to ask what you found to be the hardest part about pregnancy?

[SoreFeet1983]

I have had a really rough pregnancy this time around. I've had awful sickness and nausea, I'm tired, I'm trying to look after a toddler at the same time, and I can't even have a glass of wine to take the edge off. I'm exhausted. Now finally 37 weeks.

But for me, this all pales into insignificance in comparison to restless fucking leg syndrome 😡😡 Every time I try to lie down and relax I just can't get comfortable. It's driving me up the wall and really getting me down actually.

Apart from the obvious, what did you find to be the hardest parts of pregnancy?

Heartburn

Heartburn, always sore and uncomfortable, my extreme hormones, struggle to do much, weight gain. This is my 3rd pregnancy and the one I am finding the hardest.

Will be glad when I get to the finish line and meet baby.

Hyperemisis

I'm 19 weeks with my third (I'm 38). I found the first trimester really really hard, extreme tiredness and a lot of nausea and empty reaching. I had a lot of anxiety as well after having a MMC last year. The 2nd tri has been fine bit of energy back & no nausea etc, but I am dreading the 3rd trimester, I get so uncomfortable and being 5ft 2 doesn't help. That said as this will probably be my last baby I'm trying to make the most of it, love my little bump! I would kill for a guilt free glass of wine though.......

HG in the first trimester. One baby was moving constant, and I mean constant, fear about her moving. This ruined so many special occasions for me as I wasn't 'present' just thinking about movement. I think I must have posted on MN every week about it. I wanted to be sectioned at one point !

The birth

I puked 8 times a day in the first 18 weeks which sucked, but that was no-where near as bad as the lack of sleep in the 3rd trimester. I'm currently 34 weeks and am KNACKERED! Three weeks of work left, I can't wait to be on leave so I can try to catch up before DS arrives.

Hip, pelvic and back pain. Severe, it hurt to stand, sit, lie, walk, move. Disabling and limiting. Getting in and out of the car/ bed was horrific, turning over in bed was awful.

Leg cramps...just omg!

Being permanently anxious and frightened after multiple miscarriage, I was terrified all the time.

Totally worth it though x

Hyperemesis and being anaemic. i lost weight instead of putting it on, i carried twins but lost one along the way and i can't help but blame the HG for it. I also carried low so my back hurt a lot towards the end.

The SPD. I couldn't lie down at all, I ended up trying to sleep sitting on the sofa (which really didn't work). I was in agony, and nobody cared. My midwife was useless and I couldn't get a Physio appointment.

We are planning to try for a second next year and I'm so scared it will be even worse this time. It's almost putting me off having another baby. ☹️

Both pregnancies were ok really. But the calf cramps that ripped me out of my sleep a few times...

Pregnant after a loss at term and just the sheer anxiety is getting to me.
Also I feel like I can't relax or complain about being pregnant or whinge about anything because I am so lucky to have gotten pregnant again. And I am. I feel grateful at least to have gotten pregnant again so soon and I feel conflicted and guilty about reliving the very recent sad past and I feel petty for complaining about aching pelvis or feeling humongous. And I feel so nervous all the time for this precious baby. Sigh. And I feel like I can't talk about anything with pregnant friends because my sorrow looms so large it's like a conversation stopper. I hesitated posting even on this thread because I don't want to "derail" it with my sadness iyswim. Gosh this is hard!

Has no-one else suffered from swamp-crotch?!?

Bisquick I really can't even begin to imagine how you must feel. And even if you don't feel like talking to anyone in real life, post away all you want to on the antenatel group. Please don't ever hesitate in sharing how you're feeling.

For me, personally it's been the telling people! I'm quite a private person, so being so open has thrown me a bit.

With DC1 - the swelling. I looked like I'd been inflated with a bike pump at 28 weeks. I can't look at a pair of Birkenstocks without being reminded they were all that fit my fat trotters in summer 2014. I later went on to develop pre-eclampsia, although not until 40+2.

With DC2 - the anxiety, as I miscarried in between. I didn't let myself believe I was actually going to have a baby until I was able 36 weeks. I also had horrible nausea in the mornings with DC2 and was retching before breakfast until the day she was born.

The nausea and vomiting
The exhaustion and antenatal depression (maybe linked)
The weird vertigo in pregnancy 2
The bizarre illnesses from the staph infection in my nose that made everything smell even more vile than it already did to the bile-heaving norovirus and three weeks of sinusitis/ face pain

But all paled into insignificance as others have said beside the constant medical anxiety, maybe triggered by heavy bleeding in both pregnancies in first trimester, maybe by coming off anti-depressants, not really sure...

Would in many ways love another baby but can't bring myself ever to do it again!! to everyone still going through it.

Having twins was worse than singletons. Every fucker has an opinion and is interested. Fuck off!

Overall lack of wine to consol yourself

Oh my god totally forgot about the restless leg syndrome! It was awful.

Mine:

Insomnia all through the pregnancy, I don't remember ever getting any more than 4 hours sleep in one night (and consider that a bloody good night), the exhaustion was just unreal, all the way through. Particularly at the start and the end.

Ridiculous indigestion, constantly. Day and night, nothing gave me relief, nothing. I literally tried everything.

Constipation ALL the way through, resulting in piles- so excruciating I couldn't stand up or sit down without screaming. It used to make me cry.

Dreadful back pain every evening (i.e. The only time I had to relax after a hectic day at work was spent writhing in pain due to back pain and the dreaded indigestion).

My baby's bum pressing/stretching my muscle wall at the top of my bump, felt raw, like I'd just been operated on. Nothing relieved it, it was so painful. Got worse and worse as baby grew (and I was 2 weeks overdue).

Needing to wee a million times a night did my head in as well. Bathroom is really far away from our bedroom and up a set of stairs so had to make myself really alert so that I didn't fall on them in my hazy sleep deprived state.

I will add the restless leg syndrome to the list as I found that really frustrating.

All worth it in the end! But yeah, I do have to take a few deep breaths when I ponder the possibility of going through it again (would like more at some stage 😧)

There are many things I'm starting to love about pregnancy.... however:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Backache
• Other people touching my fucking body without asking.

25 weeks and still experiencing all four on a regular basis!! 🙈 I'm telling myself that the end result is worth it!

I had a complicated ankle fracture at 20 weeks with DS2.
Was fucking hell.
Pregnant, crutches, daily injections, pins, trying to get a 3 year old to nursery. I felt pretty low!

The full 9 months of spewing, only being able to eat crisps, the carpal tunnel , mastitis (yes during pregnancy)
Would rather be pregnant though than do the first 8 weeks again though

God why do we do it

Towards the end my hip would "pop" out of it's socket when I was standing. Or that's how it felt anyway!

Developing Cankles so no shoes would fit - hideous in the heat but at least I never had to worry about catching my ankle bones when shaving my legs.....
My temper - massively flared with DC2. Nearly punched a queue jumper - lunatic
Piles.... how can I ever forget permanently sitting on a burning, itchy cauliflour