What to expect when you're expecting?

I would be so happy to have any and all of these symptoms if it meant I had a healthy baby at the end of 9 months.
 
My first time around I read a few different pregnancy books. I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know. So this time around, I didn't bother reading anything. I like just going with the flow.

Both of my pregnancies have been remarkably similar so far. I never got sore boobs or anything...they do seem to have gotten a little larger, but I can't tell if that is just from gaining weight or if they're just growing on their own. One of the first symptoms other than a missed period was that my sense of smell and taste went haywire. If I smelled spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove top or onions frying, I wanted to barf. Foods I used to really enjoy, I couldn't even stand the sight of anymore. My morning sickness kicked in full force at about 5-6weeks pregnant, and lasted until I was about 12-14 weeks, but even then it wasn't so awful I was barfing constantly. I threw up maybe every other day and only in the morning. But it felt pretty awful, like being sick and on the verge of throwing up all day long. The smell issue and food aversions went away right around when the morning sickness did. For me the worst thing about it is getting the random shooting round ligament pains when rolling over or sneezing or anything. Until I start to get big and all my organs are really squished...I'm just getting there now. Then it sometimes is hard to breathe properly and really hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in. I also get the occasional heart palpitation or hot flash. But really, they aren't that big a deal. They don't last long.

Those are honestly the worst of my complaints, my body seems to handle pregnancy pretty well. I get lots of braxton hicks contractions but they don't hurt me, at worst they are only slightly uncomfortable at times. I haven't had to deal with the evils of constipation much at all, everything is in working order there too.

It is pretty uncomfortable though when the baby decides your cervix is a trampoline. D:

I am at 23weeks2days now and feeling basically like a normal human being again! My energy is mostly back, don't feel sick at all unless I let myself get really really hungry. Just with little hands and feet thumping noticably at my innards at random times throughout the day. I imagine once I cross 30weeks though I will be uncomfortable again. Walking around much at that far along is harder with all that weight of your stomach pulling on your abdominal muscles and ligaments. Your back is sore all the time. I dunno, it isn't that bad though. You get used to it. Or maybe I am just not that much of a whiner about such things (and for the ladies who do complain, I figure they're having it worse than me...I wouldn't ever say some one was overreacting or making up a pregnancy symptom, all bodies handle it SO differently!), I figure they just come with the territory.

Real labor contractions on the other hand...those bitches hurt. Omfg...

Oh, yeah...and I have to pee, like all the time. I wake up at least 4 times a night to pee.
 
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I slept on my couch the last three months and would sleep without waking. I tried using pillows in the bed, but it didn't work. My couch was perfect in that my hip positioned between 2 cushions, aligning my back and I used one small pillow under my belly. Even though I gained 50 pounds with both kids, I never got stretch marks on my stomach (thank you mother for good genes.) Losing the weight is difficult for some, but not difficult if you are determined to lose it. My hips are wider now, which makes finding jeans a little more difficult (unless they are Levi 515s.)

I'm glad I had vaginal births both times. I hear strange stories from my friends who have had C-sections. You have to realize that when this happens, the doctors are pulling out your intestines, and laying them on the table ... then placing them back. I've heard complaints of "bumps" that weren't there before (intestine in the wrong place) or being sown back up so the belly button is not centered on the body. Those things make them extremely self conscious.

[MENTION=4598]hush[/MENTION] It's nothing to be afraid of ... you just kind of roll with the punches. Everyone has a unique experience and before you know it you get your reward. I don't know if I have any pictures of being pregnant, but I do know I have some pictures of looking like hell in the hospital. hahaha
 
Sriracha said:
I slept on my couch the last three months and would sleep without waking. I tried using pillows in the bed, but it didn't work. My couch was perfect in that my hip positioned between 2 cushions, aligning my back and I used one small pillow under my belly. Even though I gained 50 pounds with both kids, I never got stretch marks on my stomach (thank you mother for good genes.) Losing the weight is difficult for some, but not difficult if you are determined to lose it. My hips are wider now, which makes finding jeans a little more difficult (unless they are Levi 515s.)

I'm glad I had vaginal births both times. I hear strange stories from my friends who have had C-sections. You have to realize that when this happens, the doctors are pulling out your intestines, and laying them on the table ... then placing them back. I've heard complaints of "bumps" that weren't there before (intestine in the wrong place) or being sown back up so the belly button is not centered on the body. Those things make them extremely self conscious.

