Times flies when you are preggo! Or at least it has seemed to fly by for me. I've spent the last few days and weeks really thinking about what I expected this pregnancy to be and how it has actually been.
We all have dreams about becoming Mommy's at some point in our lives (well the girls do anyway) and I suppose I expected this 40 weeks to be somewhat of a fairytale. NEWSFLASH pregnancy is not for the faint of heart. All joking aside, there is much more that we aren't told, and find out when its our turn to become Mommys.
Surprise #1. Your Metabolism changes during Pregnancy
Ah yes, we all grew up hearing stories about preggo cravings and the women who dipped pickles in their ice cream (sorry but that one still grosses me out.) I struggled with keeping my weight healthy before becoming pregnant. Actaully, after the Clint and I first met I gained quite a bit of weight. We enjoyed eating out more than we should have and didn't really care to count calories, we were in the early stages of love!! Then one day, he proposed and I realized I had to fit in a wedding dress. Whoops! It was time to get a handle on healthy eating habits again. After I re-taught myself some restraint, I found it somewhat easy to maintain the healthy goal I had set for myself for wedding day up until I found out I was pregnant. It was like a switch flipped in my brain, "Sure Brenna, eat that ice cream, the baby NEEDS it." Before a few evening snacks on ice cream would have come and gone with no major inbalance on the scales, but throw a baby into that equation and poof! Instant weight gain, or at least for me anyway.
I had no idea my body would react to a few indiscretions in my diet in this way. Maybe my few slip ups, were actually more than I realized, but nontheless, I gained, and quick! My doctor didn't seem to be too worried about the amount I had gained, but I was. I wasn't used to seeing the scale read the way it now is. Number 1 rule of pregnancy: DON'T DIET!! So ladies keep this in mind when you begin your 40 week journey. Start healthy from the beginning and you won't have a meltdown when your reach the target weight gain of 25-35 pounds (projected for the whole pregnancy) at 25 weeks! My advice, there is no time like the present to begin eating healthily. Even if you haven't been up to this point. While you don't want to lose weight necessarily, you want to make sure the little monkey in your belly is getting what they need. No skipping meals! So fill up on healthy snacks and smaller meals spread out across the entire day.
Surprise #2. My Belly isn't as cute as the ones in those Adorable Preggo Shots advertised in the Mall.
Why oh why did I set myself up for this one! I am not exacltly the type of woman that can imagine herself bearing it all in one of those tastefully nude preggo portraits, in fact I had to cover my eyes during a good bit of "Sex and the City" the movie, but I thought. "hey, if my belly is going to be that cute, why not get a few photos of Clint and myself loving the baby through my protruding belly! WRONG! Not only do I scare myself silly everyday hunting down stretch marks with laser sharp eyes, but I have a self-titled condition called Cone Belly. At any point in time by belly resembles an air traffic controller signalling traffic to the left or right.
Cole loves to roll and flip in my belly. He wanders from one "corner" to the other in no time at all. This child is going to break records, I promise you. So the fact that my belly never holds its shape for long doesn't surprise me much. In fact, it makes me smile. BUT that doesn't mean I am going to frame a photo of the Cone Belly and hang it over my dinig room table. Sorry, I just can't bring myself to do it.
Then there is the recent development of poison ivy/ pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP). I'm not sure which has attacked my belly and on upward on my poor body, but after reading the name, you'll understand why I really don't care to find out. All I need to know is 1. is will not harm my child in any way, and 2. it itches and there isn't much that can be done about it. So what's the point in diving any further into this condition. I can breathe the words :poison ivy: in the summer and it attacks my body, so it could very likely be that as well. I'm gonna just let this one go...
Surprise #3. "Oh Brenna, did I forget to mention that the women in our family swell very badly, and retain water from very early on?..."
Why no Mother, you didn't mention that detail.... Ughhh... My poor ankles are no more, or at least until little man is born. My legs continue into my foot, and are connected with, yes you guessed it, cankles. Its not pretty girls, but its just how it is. I began retaining water and swelling at 4 months pregnant. And we aren't talking puffiness, its full blown foot sausages. I laugh so I don't cry.
The good news is, my blood pressure is fine and there is no danger at this point for Cole. I just keep my feet elevated when at all possible and drink lots of water. The ironic thing is, drinking water helps to control water retention, along with eating bananas and gobbs of other tips I've read over the last few swollen months.
If these surprises are the worst I have to deal with, I am incredibly lucky. I count my blessings everday. There are so many things that I could be dealing with, beleive me, I've read the "What to Expect, When You are Expecting" book and it makes me shudder to think of all that I could be dealing with.
I read in another of my pregnancy reference books, "The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy," the Pregnancy Gods know when you gloat about your perfect experiences. So believe me, I'll let each and everyone one of you know when something isn't hunkey dorey! I knew I had it coming when I miraculously avoided morning sickness all together.
So the fairytale may not be what I thought it was going to be, but at least I'll get my prince in the end. And isn't that what makes every little girl's dreams come true? I can't wait to see by sweet Baby Cole!
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