Things People DON'T tell you about pregnancy

I loved being pregnant mainly because I loved feeling so close to my baby; being able to feel all his movements was so special; a feeling I will never forget. But pregnancy is NOT all rainbows and butterflies. It’s not so much of a brisk walk in the park as it is a marathon, mentally and physically. There is so much people do not tell you or talk about in pregnancy. It’s like some pregnancy secret until you experience it for yourself. Probably because women don’t want to scare off other women from becoming pregnant or something (ridiculous) but remember no matter what, the pros always outweigh the cons.

Pregnancy here we go...

Implantation Bleeding

This happened to me both times (no I don’t have two babies I had a previous miscarriage) after the first experience I knew I was pregnant after it happened to me the second time around. It looks like pink snot (cervical mucus with small amount of blood). Gross but good news!

Gag Reflex

Ok so I was blessed enough to not have been throwing my life up the first 12 weeks of pregnancy however, I was extremely nauseous (before I knew I was pregnant I thought I had a terminal illness because I can be a hypochondriac and didn’t think I was pregnant because I didn’t want to get my hopes up so I made myself believe there was something wrong with me instead haha) and the only times I threw up were because I was brushing my teeth. I could barely brush without gagging every time! This lasted the first two trimesters..

Smells

Oh the smells. I hated every smell including my favorite perfumes or splash. I could not wear anything scented not even subtle creams that just had that normal cream smell. So with that came many challenges… I could not find ANY (I mean none at all) creams or oils that I could stand enough to be on me. So my moisturizing regime was little and because of that (and because I was blessed with none stretchy skin (thanks mom) I got major stretch marks (and because I had an abnormally huge belly for someone my size).

Hair in Odd Places

Ahhh the hair! Lets start with the fact that I hardly lost any hair on my head while pregnant like not even the average amount in the shower or while brushing. It was great! BUT, by the end of my pregnancy I had developed a neck beard… yes you heard right. Neck. Beard. Full on neck hair like long enough to grab. You could literally play with it and see it in photos. Ugh. That was one of my biggest struggles. I thought I was going to have that for the rest of my life!! Buuut yes theres a but… It fell off at three months (after birth) exactly at the same time my sons ear hair fell off. LOL yes you read correctly…ear hair. It was so funny because my son was born with no hair around his body like babies usually have, instead he just had loads of hair around his ear and thankfully that fell off too. The weirdest things can happen during pregnancy but its all good, you’re growing a human!

The Darkening of Things

Basically, everything gets darker. Nickels (my bff’s daughter calls nipples, nickels haha), armpits, etc. I also got La Linea Negra which is that dark line going down your belly and let me tell you… it does not magically go away right after birth. In fact, it’s been 6 months and I still lightly have it. The darkened areas take time to go back to normal so don’t freak out eventually they will go back to normal. Oh, the things they don’t tell you about pregnancy!

Pain. Loads of it.

It’s no secret that basically you experience some sort of pain throughout all of pregnancy. At first you get implantation cramps periodically which is when the baby is embedding into your uterine wall. Thennn… Back pains. My tailbone hurt to the point where sitting felt like I was dislocating it. Weird inner-groin-hip pain towards the end which made it very difficult to walk so I had a slight limp but thats where the waddle comes from! Feet hurt from extra weight. Hips hurt more from sleeping on your side and side only. My belly was so big that my skin hurt like hurt to the touch. If I accidentally leaned on the counter while cooking it hurt so much, felt like my skin was burning. Later come pre-labor cramping. Joy. All this discomfort was totally worth it though!

Skin Irritations & Sensitivity

I previously never had issues with my skin but during pregnancy I couldn’t wear regular earrings. I became allergic and they would itch and hurt like crazy if I wore them. So, you may become sensitive or allergic to things during pregnancy you previously were not of.

Breakouts!

My face was flawless I must say but in the first trimester I got major backne which I never had before. Horrible however, it goes away (mine went away in 2nd trimester). Just the hormones.

