There seemed to be several things about pregnancy that people either didn’t tell me or that I just couldn’t understand the complexity of until I experienced it. Now I am sharing what I think are the five craziest things about pregnancy, in reverse order five to one:
5. Your hormones are seriously out of control
I would go from the happiest woman alive, to irate as a result of my husband leaving his socks on the floor, then sobbing over some sappy television commercial. And all of this could easily happen within 15 minutes. Don’t try to understand it, just accept it. (By the way, this hormone issue will most likely continue throughout breastfeeding and even once you stop breastfeeding. You can read my other articles about this subject through the following EmpowHER links: https://www.empowher.com/parenting/content/end-breastfeeding-depression-after-weaning https://www.empowher.com/reproductive-system/content/something-you-may-not-know-about-breastfeeding-depression-after-weaning
4. The biggest miracle (and most unbelievable thing) is to feel your baby move inside your body
I can honestly say that I truly missed this after my children were born. It is the most extraordinary thing that I have ever been blessed enough to experience. To feel them kick, hiccup, and flutter around inside your body makes you undoubtedly aware that you are experiencing a miracle. Words cannot describe what it feels like to grow a person.
3. You are not just tired, you are exhausted
Your body is so fatigued from the job of developing your child that sleep is demanded. I would fall fast asleep the minute that I got home from work, sitting upright on the couch. Some nights, I went to bed at 8:30, feeling more like a child or an 80-year-old woman. When I was able to take naps, they were the best part of my day. Nothing was more important to me than rest. Not food (although this was a close second) and not shopping for new baby stuff. When you are pregnant, sleep is the most precious commodity.
2. Morning sickness, it’s for real people!
Ever been so sick that you can’t eat anything but saltines and gingersnaps for weeks? Has just the smell or sight of food sent you running to the nearest bathroom? And to add insult to injury, have you ever then been lectured at your doctor’s visits because you are not gaining weight during your first trimester? “Well, I’m throwing up almost every three hours so I don’t see how I am supposed to gain weight," I would reply. My morning sickness intensified with each pregnancy. For me it felt like being car sick, for most of the day, every day for weeks. The good news is, it's much like the pain of labor because you forget how awful morning sickness can feel and it doesn’t cloud your memory to keep you from wanting another baby.
1. The birth of your child
After the waiting and planning, the day will come that you will enter the hospital (or the location of choice) knowing that you will leave carrying your baby. I was overwhelmed with emotion when each of my precious boys were born into the world. (Initially, it was because I had no idea how a baby that weighed over eight pounds ever came out of my body.) From the moment that I heard his cry, I was connected to something in a way that was greater than I could have imagined. And he knew me. He stopped crying when he heard my voice. When placed in my arms, his big curious eyes found my face and he was content. My husband and I just could not stop looking at the amazing little person that we created with love. A gift that we were truly blessed with.