This post really isn't for Conor but is really to document those things they don't tell you before or even while you are pregnant.
#1: Morning Sickness
You have this belief that morning sickness will only occur in the morning and that it only lasts a little while. The truth is that morning sickness can occur at any time during the day and that it doesn't only involve the occassional vomit. First off, it seems to start with a general feeling of needing to be sick that lasts ALL day. This means that you barely want to eat anything and so you end up eating lots of pretzels and crackers which leads to bloat (which I will talk about later). Then, when you finally think you have managed to control that feeling and you can trust that you don't need to know where every public restroom in a ten mile radius is - you start throwing up. This throwing up is NOTHING compared to what you experienced as a child when you had the flu. This is such violent puking that you honestly feel that your insides are going to come out and that you are doing harm to your fetus. This is such violent puking that you can't control the tears and your husband apologizes for anything and everything he has ever done wrong because he just wants you to stop getting sick. Its the kind of puking that leaves you with wet underwear (more about that later too) and a desire to never eat again. Thankfully, this too passes and I am certain it takes place towards the beginning of your pregnancy so that you forget about it when it comes time to think about the next child.
#2 Peeing Your Pants
This is by far the most humiliating thing associated with pregnancy. First, violent throwing up leads to peeing your pants. When your muscles are contorting in such a fashion as to violently expel anything you ate your body forgets to contain its urine and out it comes. Second, you find yourself leaking pee when you cough or sneeze. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal except you sneeze and cough a lot more because your organs are squished and you are dealing with reflux. Along with Peeing your Pants is the feeling of almost doing it. When pregnant you are supposed to intake much more water than the "normal" person would (keeps your skin hydrated and your body as well) and this leads to needing to go to the bathroom a lot more. Sometimes you just get this urge and then all of the sudden its a demand - a demand that says if you are not in the bathroom in the next 10 seconds this urine is coming out. Once again you are thankful for knowing where every bathroom in a ten mile radius is.
#3 Heartburn
Oh, they tell you about this one but what they don't tell you about is how much it can hurt and that there is very little you can do to make it go away. Sure you can cut down on carbonated beverages, not eat chocolate, not sit or lay down for 30 minutes after a meal but - the heartburn comes at any time and with such severity somtimes that nothing helps.
#4 Baby Movement
Everyone and everything you encounter says that baby movement feels like "flutters". Well, this is not exactly true. For the first couple of times it really feels like a gas bubble and then it starts to feel like someone is giving you a little poke with two or three fingers. They also don't tell you that there is often a pattern to when you will feel the movement. Conor tends to move a lot in the morning (when I am still in bed and haven't had breakfast) and then he moves a lot again as I am trying to settle in for bed. He does move during the day but these times are less intensive. In talking to my other friends, they too found that their babies had a pattern to when they would move. At first the movements feel weird but as the weeks pass you start to wait for them because its a way for you to know that your baby is still ok inside you (though it is weird to see your stomach move!).
Those are the top 4 things I can think of right now but I am sure there will be others and I will update as I discover them.
xoxo
Erin
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