Hemorrhoids

Balls of death. You do not just get these from pushing during labor! I repeat not just from labor strains. They come well in advance without you even realizing because of the amount of pressure pushing down there from baby. Towards the end of pregnancy lets just say I was not as nervous of labor as I was of my hemorrhoids getting worse after pushing a mini human out. Buuut they go away on their own after some time after birth which was awesome! (Didn’t think that was going to happen).

Excessive Fluids

Okay so when I say fluids I mean fluids coming out and staying in from all over. Lets start with discharge… so much extra discharge you’ll think you pee’d yourself. Then theres peeing… constantly. ALL THEE TIME! Getting up in the middle of the night like 20 times is no fun. Then theres all the excess fluids you retain and make you swell up. Towards the end my hands and feet look like sausages and I couldn’t wear my wedding ring anymore (to get it off felt like someone was cutting my finger off!)

Left Side

OH MY LANTA! I always figured you obviously can not sleep on your stomach but apparently it’s not okay to sleep on your back either (or for too long) because you cut the blood/air supply to your baby…”When you lie belly-up, the weight of your uterus can compress a major blood vessel, called the vena cava, disrupting blood flow to your baby and leaving you nauseated, dizzy, and short of breath. The best way to sleep during the second half of pregnancy is on your side”. (Thanks Google!) Either way you won’t want to sleep on your back because it is so so SO uncomfortable (at least for me it was). So what options does that leave you with?… Side sleeping. BUT apparently it is best to lay on your left side because that side gives your baby the most oxygen?! Anyway when you’re pregnant these things matter to you and you become obsessed with it all. I made sure I would switch from side to side every hour like clock work to make sure I was giving my baby “good oxygen and blood flow” but then again I would do it because my body wasn’t used to the extra weight and being on one side for too long would ache and bother me (my hip would fall asleep).

Tests

No one ever talks about all the different test you have to do through out pregnancy. Especially GBS (Group B Strep). Which is fairly common and the reason why they give you antibiotics during labor. Well apparently I had it but I went the more holistic route and went to a birth center for my check ups as well as had a midwife instead of an OB (obstetrician) and so I opt out of the antibiotics (I did have the option but did not want my baby getting exposed to antibiotics so early) and instead did a rinse (in your peri bottle put like an ounce of Hibiclens and the rest water and rinse a few times a day) Worked GREAT. It went away before labor and baby did not get GBS. So what is GBS exactly?… lets ask google; “Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a type of bacterial infection that can be found in a pregnant woman’s vagina or rectum. This bacteria is normally found in the vagina and/or rectum of about 25% of all healthy, adult women. Women who test positive for GBS are said to be colonized.” What that means exactly, I do not know. I do know GBS is harmful to babies. Read more here.

Pubic Bone Pain

I have no clue why but my pubic bone or groin (I can’t even pin point it to be exact) hurt so much when I did certain movements such as getting out of bed or separating my legs.

Kicking & Hiccups

Kicks or movements feel a little like a light muscle spasm or gas (not the strong ones…those definitely feel like kicks). Kicks and Hiccups will keep you up at night. And my baby would get hiccups like three times a day for like 30 minutes long! Somedays he would get hiccups every time I drank a lot of water at once. Babies also don’t just kick your ribs. In fact, my baby never kicked my ribs… once could’ve been too much. Instead, he would kick my hips… position is everything!

Intestines

Towards the end my intestines would swell up at the top of my stomach; making them visible from the outside. The feeling is indescribable and odd.

Not So Round

Babies move and when they get bigger and decide to get in weird positions your belly may not look so round but rather square, coned or slanted. I would wake up some mornings and just be so confused and a little concerned.

I have many pictures of the things I experienced so if you guys want me to share them, let me know! Leave a comment or message me. I would love to hear about any pregnancy stories, secrets or experiences you may have or if you relate to the ones I listed above. So please tell tell tell! 🙂 What are some things you wish people told you about pregnancy?

Read My Home Birth Story if you’re interested in learning more about my experience with having a baby.

**This is a list made up of experiences that happened to me or/and to others I know. Keep in mind that everyone is different and every pregnancy is different so these things may or may not happen to you. Warning – I use parentheses way too much but I can’t help but to tell a story within my story.