Things about pregnancy that no one tells you

[CBear6]

I'm starting to remember the weird things I noticed when pregnant with DS, mainly because they're happening again with this one, and at the time I wondered why no one ever mentions these things, not even the books (or at least the ones I read).

Things like:

• rolling over in bed becomes a test of strength, patience, and momentum. It's all about timing the pivot and the flop and using Whatever is in reach (sorry DH) for leverage
  

• your nipples get huge and change colour
  

• morning sickness isn't just in the morning, sometimes it's all day and all night too
  

• the random hormone-fuelled dreams
  

• the hair. It'll either stop growing and go all lank or it'll grow like weeds. And it's not just the hair on your head that's affected
  

• skin tags. For whatever reason they're common in pregnancy. I didn't know this until the doctor told me so when I got one on the end of my nipple, it turned black (the tag not the nipple)

[Beesok]

oh the itching freaked me out! I had it only for one night - on holiday in a hotel bed, felt like ants (or bed bugs!!) were crawling all over me and kept waking DH up asking if he feels it - I felt like a crazy woman! It only happened that one time and then it was fine and we stayed in the same hotel for another 5 nights

[CBear6]

And then everyone says "don't itch, you'll give yourself stretchmarks!" :)

[G1nger]

I couldn't believe how hungry I was in my first trimester - and how it suddenly disappeared again into my second. I couldn't go more than 2.5hrs without needing a substantial snack of some kind (which quickly turned into bacon sandwiches several times a day). If I tried to go longer, I'd start shaking with low blood sugar, and often once this started it would last all day (no matter how much I ate).

Also no one told me how much this little bump that I've developed (week 21) would get in the way. I knew the big ones got in the way, but I never figured how uncomfortable they'd be when really small.

[shmoz]

Heartburn. Morning, noon and night.

Reading the indigestion/heartburn tablet leaflet that said 'max 8 tablets in 24 hours' or some such nonsense. How I laughed.

[prolificwillybreeder]

As baby has been bouncing on your bladder you think you are going to do an enormous wee then the tiniest amount comes out. I can't work this out, I was bursting!

[LilQueenie]

the acid in your throat from heartburn, palpitations when overly tired, puking up bile and blood in the morning. Headaches.

[CBear6]

Ante-natal vitamins turn your pee a funny shade of yellow.

The hot flushes. It was wonderful in January but not so wonderful now. I'm going to spend the summer bright red and puffing.

My toes turning blue if I get the slightest bit cold (in between the hot flushes obviously). Freaked me out, had the GP check everything (BP, etc) and all fine, supposedly due to circulation being affected by pregnancy.

That alcohol-free wine was invented by the devil for shits and giggles.

[MsChanandlerBong]

That even though you're probably not showing, those first 12 weeks are tough. I know "pregnancy isn't an illness" but it sure felt like it.

That restless leg syndrome can effect you in your arms rather than your legs. And that flailing in bed is not a good look.

How painful PGP is. And that is why a lot of pregnant ladies waddle even before they have a big bump.

That the shops will all be full of lovely clothes that you can only drool over whilst you head to the 2 racks of out-of-date maternity clothes hidden at the back of the shop (usually next to the petite section just to really make us feel good about ourselves).

[theonlyhb2]

being kicked hurts! and when it turns about in there, it makes me feel a bit queasy (Alien, anyone?).
having my bladder used as a punchbag
constipation
piles
discharge
not being able to walk far/fast
out of breath ALL the time
nipple areola doubled in size, and both nipples SO dark.....I am scared I shall have more nipple than breast soon
smell like a bloodhound
becoming the fussiest eater
losing my mind

[posterofagirl]

All the 'good foods' you buy to give baby an ace start in life rotting in the fridge while you devour entire cakes.
Not being able to eat the entire cake when baby takes up too much space, then crying about it.

[mouseanon]

Yes to lots of the above!

My last pg was a clicking baby. It was definitely coming from him, from my tummy not my pelvis or anything, and not me. I crack a lot too but it was obvious when it was me. It sounded exactly like joints cracking. I came to the conclusion that was what it was. After all the sound of my joints cracking travels well enough out of my body and I am very prone to joints cracking so I'm guessing my dc could be too. As it happens he is fine but does seem to be slightly double jointed. My first and my current (3rd) pg didn't/haven't done it.

