the pregnancy

I've heard so many stories of women who love being pregnant! They talk about how awesome it is to feel a little person growing inside you and how all of the extra hormones actually made them feel great! I was SO hoping that would be me! Unfortunately it wasn't. My pregnancy was definitely hard, but there were a few things I didn't mind so much:

1. Better skin! 

I've always had a combination of skin types on my face - parts are always oily while other parts a really dry - it makes taking care of it pretty difficult. All of this seemed to even out as soon as I got pregnant. - And I haven't broken out since!

2. No sickness! 

Being pregnant somehow made me immune to all sicknesses! I usually have one or two colds every year. I was pregnant this entire past winter and I didn't get sick a single time! 

3. Warmth! 

I can't even imagine what it would like to be pregnant during the heat of the summer. I pretty much died of heat at work everyday and inside any building with the heat on. The best part of my day was always when I'd get to leave work to go stand outside in the cold/wind/snow to wait for my bus - I could finally cool off! But I did get plenty of stares since I didn't have a coat on!

4. Seats! 

My morning sickness made it hard to get up in the mornings - which meant catching my bus at a later stop. Usually I'd be concerned that there wouldn't be any seats left for me - and no one wants to stand for the full 80 minute drive to Salt Lake! But the nice thing about being pregnant (and being surrounded by nice people!) is that I never had to worry about seats. Without fail, someone would offer me theirs if all other seats were taken.

5. Baby feet! 

Without fail, the best part of pregnancy was knowing there was a baby at the end of the road! And mine happened to be VERY active! I never had to worry if anything was wrong because from about week 20 or so, I could feel him moving around - ALL THE TIME!

Now for the not so great parts:

1. Morning sickness

Although I didn't have any illnesses, I definitely didn't feel great all the time. My morning sickness kicked in around 6 weeks and got progressively worse until about the end of my second trimester when it slowly eased up in time for the third trimester aches and pains! Luckily I never threw up anywhere besides my own home and I didn't really suffer from exhaustion like so many others do during the first trimester.

2. Migraines

I get migraines whether or not I'm pregnant, but lets just say that they are even less fun when you can't take any medication!

3. Sciatic nerve pain

This started out as just  pain in my hips - and it got worse as I got bigger - especially as I started having to sleep exclusively on my sides. Then it spread and started affecting my tailbone. From about week 20 or so, I suffered from pain in my hips and tailbone that made it all but impossible to endure my 80 minute commute and 8 hour work days every day!

4. Swollen everything

During my last trimester, I began retaining SO MUCH water. I had to stop wearing my wedding rings and most of my shoes. When I came home from the hospital after having the baby, I had lost 20 lbs! I did have a 9 lb baby, but the rest of that was placenta and water weight!

5. Reflux

As soon as I stopped having morning sickness, I started getting reflux. with my growing belly, my stomach had no room to expand! I soon learned that I couldn't lay down after eating - for at least 2 hours, I couldn't eat anything acidic for dinner, and forget about drinking anything after dinner either! No one wants to feel that glass of water come right back up as soon as you lay down!

6. Back pain (contractions!)

Turns out, this was mostly due to contractions! My doctor had been telling me since about week 30 that I had been having contractions, but I had never felt them! I realized as the contractions got worse and I was able to feel them, that I had felt them all along! I had just attributed them to back pain.

7. Being overdue

That last week of being pregnant (between my due date and the birth date) was so horrible! I was so tired, achy, and sore; and I was having constant contractions (2-3 minutes apart for a week!), but things just weren't going anywhere! I couldn't eat or sleep or focus on just about anything. And my doctor wouldn't induce without a good reason. I was so frustrated that the baby just wasn't coming and I was getting worn out waiting for it!

...to be continued in the birth story...