Well nobody mentioned THAT!! Things I never thought about pregnancy until I actually got pregnant

[heylottie]

I consider myself fairly well read on all things fertility and baby, having been ttc for some time. But now I am pregnant there are things that I am still surprised about.

1. Drool - I am sure I never used to wake up in The Pool of Drool that now greets me every morning
2. Baby gender - was always adament that I would never want to find out the sex, but MY GOD the temptation to ask at the 20 week scan was nearly overwhelming! I didn't but golly...
3. That I would need panty liners some days (TMI? yes but still)
4. That listening to Matchstick Men and Matchstick Cats and Dogs on the radio had me wailing (I don't expect this one to be universal)
5. The amount of people who, when you tell them of back ache, gripes and pain, say 'well it will only get worse' triumphantly.
6. That when the baby kicks my first response is still (sometimes) 'Oh I need to fart.'

Any more???

[LifesComplicated]

I too have just discovered this particular thread and have laughed so hard a bit of wee escaped! (sorry, TMI).

• in the first month after conception needing to wee so suddenly, so violently and so often that my doc was convinced I had horrific bladder infection (and only 4 weeks later diagnosed me as pregnant instead)
  

• nipples. Oh the nipple pain. The pain the pain the pain. They become 50cm long with even the passing sigh of a mouse's breath.
  

• compulsively eating so many clementines that one's fingers become stained orange like a filthy roll-up chain-smoker
  

• spontaneous retching in the gutter when out and about, lending one the look of a street drunk.

[LifesComplicated]

Oooh I'm also with some of you on the smells thing.

• CRAVING desperately the smell of cucumber-scented toiletries but suddenly HATING actual cucumber. Not being able to find any satisfactory cucumber-smelling toiletres so continuing week-on-week to scratch about town for some like a junkie trying to score some crack.
  

• having the keenest sense of smell on the planet(even before knowing I was pg) and having to banish DH's work bag and wardrobe from the house due to 'funny' smell.
  

• throwing up when in 50 metres of a chip-shop (the STENCH of them!)
  

• not being able to visit my parents house without puking (they used to smoke and I can SMELL it still as if it's POISON through my heart!)
  

• not being able to sit behind people on the bus due to the smell of their hair - eeeurrrgh!

[colditz]

That immediately after the birth, and for a few days after the birth, you will nearly fall over every time you wash your hands.

This is because you have become accustomed to leaning your bump against the sink. And now the bump is gone.

So you will lean forward, lean too far forward, nearly fall, lean back to compensate but will 6forget you are not carrying bump and will lean back too hard^.

You will wobble like a weeble for days!

[PGWomble]

Brilliant thread. Scary but brilliant.

• Nobody mentioned that you could be lucky enough to escape MS for the first trimester but develop nausea and a bit of sickness at 20 weeks when supposedly blooming!
  

• that I'd become so anxious about not getting a seat on the tube in the morning, despite obvious bump and TFL supplied 'Baby on Board' badge, despite getting offered a seat everyday- us Londoners are lovely really! (A friend had a very bad experience when asking someone for a seat, which has put me off asking!)
  

• that I'd cry uncontrollably at everything from a news article (warranted tears) to the return of the old characters on the Tetley ads (not so much)!

[Cyclebump]

Aaaargh! I can now add:

Nipple leakage... At 17 weeks! Ewwwwwwwww

[GretnaGirl]

This thread is brilliant. I am 15 weeks with my 2nd baby and have suffered with sickness and nausea every day for 8 weeks now, aswell as insomnia and exhaustion which have made me very hard to live with and turned me into a right miserable bitch. I am on medication for ante-natal depression too, brought on by hormones I'm sure as I was a little ray of sunshine until 8 weeks ago. This thread has taken me ages to read but has made me laugh for the first time in ages and appreciate that I haven't suffered half the things that some of you have. I was really worried about the peeing when I puked thing until you all reassured me this is pretty normal!
The one thing nobody has mentioned is struggling to be kind/patient/loving to a demanding toddler that was you entire world until recently. I hope I'm not the only one??
Thanks for the stories and the cheer up, it has been a tonic. x :)

[slimyak]

Oh the tiredness of it all. The nipple clamps and the wind from the depths of the underworld.

The fact that people look and talk to you differently and after a while you randomly swing from not caring at all as you have very little brain to make conversation, to wanting to kill them for being patronising, insensitive or just bloody in the way!

That I would discover a love of pears after 38 years of hating them.

That I may have take a week off work for a common cold based purely on the fact that sneezing and coughing make me wee a little bit and I just can't be doing that in the office with people around me.

[KathMCB]

The drool!! I thought it was just me!!!

The fear of labour giving way to "just get this over with!"

Having your hips and pelvis hurt like you could not have imagined

Going to the loo ten times in one nights as hubby happily snores away

people see the bump and not you (and talk to said bump and not you)

that for all the healthy eating talk if I want an third cream bun I am going to have one

[luckykitty]

That at 30 weeks, I have appeared to have totally missed the bit when you 'bloom'

That my body is capable of producing SO much wee. All the time. Even when Ive just been.

That you dont really see your midwife very often given the mammoth task facing you.

That I would need to wear an elasticated corset and use crutches to get up and down stairs

That people who you thought were previously v.good friends would totally stop bothering as you feel far too much like crap to be sociable - bit of a shocker that one!

That its as tricky to try and control the overwhelming urge to punch people who say 'its only going to get worse' when they ask you how you are and you give them a genuine answer as it is to conquer vile morning sickness

That your boobs take on a life of their own and your nipples attempt to take over the universe - i think they have tripled in size and its scary.

