10 Things They Don't Tell You About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a wonderful gift and a beautiful blessing. To carry a child is something that not all women get to experience and it is an experience that I was not sure I would be able to have myself. With that being said, there are certain things that people do not tell you when it comes to actually being pregnant. There are things that go on with your body, mind, and spirit that you may not have thought about. In all the stories and the movies, they don't mention these things and it can come as quite a shock if you aren't expecting these things to happen.

I admit, this is mostly a hub on TMI's and if you are not interested in that, you should probably push the 'X' in the corner and move to another of my brilliant hubs. Also, please remember that this hub is not a substitute for medical advice, I am not a doctor. Don't use my humor and sarcasm as such.

When you get pregnant, women always tell you about how your hair and nails just grow and get so beautiful when you take prenatal vitamins. The movies show the glowing hair and the long nails and you think, "I can manage that."

What they don't tell you is that the hair is not restricted to the hair on your head. I have found that I have hair in places that I should never have hair. I also have hair growing in places, that while it might have had hair, it grows so fast that I can't contain it. The hair on my head, my belly, my neck, my chin, my armpits and nether regions could probably make up 85% of my body and I am pretty sure I am growing hair like a man.

You would think that if constipation was universal among pregnant women and it was a common problem, that most of us newly pregnant women would already know about it.

No one told me this. I didn't realize that it would take everything I had to just have a decent bowel movement. When I was going on three days, in my first trimester, I got worried and started calling the doctor. The nurse in the office played it off like it wasn't a big deal. It was a pretty big deal to me! Come to find out, this is a problem that is so common that my blog blew up with comments and suggestions from other women.

Is this just not mentioned because no one wants to talk about bowel movements or because women who were pregnant before ... forget until a current mommy-to-be mentions suffering it? Well, I'm here to tell you now - if you are thinking of getting pregnant, trying to conceive, or have recently found out you are pregnant, stock up on some stool softeners and get ready for ridiculous constipation.

I was so excited about my ultrasound in the first months. I was going to get to see what the baby looked like and everyone always hypes up the ultrasound. Other pregnant moms have showed off their pictures and they have given you all the details about the cold jelly and the cool pictures on the screen. Watching their baby flip and flop around in there, the ohs and the ahs, and the OMGs.

What they forget to mention is ... you need a full bladder for an early ultrasound. I was unaware of this. I was in the waiting room - when it was time for me to go back, the technician started with all the normal stuff you would expect and then looked at me aghast "Your bladder isn't full?!" To which I mentioned, "I don't know what you are talking about."

I then had to go back out to the waiting room and drink from tiny little Dixie cups full of water and after an hour and a half, I still didn't have a 'full bladder' but a bladder full enough to see a little bit. DRINK LOTS OF WATER BEFORE YOUR ULTRASOUND.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was concerned about every little thing. In the first few weeks, I believe six weeks, I had a little bit of spotting. I found the spotting before my first OB appointment, I had not even met the doctor yet. I called the office and told them what was going on and they sent me for an ultrasound. I thought this was cool - of course, see #8. Now, add to that the 'transvaginal ultrasound'.

Don't do what I did. I expected to walk in and have the normal ultrasound that everyone always talks about. This technician pulled out a wand looking thing that measured as long as my arm. Think ... battery operated friend. She said this is what they were going to use and my first thought was "Where do you intend to put that?" Not only did they put a giant 'condom' on it, I had to insert it inside - the technician didn't do that. THEN they move it around in there like a hand crank. Think ... full bladder, twisting and turning that thing around and then remember that its definitely not very comfortable.

I didn't realize that I actually did this to my sister when she was pregnant with her first two. I now realize why she continued to look at me like she might rip my head off.

The moment I announced I was pregnant, people would come up to me and start touching my belly. They would start talking to my belly. Now, mind you, I announced pretty early, around six weeks along. These perfect strangers were stopping me in the middle of the hallway at work and would BEND DOWN to talk to my belly. I was not showing by then, they were talking to my fat.

Personal space goes right out the window when you are pregnant. People have their hands on you all the time and they don't seem to realize that it might make someone uncomfortable. So, be on your guard and decide how you will deal with this. So far, I am pretty polite about it and just laugh it off, but seven months in, I am about ready to start pulling people's hands off their arms.

I realized early on, when my pelvic bone shifted around ten weeks, that there were things about my body I was just not familiar with. This is the same when it comes to muscles in your groin, upper thighs, back, and butt.

The more I sit in one place, the more these muscles just TIGHTEN. Its to the point where you can't sit or stand without effort. There are exercises you can do to loosen those muscles and things you can do to make walking, standing, and sitting easier. But when you first experience that soreness and tightness in those muscles, you might think you are about to die.

When you get pregnant, hormones go crazy in a woman's body. This is a given. Its not even something that people need to tell you. What people forget to mention is that the further along in your pregnancy that you get, more itchy you become.

This is because your body is stretching, but the itchy skin is not always contained and restricted just to your belly. The itchy belly is easily explained, your belly is growing and stretching and that makes the skin react. However, I have noticed that you can be itchy everywhere. Your legs, your arms, your chest and your back.

When you are pregnant, you really do need to drink as much water as possible. This is to help the baby and yourself stay hydrated. I know that so far, since I have been pregnant, I have been getting up in the middle of the night to pee at least six times and then I get up at least three times to drink something.

When my gestational diabetes test came up, the nurse told me to 'fast' the night before. Don't eat or drink anything. Don't even chew gum. This made me think that I couldn't have anything. Water included. The whole night before my test, not only was I nervous about the test itself, but I was up and down pacing, so dry and so thirsty. I couldn't sleep because all I could think about was getting a drink.

When I got to the office, I drank down that glucose like it was the holy grail, because I was so thirsty. The nurse then told me "Water would have been ok." Thanks for telling me!

I only bring this up because it affected my partner. Though if it had been the other way around, it would have affected me. Basically, we all know its human nature to lean toward one gender or another, at least in most cases. Of course, we all want a healthy baby and we don't actually care about what we are having. However, in the back of your mind, you know what gender you think you want. What gender you might relate better to, feel as though you might be able to take better care of.

In our case, I was set on a girl and my partner was set on a boy. We spent time looking for both gender names and we would joke with each other about how we would raise each gender. On the day of the 'anatomical scan' we found out we were having a girl.

I was ecstatic. My partner was a little let down. While I know its hard not to get your hopes up for a certain gender, remember that in the end, its all about a healthy baby. It sounds a little like "world peace speech" but its the truth. Just remember, no matter what gender you conceive, you will be the best parent you know how to be to them.

The list of dos and don't of pregnancy are so long that you can't possibly know them all. Did you eat a turkey sandwich from the deli last night before you knew what Listeria was? How about the honey you put on your fries from McDonald's? Yea, that's not good for you either.

Before you decide to go throw it all back up, rest assured that most likely your baby is fine and so are you. Of course, if you are too concerned, you can definitely call your doctor's office to verify.