So you're pregnant! Wonderful! Amazing! It's a gift, best thing ever! And I'm sure you feel like crap. I heard someone say that the best time of their life was when they were pregnant and I felt really bad for them. Their life musta sucked. Yes, being pregnant is a miracle and special time but it doesn't always feel so great. I puked everyday, twice a day, for almost 3 months. I was starving all the time, a special kind of starving that is reserved only for being pregnant, but the thought of putting food in my mouth made me nauseous. I ate crackers until I was dryer than the Sahara. I drank water until my legs were too tired to bring me to the bathroom again. I swear an angel was the only thing that kept my hand from hitting the 100th person to tell me that I was "glowing". I didn't feel like glowing. I felt like sleeping all day with my head near a toilet and a feeding tube so I wouldn't have to eat. AND the thought of labor terrified me. The thought that after I get through all this crap I still have to go through "the most painful event of a women's life". I wasn't really thrilled to be pregnant. Scared, yes. Confused about the whole process, yes. Excited, yes. Emotional, yes. Tired, yes. Every emotion at once because my hormones were out of wack....yes yes yes. I always knew I would have kids but I never imagined being pregnant. Never thought about it. Is that weird, idk, don't care but that's how I think. Would I go through it all again? Heck, yes. LOL
I felt bad not feeling overjoyed at being pregnant. I felt terrible complaining about being sick when some women can't or have a hard time getting pregnant. But I felt how I felt. By the second trimester everything was different. I stopped being so sick, I was showing so people started being nicer to me. I bought maternity clothes so I was finally comfortable. (Not having to zip and button your pants is amazing.) I was ready to be pregnant, finally. I felt the baby moving. I finally felt like I was pregnant, not just sick and lazy. I could feel like it was all worth it. That something big was happening. The closer I came to my due date the less afraid of labor I became. Even when my belly got huge, I felt great. I still couldn't sleep well and got tired quickly but I was happy. I may have been a little moody but you'll have to ask my husband about that. Anyway, all that to say, it gets better. It's not that bad, you might even enjoy it at times and it's definitely all worth it. You'll never have the cutest baby in the world (cause that's mine) but you will be rewarded with a lil buddy that you'll love forever.
So back to first trimester:
1. If you get morning (afternoon/all the time) sickness, you should try everything everyone tells you that helped them. Everyone's body is different so different things will work for different people. You need to buy crackers, and fruit and PREGGIE POPS! Some amazing lady invented these candies that stop nausea. CANDY! yes FEEL BETTER by eating CANDY! So that was my favorite. There are teas and stuff but the candy was easy to carry with me. Always ready and worked. They're sour so if you don't like sour candy then don't get them but who knows your taste buds change when you're pregnant so may be try them anyway.
Sometimes you have cravings for a reason. All I wanted in the beginning was fruit. Eat whatever it is that you crave. Just don't be stupid. Don't solely eat one thing or over eat. You crave ice cream, great so eat it. Don't think that you can eat milkshakes everyday and blame the extra weight on the baby. Everyone will know babies don't give you rolls! A milkshake now and then is fine. And think about what you're craving. If you want a milkshake then may be your body is telling you that you need more dairy or strawberries or whatever flavor the shake is. So make a yogurt smoothie or parfait or have a glass of low fat milk. You can satisfy the craving without gaining an extra 20 pounds.
You need to take your vitamins, you need to eat better. Watch the caffeine! Won't make a huge difference now but was the baby gets bigger you will be able to feel what you're doing to the poor thing, Babies can't process caffeine the way you can. I drove from Michigan to Florida at 8 months pregnant. I drank sweet tea the whole day and loved it. The whole night and next day the baby didn't stop moving. I got really concerned until I realized how much sugar and caffeine I had poured all over the poor baby. I couldn't sleep and could barely sit down for 24 hours, I was so exhausted from getting kicked and punched. I learned my lesson and rarely have tea or coffee to this day.
Side note: apologize to your husband in advance. You will get emotional and crazy and they are going to have to deal with it. Tell them to do whatever you want and thank you for carrying their baby.
2. Buy the What to Expect When Expecting book. This was a lifesaver in the beginning. Reading has gotten me through a lot. When I didn't feel like anything was happening, I could look it up and read about what was really going on. When something weird happened I could read the book and read how I'm not the only one going through that. It's written in stages so you only have to read the chapter you're in. So one chapter is about your first month so you read just that. So it really takes 9 months to read the whole thing. So don't freak when you see that it's 400 pages.
I also read everything my friend gave me. She had about 5 different books. I read one just on breastfeeding cuz that was a strange concept. I'm so glad I read so much before I had the baby so I felt prepared to deal with whatever came my way. I still read whenever I can but you will have no time to read for the first month. So don't put it off.
3. Get the I'm Expecting App. Similar to the book. Tells you how far along you are, what the baby is doing and what may be going on with you at the time. Again, reassuring to know that there is some uniformity to this whole crazy system.
4. Find a friend/relative someone who you can talk to about ANYTHING. Talk to them. You need a support system, especially after the baby is born but now too. You need to be able to complain to someone other than your husband who will get tired of it quickly. You need to just cry sometimes even though you have nothing to cry about and just get all the crazy out on someone who is willing to just listen and agree with your emotional fat self wihout calling you fat and crazy.
5. Suck it up and buy maternity clothes when you're too big to fit your jeans. Don't wait until you loose blood circulation to your legs. You will be more comfortable and you won't look like you have a crazy muffin top. Everyone will thank you. BUYING BIGGER SIZE IS NOT MATERNITY. There are cute maternity clothes. Buy at least 2 jeans and 3 shirts to start and buy as needed from there. Don't believe in preggie underwear. Yes, yours will not fit and you will be uncomfortable and not be able to figure out why your underwear don't fit but they wont. I haven't found a solution to this besides not wearing any. I bought the preggie undies and they sucked. Old Navy has decent cheap maternity.
6. You gonna get fat. period. It's gonna happen. If you gain the weight slowly and the way you're supposed to then it will be that much easier to loose after the baby. I can't stress enough the importance of safe exercise and if you know me you know I don't ever say that! I regret not doing more ab and kegel exercises. Trust me, they're important. This doesn't mean you should diet. Don't do that, you having a baby, don't starve it. If you're worried about your weight, talk to your doctor. They'll tell you exactly how much weight you should gain, how and when. Not that hard.
Ok, I'm tired. Going to bed.
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