What you expect in pregnancy can be quite different than the realities of being pregnant. When you see movies or shows with pregnant women, they’re adorable, they have that “glow” that everyone talks about. They cry at random things, they crave weird stuff, it’s funny and cute and you think, being pregnant would be fun! Well not all of it is, don’t get me wrong being pregnant is a privilege and I love it. I thank God every day for this miracle He’s given us. This little baby growing inside, kicking and moving around is the most amazing experience. However, I have to say that being pregnant has been a little different than I expected. I thought that I would share a list of some of my bigger expectations of what being pregnant would be like and the realities of how it’s actually been.
Expectation #1:
My first expectation of being pregnant was the obvious part of being pregnant – that adorable baby bump that everyone gawks at and grows over those 9 months. In reality, It is adorable, watching it grow and change each week has been amazing. The not so great things have been the itchiness, back pain, and those pesky stretch marks. When I imagined being pregnant I didn’t think about the fact that this growing belly is going to get in the way of almost everything, accidentally bumping it into things because you used to fit there. That little belly that’s slowly growing is putting extra pressure on your back, making it ache constantly some days. Ya, I didn’t think of that part either. I didn’t think about how itchy my belly would be, lying in bed at night not being able to sleep because all you want to do is scratch. Despite all the stretch marks, back pain and making it hard to bend down, watching it grow and knowing that with each kick it brings me that much closer to seeing my sweet little boy.
Expectation #2:
The crazy pregnancy mood swings and preparing my husband for those random moments of emotions, crying, yelling. Basically whatever else hormones decide is “normal” for those 3 seconds that they show themselves. But they never really came, I definitely thought that I would be the one to cry at almost anything and be very quick to get upset when something happens, but it just never happened. My husband told me I was worse before I was pregnant. I do notice when I’m irritable or a little sensitive but nothing too out of the ordinary. Don’t get me wrong, limited mood swings is not a bad thing at all. This was one expectation I was glad didn’t become a reality, helped my husband from enduring any random yelling and crying.
Expectation #3:
I expected to crave weird things – based on all the stories I’ve heard in the past. Like mustard and brownies or sardines (because who really likes those otherwise). They say it’s your body’s way of getting those nutrients you need that can be found in those random cravings.I craved PICKLES! I crave pickles all the time, day and night, since the first trimester. Other cravings have changed over the months, but that one was through all 3 trimesters. I craved Eggo frozen waffles, Rice Krispies, salt and anything and I mean anything sweet. It amazed me how quickly a craving could become something that made me nauseous. At one point frozen waffles were the only thing I could eat in the morning that would stay down, couple weeks later, the smell of them was enough to make me sick. However, I didn’t crave anything weird, thank goodness, one month to go so we will see if that changes.
Expectation #4:
I expected the dreaded morning sickness, throwing up and being nauseous – my least favorite thing about being sick and the one thing I was not looking forward to when I found out I was pregnant. The reality was way different than I expected and compared to some other moms I have chatted with, mine wasn’t even that bad. My “morning sickness” was more of an evening sickness or a whenever I was tired kind of nauseous. I never expected that when I would get sick, it was now, some days I didn’t even make it to the bathroom in time. It came so quickly and was just gone afterward. Not that you want to hear my disgusting stories of vomiting. I was lucky that it wasn’t every day though. I consider myself pretty lucky when it comes to my pregnancy symptoms, no matter how different they were from what I expected them to be like. Through the backaches, morning sickness and everything in between, I wouldn’t trade it in for anything. I know it’s a cliche but everything that happens in those 9 months and the labor and delivery, it’s all worth it in the end. There is little over a month to go and I hear the last little while is the time where you just can’t wait to meet your sweet baby and not be pregnant anymore. As the baby continues to grow, those symptoms are going to get a little more annoying. I’m hoping I can make the best of my reality. Each woman is different and experiences pregnancy in different ways. My expectations were different for my pregnancy, but might not be different for others. I’d love to hear from you ladies, what some of your pregnancy expectations were compared to how it actually was, in the comments below. Be sure to share this with your friends.
