Following a very honest post from Eventual Momma, I’ve decided to join in and share my hidden “gems” of pregnancy.  By no means is this a rant, it’s more of an amusing little entry about the fun and games of pregnancy. We all know the obvious things that come with pregnancy, but these are the ones people seem to “forget” or not mention. So I am.

Smells
I’ve always had a pretty good nose – I could always tell what S was cooking even before I got through the front door, however during pregnancy; smells such as body odour (including my own), gone off food, and things I didn’t know had an odour regularly invade my space. Some smells that I once used to enjoy have now become a stomach churning nightmare!

Back Ache
It’s still there, but now it comes and goes without warning. One minute I’m happily waddling (I waddle now) down the road, not carrying anything or walking that fast, and I get a sharp pain across my rump. It stops me dead in my tracks (one time half way across the road) and I can’t move until it relaxes.

Food
I’ve not had many food aversions apart from the physical look of scrambled egg. I’m happy with a fried egg or egg mayo, but no scrambled. Everything else has been relatively normal and for that I’m very grateful. I’ve not had any major nausea apart from early on and that was usually sorted with a ginger biscuit before getting up. The only things I really craved were pickled items such as gherkins, onions, and beetroot. Bugger knows why.

Bowels
Your bowels will change their dynamic regularly throughout pregnancy. Prior to pregnancy, I was quite proud of my iron stomach, however now I really don’t know what to expect every morning. I don’t even have to eat gone off food (not that I have) before I feel a little “upset”, especially with rich and/or overly salty foods such as Turkey. The only thing I am grateful for at the moment is the fact that I’m now very regular.

Gas
It happens – a lot. Both ends. I can’t even blame the dog now as even he moves off the sofa.

Memory and Baby Brain
I haven’t made a correlation as to whether my memory loss occurs when I’m particularly tired but at the moment I really suffer with baby brain. I can be half way through a conversation and words are beyond me – I forget what I’m saying or I forget the name of the thing I was referring to. It’s highly frustrating and the more I think about said item, the further it goes. S is really sweet and patiently awaits for my brain to engage although sometimes it’s been a good 5 minutes which is a long time!

Energy
During the first 12 weeks I had zero energy, that was expected and I dealt with it. After 15 weeks I got my energy back and it was great, however now my energy really fluctuates. Some days I can get up in the morning, make some breakfast and put a wash on and I’m almost asleep. Other days, like New Years, I can be up from 9am, cook breakfast, walk the dog, quickly hoover the house, and I’m still up and raring to go at 1am!

Sex
Leading on nicely from energy… the first to the beginning of the second trimester, it was a no thanks. I was tired, achey and felt fat. I was also conscious of a very tiny beansprout. End of second trimester, however, and into the third – yes please.

Hair
We’re told our hair and nails will grow rapidly during pregnancy but to be honest I’ve actually found my head hair slowing down in growth which is an absolute godsend as I’m forever getting my hair cut or putting half a tub of product in to tame the beast. “Other” hair, however, is growing like I’m rolling around in fertiliser. I can shave my legs and by 2 days later you wouldn’t have known it, I almost start itching from growth on my underarms a few hours after shaving!

Whats worse is that I’m now having difficulty bending over, so don’t even talk to me about what I’m going to do “down there”.

Hunger
They say that hunger will subside after the first trimester and come back slightly in the third as the baby grows at a faster rate, but for me it’s never stopped. I can eat a relatively good breakfast containing wheat or carbs and 2 hours later I’m starting to get hungry. I usually have milk or juice with breakfast, not to mention regular water breaks, however nothing can keep the hunger away for any longer than 2 hours – and don’t get me started on days when I’ve been active!
It’s really got me down sometimes as I really don’t want to work my socks off trying to get ay excess weight off, I also don’t feel very sexy in myself. I guess it’s something that has just affected me a lot more – I haven’t noticed a massive gain on my face or arms, and S hasn’t noticed anything, but I guess this bump will always divert the attention away from anywhere else – I guess we’ll have to see the damage after beansprout arrives.

The third trimester is by far the best trimester,. You feel sexy, your energy is somewhat returning, you have a nice bump (which people will still remind you of) and it’s not long until the arrival.

Although I have less than 12 weeks to go now, I feel bad that I haven’t shared more of these updates; they really have been fun to read back on. I’ve also been taking weekly bump photo’s but again I feel bad and wish I’d thought of something more creative when taking them. Nevertheless, they’ve been fun to look back on so I highly recommend getting into the habit of taking them if you’re currently pregnant, your beautiful body really does change – and quickly!

K