There are things about pregnancy that don't come as a surprise and there are things that you're told that you never really understand til you are there. Here are a few things that no matter what someone told me...it really made no impact until I was really there living in my third trimester with a 4lb baby growing in my stomach.
You really have no concept of how large you are. Apart from when you were a baby, this is probably the quickest you've ever grown. My guess is that by the time my pregnancy is concluded, I'll have increased my weight by about 20% (or who knows...maybe 30%) in a matter of a few months. That's a lot...and fast..when you think about it. There truly are times where you forget you can't suck in, or how large your belly is...or more often than not you misjudge how tight that space is between the stranger and the table you're trying to slide behind. It's not until you go to put on that shirt that you wore 3 weeks ago...and all of a sudden it doesn't really fit..that you've even realized how giant you are. If you're like me, you do a double take every time you see yourself in the mirror because you completely forgot your stomach sticks out that far. And you also, for some reason, still think that people can't tell you're pregnant....that you don't look that big.
You can't just stop buying clothes. I thought it was outrageous the amount of money people would tell me they spent on maternity clothes. But when literally nothing fits, you're already exhausted and you're keenly aware of how much money you're going to be spending over the next 6 months (between diapers, hospital bills, baby supplies etc., and the lack of income you may be losing due to being off work) buying a couple extra shirts to get you through the last few weeks is crazy small potatoes. I don't care that I just need to get through 7 more weeks...a couple extra shirts was an absolute must.
Pregnancy Brain Is Different than You Think. I hated when someone gave me the excuse of pregnancy brain when they forgot a photo session, or forgot a lunch date we had planned. It sounded so stupid. For me, pregnancy brain wasn't that I forgot things so much..its that there is SO MUCH going on in your mind all at once, even if you weren't pregnant I couldn't keep it all straight. Thanks to my calendars and checklist apps that sync with Kevin....it's not that I'm forgetting things so much as I'm learning that I absolutely must have things written down with reminders set, or else something else seemingly important will take its place. (So do I still hate the "pregnancy brain" excuse...yes...but I understand you do have to manage your life a little differently during this time).
Your priorities change even before baby arrives. Here is my biggest priority change. Once I've sat on a couch, it's going to take something of a much higher priority caliber to give me the motivation to get off that couch. Between your mind swimming, your body being exhausted, and the fact you just found your first comfortable position of the day....sometimes you just have to sit there...even if you've never been one to stay still your entire life.
I'm not that emotional. I've sort of been waiting for this crying, yelling, emotional waive to hit me. The one that makes people scream at someone in the super market, or start bawling at work. Maybe that comes later on in pregnancy, but I expected it to be all 9 months of it. So many books talk about your emotions being out of sync, and that your husbands are going to wonder what spirit took over your body. This isn't just from me...Kevin has agreed that he expected the same and it hasn't happened. I'm sure I'll get there eventually in the next 7 weeks...but so far it's life as usual. I'll have a breakdown every now and then, but who wouldn't with all this change going on!
Not everyone gets an outtie. I thought it was a given...but no. Not everyone's belly button will pop out. I'm slightly disappointed in this one, because I feel like it's a pregnancy right of passage...a visual "turkey timer" that baby is coming!
Strangers really are as weird as the stories people tell. Pregnancy is like wearing a sign that says "hey, here is something you can talk about...I'm growing a baby". People that normally you would pass without saying a word, now feel like they need to comment. At a wedding recently I had a guest (a completely sober guest) walk up to me and say "You sure you're not going to have that baby right now? You're huge!" from checkout clerks who now want to strike up a convo...to small children lifting up your shirt asking to see the baby...it's crazy. I thought it was a once in a blue moon type situation...but no. Also, lots of mom's like to use you as a teaching tool to their kids about where babies come from.
Am I still loving pregnancy? Yep! I'm having a blast. I'm slow, tired and hurt sometimes...but its going great! Ask me in a few weeks...I can already feel that this won't last forever.
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