10 Things I Didn't Know About Pregnancy Until I Was Pregnant

Pregnancy is not at all like it's represented on TV. Perhaps you are a smart cookie and you already knew this, but for the vast majority of the population (myself included), that's our only real exposure to what it's supposed to be like until we experience it first-hand (unless you are someone who does their research, which I was not...at least not until I found out I was pregnant and then I hungrily read any book I could get on the subject.) 

So for the sake of transparency, here is a list of 10 things I had no clue would be part of the experience of pregnancy, until I was already pregnant.

1. The beginning of pregnancy feels exactly like PMS. (Hello cramps, bloating, & crying at commercials!)

2. Extreme fatigue is a common symptom (You’re growing a human inside you, so it makes sense.)

​3. Your boobs are going to hurt A LOT in the 1st trimester (And your SO will want to touch them all the time because they’ve gotten bigger, which is kind of a cruel joke for them because between the pain and hormones it’s “All Hands OFF Deck!”)​

​4. Your bathroom trips 1st trimester are...well...not what you’re used to…

5. Anxiety consumes you in the 1st trimester (“Can I eat this? Will this hurt the baby? I think I hurt the baby! I don’t feel anything yet!”)

6. Second trimester is like the honeymoon of pregnancy (Yay Energy, Normal Bathroom Trips, and Baby Bump instead of Bloat!)

7. The “Glow” isn’t so much about being more beautiful than usual (at least not for me...my skin broke out, hair got more brittle, and feet started to swell), but it’s more about the happiness you feel when you get to see your baby move, hear its heartbeat, or feel its kicks, and that happiness of knowing they are doing okay radiates from within you. That’s the GLOW.

8. You will feel an intense love for this child you haven’t met yet, possibly even before you see the positive on the pregnancy test.

9. There will be a lot of pain and discomfort and ups and downs for the whole 9 months (and even after), but you won’t care, because the idea of holding that baby in your arms takes precedence over it all.
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10. You will feel like a SUPERHERO. (And rightly so.)

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