Things I didn't know

Ok so I have had ALOT of time on my hands the last few weeks.... so I have been thinking of all of the ... um... fantastic things about pregnancy no one ever told me about... now these aren't necessarily things that everyone experiences... but these are up till now the very surprising side effects I have experienced :)

I will start by saying I LOVE being pregnant, being able to feel my babies move... its pretty fantastic. My nails have never looked better, very long and strong and of course there were the common pregnancy symptoms every one warned me about, the exhaustion, morning sickness (which as you know I was super lucky to avoid), frequent peepee trips, my ever growing baby bump and gianormous boobies.... now for the things people didn't tell me....

1) Of course this would be my "bathroom" issues which have yet to show any improvement... 6 fiber pills, 3 softeners, 3 table spoons of mineral oil and a few suppositories.... daily.... and NOTHING

2) Heartburn... I had never experienced heartburn before.. My mom and dad would complain here or there and I know in my moms purse at all times there are a pack of Rollaids or Tums.. and I was always like "how bad could it be?" OMG !!!!! The pain with heartburn can be pretty unbearable!! It starts off as a nice slow burn then increases to a 3 alarm fire up through my entire chest and throat... those Tums and Rollaids are no match for the burn however they do ease it enough that I am able to eventually go to sleep... I now have ALOT of sympathy for anyone who has to experience this.

3) Breathing... through my nose... it use to be a normal everyday thing I would never even think twice about... because in normal people, you know it just kind of happens... I personally have not really had this luxury in months... MONTHS.. you wouldn't think its something you would miss but after you blow your nose 150998987787 times a day and there is still no ease, I promise you will miss it... It is so common during pregnancy it has a name, rhinitis of pregnancy.... not that I had heard it before because I think some of you lovely lady like to keep these little tidbits to yourselves :) I don't mind sharing, as Pat would say... I am "keeping it real"

4) My skin... my poor skin on my face is soooooo dry it actually peels, even my lips.... it started pretty early, before 8 weeks... I thought it may be from the change in climate moving to VA but no such luck... relentlessly it still peels no matter how much lotion I slop all over.... it looks like I am constantly healing from a sun burn.

5) Um... gas.... now I have heard about pregnant woman being a little gasy... and in my household gas is pretty typical... My husband lets them go ALL the time, however in his defense the are loud and obnoxious but never smell... Maggie (our puppy) has some VERY loud and horrible smelling toots... so much so she lets them go, looks around as to say "why did you do that" and then gets up and leaves the room... no I pride myself on really never ever having any (hey its my story and I am sticking to it) however since these little ones have been on board.. I have had some silent but pretty deadly.. um... gas... seriously... again I had no idea my reign as telling Pat how gross he is and me being fart free is officially over.

6) Veins... I remember back when I was trying to get pregnant looking for veins on my boobies because I heard that was a symptom... So I would look at them until I swore I saw more veins and take it as a sign (yes I went a bit CRAZY during this time) so when it finally happened I was SHOCKED at what "more veiny look to them" really meant. I was having a hard time fitting in my bras so I made a trip to Target a few weeks back, I went to try one on and OMG I was like what the heck happened to them!!! I have ROAD MAPS all over the place, this most definitely is NOT a slight change.. I couldn't wait till Pat got home so I could show him how weird they looked and his response was "Ew gross what happened, why did you show me?" my standard answer is "We are in this together right?"

7) This has been my most shocking.... enough that it demanded some questions to my Dr's office... come to find out... TOTALLY normal... (again I ask you ladies why there were no warnings form my sister-in-laws, mom, mother-in-law, friends... but that is way I am passing this along) So I hopped out of the shower the other day and as I was drying off, caught a glimpse of "down below" in the mirror and was like WHAT HAPPENED!!! My girlie bits were crazy swollen... like double the size... and looked FREAKY!!!! So unfortunately I will be a freak for awhile but the good news, I have been told not to worry they will shrivel back to their original size shortly after the boys come :)


I couldn't be happier to have these little guys on the way and as enjoyable as the experience is, there are just lots of hidden pregnancy treasures along the way and as you all probably figured out by now... I am an open book I tell everything good or bad :) So I just wanted to give some warning to those that will soon have babies on the way in case any of these crazy things happen to them, they won't be too surprised :)

~Heather


PS MY HUBBY IS BACK!!!!! Yippee I missed him this week :)