When will I start to ‘enjoy’ this?!

[CaptainCabinets]

I’m 9w4d with my first and feeling dreadful. There’s nothing I want to eat, I feel nauseous almost all day, my boobs are swollen and my nipples feel like they’ve been sandpapered, I’m constipated and everything smells 10x stronger than usual, which isn’t helping with the nausea! I’m exposed to a lot of unpleasant smells at work and finding myself struggling not to heave in front of patients. I can’t keep my eyes open in the evenings and then I’m wide awake in the middle of the night. I’m bloated and feeling pretty gross.

I know I’m very lucky to be pregnant and I’m very excited, I just hope this phase passes soon as I’d love to be able to just enjoy my pregnancy and get ready for my baby!

I felt better by 14 weeks or so, but didn’t actually enjoy any of pregnancy!!!
I feel for you, it’s such a hard time at the beginning I hope it passes soon

I wouldn't necessarily expect to enjoy an awful lot of being pregnant.

A lot of the joy comes from knowing you are expecting a baby. I think films / TV give us an unrealistic idea of how 'joyful' it is or it's supposed to be.

Once you are past this stage then there will be other challenges ie finding a comfortable way to sit/ sleep etc.

I'm not being doom and gloom - just realistic having had 2 with no major complications.

I had all the symptoms you describe, plus copious vomiting, until about 20 weeks. Then I started to feel really uncomfortable - uncomfortable to walk, uncomfortable to sleep, pressure on my bladder - which got progressively worse until the day I delivered. I can't say I enjoyed any of it, unfortunately. But I have had friends who positively loved the whole thing, particularly from the second trimester.

You might feel better in your second trimester. I did. I absolutely loved being pregnant and had had a long and hard road to get there.

I felt queasy in the evenings with my first two and with my first I felt the tiredness from hell, in that I would get home from work, devour a bag of clementines (my craving!), not have dinner and go to bed at 6pm and sleep until the next morning! Second time around my tiredness wasn't as bad.

Third time (after two miscarriages) I didn't have much in the way of symptoms - which worried me! - but I craved burgers rather than citrus fruit (I don't eat burgers often normally!) and my baby was the opposite sex to the first two.

Hope you feel better soon! I have a friend at the same stage of pregnancy as you and if it helps, she is hating it too, and her pregnancy was also hard-won. Fingers crossed x

The second trimester was definitely the easiest. Both my third trimesters were in the summer and I spent as much time as possible swimming, which was good because I gained a bit too much weight.

It’s not much fun… You’ll probably feel better after about 14 weeks and then hopefully you’ll feel okay for a while.

And then as you get bigger it’ll be more uncomfortable to sleep and you might get the joys of heartburn and haemorrhoids…

One positive though as you’ll be heavily pregnant over winter, being pregnant keeps you nice and warm.

And when you start to feel the baby moving that’s nice too 😊

I hated pregnancy. All of it.

i remember being in the locker room at work thinking I’d give anything to not be pregnant just for 10 minutes, so I could have 10 minutes of not feeling utterly crap. Just 10 minutes. Then felt guilty because of course I didn’t want to be not pregnant.

baby moving felt like aliens in my stomach, wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

pregnancy is sold to us as this wonderful experience. It isn’t always. Good news is it will end.

By around 14 weeks I felt much better. I was no longer being sick and my appetite returned. Every trimester has its challenges, but the first trimester was definitely the worst for me.

Ah sorry I was sick till 20 weeks, then everything slowly perked up for a few weeks until 3rd trimester which was really uncomfortable. I just never enjoyed being pregnant tbh. But it will end and it’s not forever.

Sorry, I should have said that I enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. It was certainly an interesting experience and very rewarding. Even if you don't enjoy it, it doesn't last forever.

You know you don’t have to enjoy it? I hate the narrative that it’s expected. For many especially who’ve had fertility struggles or miscarriages, it’s unrealistic to expect to enjoy it. Just feel however you want, it doesn’t have any bearing on how you’ll love your baby. I’ve felt physically better in second trimester which is a relief, but I wouldn’t say I’m ‘enjoying’ it when I am worrying every day, after a late MC last year. I’m just getting in with my normal life. I do think social media makes it worse, I’ve limited it for that reason

I didn't enjoy pregnancy. I was grateful to be pregnant bit there was lots I disliked about the actual process! However the sickness and tiredness improved from about 14 weeks and I felt fairly normal for a good chunk of time.

I’m 31+4 with my first baby and I haven’t been able to enjoy any of my pregnancy. I’m high risk and had so many scans, appointments, tests etc it’s been stressful and worrying from start to finish but on the home stretch now and know it’s all worth it. Your symptoms might ease off for you. I didn’t have many of those symptoms throughout, Infact the only ones I’ve struggled with are pelvic pain and insomnia but being absolutely shattered. Hopefully it eases for you but either way, it’s all going to be worth it x

I'm 8w6d and feeling truly awful too. Constantly nauseous. The only time i'm not naseous is just after i've been sick. Also feeling really anxious.
Im hating the experience of being pregnant but also feeling guilty about that as this baby is very much wanted.
Most people do say that it gets easier in the second trimester though. Fingers crossed for both of us.

Agreed.

The first half is always utterly horrendous for me as I always get HG.

The second half isn't so bad - well, hasn't been in my last two pregnancies. I'm only 18 weeks with #3 so we will see about this one. Mostly got on with normal life in the second half of both pregnancies apart from being more tired and also I had PGP in my second pregnancy so the permanent pain from that was the backdrop to my life then too.

I never 'enjoy' pregnancy personally find it utterly shit but it's a necessary means to an amazing end, so Im suffering through it for the third time. This will most definitely be the last though, partly because I just could not cope with another pregnancy.

Being pregnant both times was a horrible endurance feat only made bearable by the 2 beautiful babies that were eventually born.

Same for me. I didn't feel right until my baby was born, but it was worth it. After the second time, I didn't feel that I could ever go through it again though.

I never have tbh. I suffer the whole way through. Never got the pregnancy glow either!

Feeling exactly the same at 7w4d, I’m hoping it is a first trimester thing but the thought of feeling like this for another 4/5 weeks is just awful. I want to be a functioning human being again 😩 the only thing I’m liking is ice lollies atm seem to help with sickness. Hopefully you feel some relief soon

I don’t think I ever ‘enjoyed’ being pregnant. It had exciting and lovely bits but most of was hard work. I was tired, sick and swelled up.
You should feel better than you do now in a few weeks but I’d not necessarily expect for it to be a fun experience!

I technically ‘enjoyed’ it from 20+ weeks once I had the second scan. My sickness disappeared by 14 weeks and my tiredness improved by 20 weeks maybe once the iron tablets were fully working, I don’t know.

Kind of reassuring to know that it isn’t enjoyable for everyone! My best friend loved being pregnant and she looked absolutely gorgeous the entire time.

All I’m enjoying so far is not having periods

I definitely found pregnancy something to be endured rather than enjoyed. I remember people telling me the baby would be worth it and growling back "It had better be!" It is :)

I didn't enjoy pregnancy after, when DC2 was born I thought "Oh good, I don't have to do pregnancy again". But it does get better for a lot of pregnancies - weeks 9-11 were the worst ones for me. The all day sickness (the phrase "morning sickness" annoys me because it is inaccurate and sets an expectation that only the mornings will be bad) and exhaustion in the first trimester was worse for me than the third trimester!

I didn't enjoy the first 14 weeks with my first, cellist absolutely awful. Was OK for a bit after that. Obviously being mahoosive isn't much fun either. I liked the baby kicking though, endlessly entertained me.