I was told there would be glowing

[Ookmybanana]

I'm 22+6 today. The sickness has stopped, the tiredness hasn't but I was assured by those in the know around me that there would be glowing in the second trimester. The only glowing is the sweats and the skin on my back, chest and neck is dreadful. I am covered in big lumpy spots. Where is my glow?! Where is my radiant pregnancy?!

There is no glow. Sorry. I barfed 20x a day for 9 months and my pelvis was held together with gaffa tape by the end.

Some other choice myths:

No your hair won't grow back after it sheds postpartum.
No the spd won't go immediately - you may end up partially disabled
Breastfeeding isn't always easy.
Babies can cluster feed for eight hours straight
No they don't sleep any better at 18 months than they did at 8 weeks. Sorry about that.

The glow is utter bollocks. I love my son with all my being but god it's been a hard road.

What is this glow of which you speak?

Puked all the way through with DS - the best bit about labour was getting pregnancy over with.

Actually, that was the glow - right there: in the few hours post partum, still high on adrenaline and no sickness. Right before the exhaustion set in - there were a few brief moments.

Now 25+1 with ds2 and I'd forgotten how shit pregnancy actually is

31 weeks and there has been no glow here. Sickness and chronic fatigue mixed with spd, itchiness and night sweats throughout. It's all lies

The glow is bullshit. The only glow I have had in either of my pregnancy was a hot flush.

And the glow of joy when DC1 was delivered, I was at home and could finally have a glass of celebratory bubbles. There was some glowing then.

I'm looking forward to the same glow with DC2 when she turns up in the summer.

...did they also say it would be "magical"?

I did have lovely hair last time. Never went greasy. Am waiting for that to happen again.

No glowing here either, just lots of vomiting . I actually asked my GP if these mythical women who enjoy pregnancy really existed, she said she'd met "a couple", she's been a Doctor for a long time and she's only met a couple!

My mate glowed in both pregnancies double never been sick, no constipation - nothing. She's a freak of nature.

Hang on... so at only six weeks in I find out I am not going to have luscious wash and go locks? No beautifully strong nails? No wonderful dewy skin that needs not a hint of tint?

What I'm getting from this is that these sarcastic bastards I'm soon to be surrounded by are going to tell me I'm beautiful and glowing because I am in fact fat, haggard and sweaty?

Well that's a bit shit

Oh I had lovely hair. Really lovely. Thick and luscious.

i had a thick pelt of it from sternum to knee. I looked like a little ewok. Then it all fell out, and kept falling out, and now my once fabulous mane is a thin, limp, colourless mess. The loss of the body hair was welcome, the loss of my head hair not so much

Pregnancy has wrecked my body. I don't mean that in an 'I don't look great in a bikini' way, i mean in a functional way. I'm shattered, my joints are all fucked, my back is fucked, my hips are fucked, I need to brace while sneezing ( and I had a c section ffs.) my teeth are damaged, my throat is damaged from the vomiting. I am nowhere near recovered 18mo on.

Some women glow. But not me. And not most.

No glowing here either 26 weeks on Saturday : Constantly exhausted, hip pain on the right hand side and cant get comfortable when lying down. This is not what I expected, when I shared this with my Husband he just laughed at me.

I'm only 11 weeks and have only had nausea (no actual spewing) but caught sight of myself in my long nightie with zip up cardigan à la Roy Cropper over it (keeps my boobs warm), spotty chin and big dark circles under my eyes and thought 'sweet Jesus.'

I glowed -well with approximately the wattage of a Pygmy bulb -whilst expecting my son for all of three weeks in between puking, kidney infections high blood pressure and anaemia.
With my daughter I looked and felt like shit on a stick from about week four until the bitter end. My bump came almost immediately and was something akin to a revolting flesh bumbag hammock that went from behind one hip to the other. I actually rejoiced when finally in established labour at the thought of no longer being pregnant and able to kick back an enormous gin & tonic.
Then there is the breastfeeding. Apparently my children were lazy feeders and I had a letdown like the Hoover Damn bursting so not a great combo. Still, I'll be beating myself up again and lashing lansinoh on them like no tomorrow whilst sending DH out for cabbage leaves and breast pads.
Why I am doing it to myself for a third time is beyond me. I'm currently playing Russian roulette with piles, evening nausea, grinding insomnia and a nasty trapped nerve. Whilst bashing my head of the nearest hard surface chanting "stupid cow"

We're a bunch of masochists.
I bloody love my children though. Felt the need to add that after the rant.

Gin I like your approach the whole sorry business of losing your dignity when pregnant with a massive pinch of humor. You have made me smile.

I would like to think that I'm glowing but not with a massive helping of makeup. The other day I sneezed and I wet myself a little. And the gas! It has to come out or else it is very painful. We laugh about all of this with dh but I wonder whether he will be laughing when I have pooed myself twice during labour. I don't know how we keep doing it. Someone further up thread was right, we forget.

Do we? My youngest is nearly 14 and I've never forgotten. Forgiven, occasionally. But the memories are keen and painful.

That's the hardest I've laughed for a while! A pelt!

I rather miss it some days. I'd rather have my fabulous hair back than the lank mess I have now :(

This has cheered me up! No glow here but I have to conceed that my normally greasy hair no longer needs daily washing. So that's the one silver lining amongst the vomiting, PGP, heart palpitations, aches and hormonal mood swings.

I believe I glowed for precisely one day during one of my three pregnancies.

That day was great - doing school run for older dc, on a glorious day, wearing sunglasses and a fetching red maternity top. One of the mums said 'wow, you're really glowing now!' It was nice, but a one off. I think I was about 25wks. I turned into a heffalump about a week after.

People are so full of it. I look like total shit.

I also hate your body is so amazing! If you can make a baby, you can birth a baby and you can feed a baby!

Bollocks. Fuck off.

Acne, thighs hairier than a gorilla, greasy head hair, an Igor-esque limp from a seized up pelvis and 24/7 vomiting - and I'm 31 sodding weeks.

Thing is, this is DC2, and it was exactly the same the first time around, so I don't know what else I was expecting