I think the things that surprised me the most about pg were the bone crushing tiredness and (DC2 again) kicking that really, really, hurt. He used to get my ribs all the time and it was agony. Oh and the achy hips that get so painful at night I keep waking up. My hair and nails are lovely this time though!

[roz1982]

Some of these are really making me laugh which is so very welcome as am sat at home still suffering from hideous sickness and nausea at 14 weeks and feeling very sorry for myself... heres some of mine...

hiccups - very frequent and sometimes quite violent!!
EXTREMELY itchy nipples!! woke me up last night!
just a general 'not right' feeling or 'out of sorts' that I can't really attribute to anything - especially if I wake up in thr night
my husbands breath has become something I must avoid at all costs - feel awful about this but can't help it!!!

[roz1982]

oh and weepiness is sometimes just ridiculous - driving to work t'other morning started crying to 'love child' by the supremes!

[stripeywoollenhat]

yes, the weird breathlessness, even very early on - i had forgotten about it. i remember being a bit frightened by it first time out.

and restless legs: who knew something so minor could be so shockingly irritating?

[dizzy77]

That you'll get through a whole loo roll each day on maternity leave, even when you're the only person in the house most of the time. Or is that just me...?

[LostInTransmogrification]

Really painful nipples when it's cold out! I remember having to clutch them in a desperate attempt to keep them warm!

[CBear6]

No, no, I seem to be using a small forest worth of loo roll too.

[Staceroo]

CBear6 think it's a great thread... and I am an early on first timer! Not worried by things I'm reading at all, so don't worry yourself!

Roz So glad you mentioned the itchy nipples... was readung the whole thread looking for it to see if it was 'normal'! Least I'm not the only one! Actually unbearable itchiness that I can't stop!

[jollyjester]

The fact that my nipples have been leaking since week 18, and its not clear - its bright yellow!
The floor is completely out of reach now for anything at all!
That my ribs feel like they are going to explode through my skin at any time!

Oh how I'm glowing!

[owl13]

that the second time around I'd start showing at 4 weeks rather than at the 16ish weeks the first time...

[CBear6]

That constipation isn't always a given, sometimes it's the opposite.

The mood swings. All lovey dovey with DH because he brought me a little packet of Minstrels home from work, then I cried because "I'm so happy" (so happy that I need to express it with red eyes, blotchy cheeks, and a lil bit of snot). Then he woke DS up by shouting down the stairs about socks or some such gubbins so I got all pissy with him (DH, not DS). Then I got all weepy again because "you've been at work all day and you don't need me bitching at you". Luckily he knew to shut me up with Glee and a glass of milk.

Headaches.

The temptation to buy mountains and mountains of teeny tiny clothes that will be too small before the baby ever gets to wear them.

The sheer amounts of stuff that companies pass off as "pregnancy essentials".

[rocketleaf]

That I might get a symptom just the once. Happened to me with round ligament pain and the screaming in the night leg cramp. I then thought, oh crap, this is it, I'm in for it now and then never got another. Not that I am complaining!

That I could walk into the office abd be able to tell who had had curry for tea the night before.

That I would develop a strong aversion to the smell of DHs shampoo.

That I would forget about the bump and try to bend or pick things up from the floor and wonder why I couldn't manage it.

That DH would get all over protective and ban me from using ladders or going in the loft but nesting instinct (and stubborness) would make me flout this time and again.

The aching ribs!!

That I would be able to go for a whole week without washing my hair and over a month without depilating my legs.

That saying things like "the baby wants Ben and Jerrys Fish food" might actually work! :o

[ninipops]

Waking up with a little damp patch on the pillow where I've been drooling - had this with DD and totally forgot about it then started doing it again with this pg. Fortunately it disappeared soon as the baby arrived.

Also had the sore nips first time round, DD was a winter baby so have missed that one this time.

My favourite though is the total denial of a) how slow I got toward the end ( I couldn't overtake old ladies with walking sticks) and b) my mood swings. I completely insisted my DH got off lightly (meanwhile I am crying at folk songs about the Spanish revolution!)

ditto the dry skin, baby bouncing on bladder, turning over in bed, skin tags, depilating of any description and a host of other previously mentioned.

[jobrien1980]

"WHy do the prenatal vitamins have to be so big and why do you have to take them on a full stomach? For the 1st 12 weeks or so HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?"

So true. I've sort of solved this by taking several different Sainsbury's one or two vitamin/mineral supplements as the tablets are much smaller

[newartriotstar]

That brushing my teeth would become such an ordeal.