I expected things to happen when I got pregnant: weight gain, stretch marks, etc. But so far my body has done a bunch of things that I wasn't expecting, and hasn't (so far) done several things that I was expecting.
Was expecting:
- Hair loss: I'd read somewhere that while pregnant, your hair mostly stops falling out and then after the baby comes, it all kind of falls out at once. I'd read this freaks out some new moms. Well, much to the dismay of my inhouse plumber (DH), this has not come to pass. I wash my hair twice a week and continue to lose pretty much the same amount of hair into the hair trap now as I did last year.
- Stretch marks: So far, nada. Maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones?
- Morning sickness: I was expecting to be losing my breakfast pretty much every day. It's been more like a couple times a month. Thank you PTB!
- Morning sickness: I was expecting to be losing my breakfast pretty much every day for the first trimester. I'm almost at the end of the second trimester and I still forget not to brush my tongue in the morning, and quickly lose my breakfast. DH is getting used to this - he was alarmed at first.
- Darker hair in weird places: Well, they're not weird places, if you're a guy! I usually don't shave my legs in the winter but I started very early again this spring just because the leg hair was getting crazy dark and nasty looking. Then there's the weirdly long facial peach fuzz I'm growing. I haven't done anything about it yet, since it's thankfully very light, but I'm hoping it stays that way...
- Darker moles: I've always been covered in moles, and they've always been all shades of beige through dark brown. Now they're all very dark. Hoping not very optimistically that they'll go back to normal after the baby comes.
- Intestinal distress: About which I've already written more than probably most wanted to read. Things have improved, thanks to the new prenatal vitamins and some daily prune juice (blech!).
- Sinus congestion: I've been stuffed up since January. It's April. Feh. I'm not sure the neti pot has really helped or not. I keep using it as I've heard it has lots of health benefits, but I'm not convinced.
- Belly touching: This is a so far, but so far, people touching my belly hasn't bothered me. I was expecting to be very sensitive and cranky about it, but so far, it's been kinda fun.
- Metallic taste in mouth: another thing that, well, first, I wasn't expecting, but additionally, in the books, they say this is most common in the first trimester. My metallic taste appeared at the end of the first trimester... and continues. I've started chewing gum.
- Heartburn from hell: sometimes it's a challenge to only eat the recommended daily four calcium antacid tablets. There are days where I think I could eat the whole bottle. It's often related to over-eating, which is easy to do when I can only eat tiny little servings of food. But sometimes I get heartburn when I'm hungry, which just doesn't seem fair.
The wasn't expecting list probably says more about my ignorance about pregnancy than anything weird about my pregnancy experience.
In other news, this past week I visited my dentist, midwife and chiropractor. All reported that things look good - my dentist especially commented on how well I've been taking care of my teeth. I've been flossing a lot more than normal for me, aiming for once a day. They say the inflamation that can come from poor dental hygiene is related to miscarriage and pre-term births. I'm not sure who says that, but I know I read it, and I think my dentist told me that last time I saw him, when I mentioned we were trying to conceive.
Anyone have any good pregnancy side effects to share?
Photo credit: Roberto Muñoz. I picked this photo because it's lovely but also because we are suddenly talking about going back to Barbados for a vacation next month. Wouldn't that be excellent?
7 comments:
I remember I was sick for three months before giving birth to dd #2. It sucked. I mean it was really really bad. I kept going to the doctor asking for some secret remedy that was safe to take during pregnancy. No such luck. Lucky for me health care is free in Canada.
Re: the moles: Mine did all kinds of interesting things, and never went back to normal. Hopefully you'll experience something different.
Re: the hair: of course it's not falling out yet. You haven't had the baby yet, have you? Just wait....
Melodie - you poor thing. Do you mean sick like nauseated? That must have been near unbearable. I'm glad to have good insurance so I'm not shy about asking for care when I need it - but there are so many going without here, it's a sin.
Shannon - right! No baby yet... I was just thinking that maybe the big hair falling out wouldn't happen because the hair stopping falling out hasn't happened. Isn't my optimism cute?
So does morning sickness only happen in the morning or is it through out the day?
Im childless so pls excise the naive questions :-)
Ginger - welcome! That's a good question. From what I've read, it's different for everyone. For me, I'm usually feeling most queasy in the morning as I'm getting ready for work (between 7-9am). By 10 or 11, I'm usually fine if no one's eating sardines or eggs nearby. I've heard other women feel sick all day long, and have trouble gaining weight in the first trimester (you're only expected to gain a few pounds, not a big deal usually). On the other hand, I think to karmically make up for my not so bad morning sickness, I'm still feeling it late in my second trimester, when usually other women are feeling better! But I guess if that's all I have to complain about, life ain't so bad. And despite feeling queasy, I've been keeping my breakfast down most days (not brushing my tongue in the morning helps a lot - I just brush it really well at night instead).
I'm about 16 weeks along now. Here is my list of weird symptoms:
*when I sneeze really hard I pee a little.
*My tailbone hurts like I broke it
*Sometimes there's a sharp pain in my tummy like someone stabbed me. Apparently this is round ligament pain
*My hips feel loose and it hurts to sleep on one side.
seems like there are lots of things about pregnancy your mom doesn't tell you about.
The Baglady: welcome! Indeed, regarding what mother told us. Well, all I can remember of my mother telling me is that morning sickness is hell and breastfeeding was a disaster. So far, I'm having a much better time, even though I'm much older.
I have the round ligament pain when I sneeze - thankfully no peeing (yet - I think it's normal, especially post partum). I think it's helpful to do lots of Kegels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegel_exercise) to better control peeing, and also for birth.
Sounds like you're having a lot of pain - if you can afford to, you might find it helpful to see a chiropractor. I'm so lucky that my employer's insurance just started covering chiropractic care, so I've been going once a week. Be sure to look for one who has done the special obstetric chiropractic course - we need special care during this time.
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