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On your journey to motherhood, you will succumb to many pregnancy surprises along the way. And no one tells you about most of them. Losing daily focus can be a nightmare. And there are major changes to your body. But it isn’t all negative. Here’s a little head-up for you to consider.
Nesting for Your New Arrival
One of the most primal things you will do when pregnant is nest for your child. This often happens in the third trimester as you are preparing for your baby. You might begin to instinctively begin to organize your baby’s room and feeding area. Nesting during pregnancy may also involve cleaning your home from top to bottom to make sure it is clean for your baby. Try not to overdo it when preparing the home to avoid severe injury during the final stages.
Pregnancy Surprises Include Focus
As your hormones change to prepare your body and mind for giving birth, you can experience a sudden loss of focus. This manifests as mental fuzz and feeling worn out. But it also gears your brain towards focusing only on the baby as a survival instinct. Because of this, you can ignore other daily tasks and consider them not important. For example, you will miss appointments, forget to do certain things, and pay your bills late. It helps to keep a handy list of your tasks.
Wild and Varied Mood Swings
The mood swings when pregnant are common and are much like when you are a teenager. You can go from weeping one second to feelings of joy the next. And the slightest thing can set you off. They happen more in the first trimester and the end of the third. Mood swings can be relatively harmless and expected. But they can also be accompanied by severe depression. So see your doctor if you also have sleep loss, eating issues, and mood swings that last 12 weeks.
Things Coming Out of Your Body
Leading to your birth date, anything that happens, such as mood swings, fatigue, and nesting, pales in comparison to what happens next. You see, what no one tells you is that terrible things begin to come out of your body when you go into labor. Beginning with the breakage of the amniotic sac, your water breaks. And there’s a lot. And if that’s not enough, don’t be surprised if you also feel terrible, vomit, and, well, poop yourself. Yeah, no one ever mentions that one.
Many Changes to Your Body
It is well known that your body goes through many changes when you’re expecting. But no one tells you quite how severe some of these changes are. Not all are bad, and some are even useful. And almost all are very temporary. But for your amusement, here’s a quick list:
- Of course, your boobs will get bigger, and you will increase your bra size significantly.
- Hormonal changes will cause your skin to glow, but you may also get brown spots.
- Acne may make a return just when you thought your teen years had that covered.
- Expect heat rashes from the increased dampness of your body in all areas.
- Your hair can grow faster and become thicker when you are pregnant.
- Your feet will swell, meaning you need to get slip-on shoes in a bigger size.
- The mockingly named hormone relaxin can play havoc with your joints and muscles.
Some of these changes are relatively harmless, and some are even useful. For example, your skin glow and blush can make you more appealing to your partner. But for the most part, you can expect to have to adjust to some of the changes as they will impact your daily health.
Embarrassing Medical Issues
As if the woes of labor aren’t embarrassing enough, there’s more to come during this beautiful time in your life. Yep, you can expect no less than constipation, varicose veins, and everyone’s favorite, hemorrhoids. Being pregnant causes certain hormones to be released, and they can change your body. Some affect the way your blood is produced and in more volume. As a result, there is more pressure on the pelvis and uterus, leading to some of these embarrassing issues.
An Increased Sexual Appetite
Of course, your estrogen levels are also increased when expecting. Combined with progesterone, this causes an increase in blood flow to your intimate areas. And when this happens, you get in the mood. This often happens more in the early stages of pregnancy. And can work wonders for your personal and marital life. However, you need to know that, in all of God’s infinite wisdom, this is often accompanied by morning sickness, fatigue, and breast sores.
Reduced Mobility Pregnancy Surprises
In the later stages of pregnancy, your body has gone through pretty severe changes. Swollen feet, sore joints, and bigger boobs are just a few. Then, of course, there’s the baby bump. And all of these can make getting around much more challenging than you might be used to. For example, you can’t tie your laces anymore. So always get slip-on shoes because there’s no way you are reaching your toes. But the perk is you can ask others to bring you stuff, so a little win.
People Treat You Differently
You will be treated differently when pregnant. Some for the worse, but many for the better. Of course, people will assume they can just place their hands on your belly without even asking. Common assault, really. But they mean well. However, there are also great things about being pregnant around others. For instance, people will be more attentive to your needs and are more than happy to help. And you will always be offered food and drink before anybody else. Yay.
Summary
Pregnancy surprises can be challenging and overwhelming, such as severe changes to your body. But they aren’t all bad. The nesting instinct means you will make a safe space for your baby. And people will go out of their way to make sure you are comfortable and content.
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