That carpal tunnel can strike even if you dont have lots of swelling

That I would ever feel so clever to have created a whole new person and that nothing else really matters

[ScubaSarah]

I've just read all 360 posts while laughing out loud on the train and am gutted to have reached the end!
I'm 7 weeks and am astounded that:
I've grown 2 cup sizes already and can't wear underwired bras anymore
Non underwired bras on big boobs gives you a mono-tit
Laughing at yourself crying at something daft gives you hiccups
The cramping pains are terrifying as I'm constantly convinced I'll MC but it's normal ...
That sneezing and coughing are always followed by owowowowow and I've just figured out how to hold my belly to make it hurt less
Bloating make me look 7 months already and this is useful on the Tube
That I have custard yellow leaking to look forward to fills me with more dread than the thought of childbirth!

[Reebok]

Reading this thread has cheered me up a bit and also made me cry at what I've let myself in for...currently 8+5 and no one told me that:

Hyperemesis would make you HATE your pregnancy!
That you would feel sick and be sick constantly.
That your legs would feel like jello from the lack of energy and it would be a struggle to walk this early on!
That heartburn is a killer and so is the reflux.
That everything about my DH would make me mad, including his breathing!
That I would be so thirsty yet unable to drink more than a sip at a time.
That I would be tossing and turning throughout the night.
That the back pain, leg cramps and painful breasts would hit me this early on.
That everything would make me cry.
That I would be THIS constipated!

Dear oh dear...what have I let myself on for? Ladies who have done this more than once...I salute you! You are amazing!!!

[Abzs]

At 11 weeks (or maybe 12)

That I would feel sea sick and my tendency not to vomit would be a Bad Thing.
That cleaning my teeth would be the only thing to make me actually vomit.
That nausea is hunger induced. And hunger is constant.
That everything smells and nothing tastes.
That I would have trapped wind that comes out in bursts of farts, sometimes with a bit of wee too.
That I would go right off tea, my favourite thing. And chocolate.
That getting a UTI would be so painful, but not like a UTI pain, that I would spend a day in the hospital being checked in case it was an ectopic pregnancy.
That I would have no libido, like my body has decided that's it, job done. But despite this still catch myself looking at DH like he's the eighth wonder of the world.
That on seeing the Groupon voucher DH had booked before we found out I'm pregnant for a fondue and wine evening I would sob hysterically "because I can't eat cheese or wine now".
That KFC adverts would be incredibly appealing.

[Bunnychan]

That I'd wake up at stupid o'clock so hungry that I have to get up and make toast.
That I'd feel really guilty that everyone else around me is having trouble conceiving and it just took two times of unprotected sex with fiancé to start me on this unplanned journey.
Tmi- some days I'm constipated and others I can't stop going.
That at first, I wouldn't like being pregnant and hated all the changes.

[ReikiMummy]

Having somewhat of a dodgy day over here, and this thread has had me crying and giggling at the same time - i mean really sobbing whilst also giggling... wow - never knew THAT was possible.....

Anyway, thanks for sharing. Currently around 11+5 and already somewhat of an emotional train wreck.

(No morning sickness can actually be a bad thing... took me until seeing the little bean in my tummy (and it's heartbeat) at 9+5 that the pregnancy was actually happening...)

[ReikiMummy]

D'oh... also meant to post that this list should be typed up a bit and given out to ALL girls as part of Sex Education (they still do that right??!!))

[OComeAllYeFaithBaby]

Very amusing thread!

No-one warned me my belly button would get shallower! I mean, it makes sense but I just never realised!

That total strangers would comment on my bump and question my dates

[HazleNutt]

That you might actually not get any early pregnancy symptoms - no sickness, tiredness, sense of smell, weird tastes, emotions all over the place and so on - nothing (and I'm 15 weeks). But are still pregnant and all is fine.

[huni1701]

After birth? Just wait for that 1st poo (tmi maybe but still so true) nothing will prepare you for that!

2nd pregnancy and OMG! I pee every 3 minutes. Can't lay on my back cos it feels like my uterus is pulling towards my spine, if I lay on my left my right ovaries kill, lay on my right my left ovaries start. (more like a tugging pain). Can't lay on stomach obviously but couldn't even if it was safe. So spend d whole nite sort of rolling on the bed.
I eat constantly, but can't manage full meals, I need to pick at snacks all day, if im not eating I feel sick, as soon as iv eaten a small amount I feel sick cos im full and then 10 minutes later I feel sick cos im hungry!!!!
I am so happy im pregnant. I can't wait for my baby to arrive, but this being pregnant part is just odd! Lol.
Good luck to all expectant mummys out there. Xx

[DreamingOfTheMaldives]

I have only read the first two pages and am not reading any more as I am quite frankly terrified! I am 6 weeks pregnant and your posts have got me reaching for a paper bag to hyperventilate into! What the hell have I let myself in for?!

[Lemondrizzletwunt]

I'm sorry, I know this is a zombie thread but I am reinstating it in order to share with you all...it's bloody marvellous!

Am 5+4 so not really suffering yet, although have had the hyper-salivation and plenty of stretchy womb feelings...

I am now more than a little scared by the baby girl periods, lactating armpits and bleeding during labour

[Sojii]

I wasn't prepared for the glorious technicolor dreams!

[scatterbrainedlass]

I've heard it all when it comes to labour and birth (well, I thought I had until I read this thread!!) and was expecting pain then. No-one ever told me how painful pregnancy can be. 8 weeks and the period-type cramps lasted from 3/4 weeks (missed period) until about a week ago. Now I have horrible sharp pains when I sneeze or cough, like my stomach muscles have pulled.