass... My emotions can't take that. ;)}


ChristmasOwl07 said...

Wow I can imagine how bad acid reflux will be. b/c I suffer bad now and I take nexium since it's now over the counter. how much longer do you have?

Lauren Gardner said...

You're so funny. I feel ya girl. Every one of those things I've experienced too. I'm so ready to mee lil girl as I'm sure you are too

Amy's Fashion Blog said...

Your to cute. I love that you wrote about this

Julie said...

Aww I feel your pain. I had just about every one of those symptoms when I was pregnant with my daughter. It was awful! I had hyperemesis gravidarum, which is just morning sickness if you amplified it a billion times. haha! Basically I was sick all day every day until the last week of my pregnancy. Horrible! It always made me crazy when people would say things like "get rest now because when baby comes you won't have a full nights sleep in a long time". Yeah, because it's sooo easy sleeping with someone doing gymnastics/martial arts in you stomach and kicking your bladder making you have to go to the bathroom every hour. LOL! I was a VERY grumpy pregnant lady... but I got a beautiful little princess out of the deal so it was all worth it in the end.

Brynn said...

I'm one of the lucky ones that don't get too sick (don't throw anything at me!), but I completely get the exhaustion thing. My first trimester I am RAVENOUS and EXHAUSTED! Every day feels like Fast Sunday, and mid-afternoon feels like 2 am. Now I'm in the 4th month of my 4th pregnancy and I'm still so tired all the time. I have 3 little kids at home, so that probably compounds things. I've had other weird things, too, and pretty much your body is not your own until you are completely done with pregnancy and breastfeeding. And then the hormone fluxuations of PMS start all over again. Ah, womanhood. Thanks for posting, it was good to be reminded that pregnancy is not a walk in the park. Expectation is everything when dealing with something emotionally. All I can say is take it easy on yourself. Growing a human is hard work.

Brynn said...

Oh, and you look adorable in that picture you posted. So tiny and pretty, and that shirt looks gorgeous on you.

Kirsty and Seth said...

I can relate to so many of these things but you're right, the baby at the end kind of makes up for it!

Ashley Ziegler said...

Haha, I love that video clip you shared!!