As my pregnancy is coming to an end, I’m reminded daily of details that I clearly blocked from my memory. Maybe for good reason. Pregnancy is a beautiful, messy experience.
- You may not LOOK pregnant right away, but you will FEEL like you look pregnant right away. I was so bloated that I was convinced EVERYONE knew I was knocked up weeks before we made it public.
- Morning sickness doesn’t happen in the morning. All day errrrrrryday.
- The exhaustion is overwhelming. Especially if you already have one child or more.
- Finding out the gender of your womb-dweller is ridiculously exciting. Enough said.
- People will think they have a right to touch your belly. Even if they’ve never seen you before that moment, ever. It’s okay to smack them.
- You can be the tiniest pregnant woman ever, and you’ll still be asked if it’s twins. I like to respond with, “…I’m not pregnant.” The shock is so worth it.
- A cold in the late second trimester or early third trimester is horrible. Cough, sneeze, contraction, pee, repeat.
- Everyone will have an opinion about how that baby is DEFINITELY COMING EARLY. He more than likely won’t.
- A breech baby after thirty weeks is painful. Feet. In. Your. Cervix. And sometimes crazy yoga poses will flip them.
- Around 37 weeks, people you see daily will start asking you “isn’t it about time?” EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It’s about 22 hours closer to that time than the last time you asked me.
- You will get up to pee more times a night than you would get up to feed a newborn. But at least you’ll be prepared to be exhausted.
- You will get to a point where the pain of labor no longer intimidates you (that much) because you just want him out. I may or may not be at this point.
- Numbers one through twelve will be 100% worth it once that bundle of squishiness is snuggled up to your chest. And I can’t wait.
Coming Soon: Things I Forgot About Postpartum (Assuming it ever gets here.)