[MENTION=4598]hush[/MENTION] It's nothing to be afraid of ... you just kind of roll with the punches. Everyone has a unique experience and before you know it you get your reward. I don't know if I have any pictures of being pregnant, but I do know I have some pictures of looking like hell in the hospital. hahaha
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You are correct about the sections. Those docs tend to just throw you back together w/o care or empathy about the woman and how her body will look when its over. Most women I know have to go to a plastic surgeon to get it fixed. Sometimes I wonder if its a racket. I am glad I had a vaginal birth, even though my epidural didn't work!

I didn't weigh myself during my pregnancy so I would be healthy psychologically and not try to diet. I have no idea how much weight I gained but I'm thinking it was a lot, I'm not sure. Its hard to tell, I did go into labor on my own but she never wanted to come out. They finally had to give me pitocin which caused me to swell up BAD...something awful. NOt sure how much of my weight was water weight from that, but I did weigh myself after the pregnancy....YIKES! LOL. I did end up losing it all though. So, I'm not sure what the deal was there but even with a regular pregnancy and delivery my stomach did not go back to "normal" but I was basically 30 when I had my first baby so maybe that is because I had older skin? Lol.

Whats funny is that my measurements before pregnancy were 32-28-35 and I was always uncomfortable thinking I was fat when I really jsut didn't have any shape. After they were/are 34-26-37 which I think are a LOT more feminine and I'm way more comfortable in my body now that its a little more curvy. I went from an A/B cup to a full C/D cup and none of it has gone away. Guess all of that estrogen and stuff decided to stick around? Makes me crazy tho
 
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CindyLou said:
You are correct about the sections. Those docs tend to just throw you back together w/o care or empathy about the woman and how her body will look when its over. Most women I know have to go to a plastic surgeon to get it fixed. Sometimes I wonder if its a racket. I am glad I had a vaginal birth, even though my epidural didn't work!

I didn't weigh myself during my pregnancy so I would be healthy psychologically and not try to diet. I have no idea how much weight I gained but I'm thinking it was a lot, I'm not sure. Its hard to tell, I did go into labor on my own but she never wanted to come out. They finally had to give me pitocin which caused me to swell up BAD...something awful. NOt sure how much of my weight was water weight from that, but I did weigh myself after the pregnancy....YIKES! LOL. I did end up losing it all though. So, I'm not sure what the deal was there but even with a regular pregnancy and delivery my stomach did not go back to "normal" but I was basically 30 when I had my first baby so maybe that is because I had older skin? Lol.

Whats funny is that my measurements before pregnancy were 32-28-35 and I was always uncomfortable thinking I was fat when I really jsut didn't have any shape. After they were/are 34-26-37 which I think are a LOT more feminine and I'm way more comfortable in my body now that its a little more curvy. I went from an A/B cup to a full C/D cup and none of it has gone away. Guess all of that estrogen and stuff decided to stick around? Makes me crazy tho
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I weighed 145 before, 195 at the end of pregnancy and now my normal is 155. I was huge and I felt it too! :D

Lucky girl ... my boobs did the opposite. It's the same for me and my stomach. I don't carry my weight up top (including mid-section), but I think it is just some of the extra skin that couldn't bounce back. Getting older will have it's pitfalls ... toward menopause b/c many women start gaining belly fat (decreased estrogen.)
 
Oh man...thank god I didn't notice any weird lumps after my section with my son. How terrifying! I'm going for a VBAC this time around simply because recovering from that c-section was such a huge pain in the ass (stomach?).

I had issues taking a proper shit for what felt like forever afterwards, and I swear it's because my body was trying to readjust with my intestines being ordered differently in there than it was used to...it's really disconcerting when you think about it like that lol. I can understand the fear of a vaginal birth I guess but to me, I would much rather my body go through a process it was built to go through rather than endure surgery and have to trust in a human to put me back together the proper way. D:
 
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Lol what we go through! Lol @ having to really think about taking a shit because your insides are all fucked up. It is a huge sacrifice that many men don't understand. I have guys talking abut wanting to have kids really early on in the dating stages and Im thinking to myself...lol..."you have to earn the right for me to carry your child Mister. Don't think I'm going to swoon just because you want kids." Its a huge sacrifice. YOu sacrifice your body entirely, its never the same again. It took me two years to "feel" normal again, too. Crazy. :D Worth it tho. Totally.
 
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