What they don't tell you about pregnancy...

Just over a month post partum-- I'm reflecting on the time that I was pregnant-- and when there were magical moments and times that made me swoon-- there were also times that made me cringe and say 'sorry' repeatedly!

We always hear how when we are pregnant we get a 'glow' and we must embrace our bumps and all of these lovely things-- but there are also some funny and embarrassing sides to being pregnant-- but what you need to know is it's all part of the experience and what makes it so unique to every individual.

The Pregnancy 'glow'
To be honest... I felt like when I was pregnant.. the 'glow' everyone was speaking about was just a sheet of sweat for me. Obviously, when you are pregnant you are carrying an extra person inside of you-- so no doubt you will definitely perspire more.

Uncontrollable gas
Oh my goodness gracious--- sometimes you can just be walking and without even realising you've let out a big one and there was absolutely no way to control it. You could be sitting down quietly and all of a sudden, it's happened again. It's not a pretty part of pregnancy but it's all due to all the lovely hormones bouncing around in your body as well as another human relaxing on some vital organ.

Stress Incontinence
With being pregnant, a lot of the time they recommend that you exercise your pelvic floor muscles-- because this muscle in particular is under the most stress during labour-- and the only way to strengthen it is by doing these exercises. During pregnancy though--- it is most likely-- again not against your will that a little wee can come loose when you sneeze or cough.
Oh the joys!

Extreme Fatigue
This was my ONLY symptom throughout my pregnancy... and as much as it doesn't sound like much-- it can get to a point where all you are doing IS sleeping-- sometimes you can sleep for the whole day into the next. It's crazy how much energy it takes to grow another human being-- sometimes the tiredness can strike you so hard! You don't realize how tired you are until you literally pause. But it's always good to rest I guess.

Swollen Ankles.... and everything else
Unfortunately.... things do swell when you are pregnant. Everyone's bodies deal with pregnancy differently-- some get swollen ankles, some get swollen hands, feet, fingers (my fingers got swollen towards the end!) some people's noses even swell up-- yeah... such a beautiful thing.

Regardless of it all... pregnancy definitely shows you how strong women are... and we are amazing... we can grow human beings. :)