5 Things I wish I knew before getting pregnant.
The ugly truth.
Let me preface this by saying, this blog post is not for those faint of heart nor for mamas who want to enter their pregnancy in a blissful state of mind like I did. Because I totally get it – some things are better left behind. I tried hard to get pregnant, for 3 years plus with three failed IUIs and one round of IVF before we actually managed to get pregnant. And that made the process of getting pregnant both mentally and physically challenging that I thought once I got pregnant it would be all fluffy clouds and rainbows. However, like with anything else, life has a tendency of throwing you a curveball. Now let me also say that I couldn’t be happier or more excited. Seriously, I’ve always wanted to be a mom and through our struggles the prospect of maybe never being able to get pregnant was terrifying. So actually being pregnant is a miracle and something I’m beyond excited about. Having said that, there are just a few things that I wish I would’ve known before I got pregnant and going through my first trimester.
1. Nipples – they HURT man!
Because we couldn’t get pregnant naturally, we went through a lot of fertility treatments. Like I mentioned earlier, three IUIs and one IVF round. This meant I had to take medicine filled with hormones to encourage my body to get pregnant. Many of which had side effects of creating pregnancy symptoms; bloated stomach, tender breasts, some nausea etc. So when I got pregnant I didn’t think I’d feel much different from what I have been feeling the last year since we started on the fertility medicine.
Boy was I WRONG!! I’m sure you’ve heard that the first thing that happens is that your boobs get sore when you’re pregnant. It’s usually a for sure sign that you’re now growing a baby. I’ve had sore boobs for a year so I wasn’t too concerned about it. Dude, sore boobs is peace meal compared to how SENSITIVE YOUR NIPPLES ARE! Yes I’m shouting because I have never experience such pain or sensitivity in my nipples before this. I texted my sister in law and best friend after a shower where I accidentally brushed my arm against a bare nipple and said “not that I’ve ever ran a marathon (and never will!) but I’m guessing this is what raw nipples feels like after running a marathon with no nipple tape!”
Brushing my arms against my nipples (which by the way are now always hard little nubs) was one thing though. Wait until the water hits you. It’s like tiny little needles pricking your skin. Yea, tender boobs and all that, the nipples is where the real discomfort is. So now you know!
2. Discharge – a daily pee battle
This is where if you’re squeamish or don’t want to know what happens with a female body while pregnant, you better keep scrolling and don’t stop to read because I’m about to get really real with you. I don’t know if every woman goes through this when getting pregnant, maybe it’s just because I had to take Progesterone supplements for my first 10 weeks that made it worse, but the discharge I experienced was beyond anything I’ve every had before.
Not only did I experience the coating of the pill creating a mess in my panties, but extra discharge made it feel like I peed my pants multiple times a day. It’s uncomfortable, icky and also makes you feel so far below sexy thinking about sexy time goes completely out of your mind. Like I said, not for the squeamish mind nor those who don’t want to learn the intimate details of a female body, but I’m telling you know, stock up on pads of any kind because you’re about to go off the deep end in discharge abilities!
3. Nausea – hangover move aside!
Here’s another thing that came at me as a left hook out of no where. I’m always nauseas on a daily basis. Even before we started fertility treatments I battled nausea. So it’s something I’ve learned to live with and be accustomed to. Yet, this nausea is on a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL! It doesn’t feel like the regular nausea where you feel a little queasy and it’ll go over after some deep breaths through your nose.
No, this nausea is completely different. It’s more intense and lasts longer. And worst part is, it comes and goes in waves throughout the ENTIRE DAY! Morning sickness is bull. While yes, mornings are the hardest, it doesn’t end there. There’s no 10 o’clock time limit. It keeps coming back to haunt you every hour on every day. Thank god both of my sister in laws have both been pregnant before and had some tricks up their sleeves.
Before I tell you my one secret that literally helped me survive, let me ask a question first. Why is anything related to helping morning sickness flavored with ginger? I don’t like ginger. I can’t stand it. In fact, I tried some ginger flavored chewy things that’s supposed to help when you’re dealing with morning sickness, and it almost made me throw up instead of helping. The only thing ginger flavored I like are Moscow mule and I’m pretty sure that’s not pregnancy approved!
My lifesaver for morning (day) sickness
Any way, luckily my SIL gave me a box of some candies filled with Vitamin B6 called Preggo Pops! These things are amazing. They’re like little candies that you suck on and it removes the feeling of being nauseated. I don’t know what which craft it is, maybe it’s the extra Vitamin B6 or the sucking motion that makes it work, but I’m telling you guys, these things are magic in a sour yet sweet shape!
4. Hungry = HANGRY with a capital B
I’ve never been a huge eater, but I love to snack (that’s where all those unnecessary calories come in that I probably don’t need). But with this pregnancy, it’s like I can’t stop eating. I’m constantly hungry yet nothing sounds appetizing. People had told me before to always keep snack ready because you’ll be hungry but I didn’t really believe them. But I was wrong, oh so wrong. The hungry feeling comes out of nowhere. And it’s raging and so is my mood. I legit about chewed my husband’s head off one day when he said something about the two sandwiches I was making as a snack, only 1.5 hours before we were supposed to make dinner.
Cuss words may have been said, a literally growl may have come out of my mouth, and my husband, with hands up, slowly backing away laughing may have happened. It’s Hangry with a capital B and it’s real. But there’s a problem. As I mentioned earlier, you’re battling being hungry while also being nauseated so nothing sounds good. So your house will be overflowing with food and snacks of all kinds because you never know what you’ll find appetizing. Yet you know you have to eat something or heads will be chewed off. So take it from someone who was naive and didn’t listen to other people’s advice, snack up, because you’ll want it. Because I’m hungry every two hours now and eat more than I’ve ever eaten before.
5. Food Aversions
Lastly, this one’s a biggie and kind of ties in with the point above. I wrote most of this wile I was deep in my first trimester. As I’m finishing this up, I’m now 18 weeks pregnant, my nausea has dissipated, I’m not as tired anymore, and overall I’m feeling better. But one thing however that hasn’t gone away is my food aversion. It began probably around week 8. Along with increased sense of smell where things just did NOT smell good, food didn’t sounds appetizing nor did it taste good. And that’s still the case. I’m still having a hard time eating certain things, and I don’t have an appetite. Even if I do feel hungry, I usually can only eat a few bites at a time, making it hard to finish a whole meal. And then somehow, I’m feeling starved again and eating like a monster, or snacking on sweets.
It’s a food rollercoaster.
Pregnant and Beautiful
But despite all these things stated above, I have never felt more beautiful than I do now while pregnant. I seriously love wearing clothes that are thigh fitting to show off my little bump, which isn’t even that big yet. I also love touching my stomach, rubbing it and envisioning my baby feeling my hugs and love through the stomach. It’s the best feeling in the world and one I wish everyone who wants to be pregnant get to experience.