Pregnancy is supposed to be one of the most magical times in a womans life...and for many it is!
I hear so many of my friends and relations tell me all about how much they loved being pregnant and how they miss it, how they spent 9 magical months feeling special and wonderful and so on...
Unfortunately, pregnancy for me wasn't quite so rosey!
Now don't get me wrong...of course I'm very grateful to have been able to carry healthy babies to full term, and I wouldn't change it for the world...but I am one of those people for whom pregnancy is not a pretty sight!
Having said that...of course with every cloud comes a silver lining and I did experience some upsides of pregnancy too!
Here is my run down of my Tricks & Treats Of Pregnancy...
SICKNESS!!!
For a lot of people, morning sickness can be just a little nausea occasionally through the first trimester of pregnancy with perhaps the occasional actual throw up session...oh how lovely that sounds to me!!!
I was not one of those people...I suffered with EXTREME sickness throughout both pregnancies...and when I say extreme, I mean it.
I would be physically sick anywhere from 7-10 times per day, I would struggle to keep even water down and had to be closely monitored for dehydration, I was put on medication to stop the sickness but even that didn't help - with my first pregnancy it lasted until 28 weeks! With the second I escaped a little lighter and it trailed off around 17 weeks.
I remember worrying all the time about whether or not I smelled like sick, I had to carry toothbrushes and mouthwash on me everywhere I went, and a constant supply of sandwhich bags to be sick into whilst in the car...oh the glamour!!!
Whenever I think back to pregnancy, I go right back to that memory of awful constant sickness!!
Toilet Troubles!
I often experience iron deficiencies when pregnant and of course that means iron tablets...which also means...constipation!!!
Another treat that I hadn't really been aware of before becoming pregnant is that constant constipation also tends to lead to a lovely case of piles. I was lucky enough to escape it the first time around but not so lucky with baby number 2! Germoloids (the incredibly handy and rather subtle hemorrhoid treatment which works like a charm by the way! Even for the worst cases...TRUST ME!) became my best friend, but do you know what else they don't tell you about?! The fact that it's very hard to reach the...*ahem*...affected area to apply the cream when you have a big bump stopping you from being very mobile!
Have you ever found yourself laying on the bed, legs akimbo, whilst your beloved applies pile cream for you?! Because I have...and its a memory I think we'd both sooner forget!
Mystery rashes and other irritating side effects
I can't even begin to list the numerous weird & wonderful mystery illnesses that I went through whilst pregnant, they range from the bizzare to the ridiculous...
In my first pregnancy I developed a mystery rash which left me looking somewhat like a giraffe with large patches all over my body...nobody could get to the bottom of what was causing them but they lasted the entire time and disappeared as soon as the baby arrived...I think I may have actually just been allergic to pregnancy!
In my second pregnancy, my mystery illness was a sudden reaction to anything containing gluten - I spent a period of 10 consecutive days in bed so ill I could barely move, unable to stomach anything or venture too far from the toilet and in constant agony - it was only when a friend suggested it sounded like a wheat allergy that I started to piece it together and discovered that eliminating gluten from my diet made the symptoms disappear - again, once the baby arrived the symptoms vanished! Bizzare!
I dread to think what mystery illness awaits me third time around?!
Feeling like a hideous whale
And last but not least, there is the fact that towards the very end of the pregnancy, you start to feel as though you will never look or feel normal again.
I ballooned massively in my second pregnancy and I remember so well the swollen ankles, sore feet, feeling of lugging around a ten tonne baby in my belly and nothing fitting well or feeling comfortable. I also noticed that my skin was awful, my hair was constantly lank and greasy, and my nose had actually started to spread and look gigantic...it wasn't until I googled that one that I realised it was yet another horrible pregnancy related surprise! Wonderful!
But of course, it's not all bad...what about the treats?
The Excitement & Anticipation
All those months of wondering what your baby will look like, what kind of person they'll grow up to be, what name you'll give them...Planning out coming home from the hospital outfits, packing your hospital bag, shopping for super cute baby things, designing your dream nursery...how magical are all of those things?!! If anything can compete with the torture of piles, its the glee of buying teeny weeny little baby socks!
Special Treatment
I'm just gonna be honest...pregnancy is the best excuse EVER for getting away with things. You don't feel like cooking? "Darling...my feet are soooo sore...perhaps you could cook tonight whilst also giving me a foot massage?" eyelash flutter...
Then there's all the lovely people who hold open doors for you, give up their seats on public transport, offer to carry heavy things for you, and just give you that special little smile and nod at your growing tummy...a little acknowledgement of how lucky you are and what an exciting time this is...I loved that!
The End Result
Of course, it goes without saying, the very best thing...which is by far more wonderful and important than anything else and far outweighs the nastiness of the tricks...is meeting your lovely little baby!!! SO worth it all! (*but if you could just hold all the vomiting next time...that'd be great!)
What were the tricks and treats of pregnancy for you? As always, I'd love to hear from you!
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