Things I'd Forgotten that Suck About Being Pregnant

When I first found out I was pregnant again it was a bit of a surprise. A really, super happy surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. After getting over the shock I started doing what most people do and imagining what this new little person would be like and how our life was going to change. And then little things started to pop in to my head. Things that suck about being pregnant.



Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly happy and grateful to be pregnant, especially in light of the struggles that many people go through to get pregnant themselves. But any pregnant woman, whether they struggled to become so or not, would be lying if they said there weren't a few sucky things about being in the family way. Not that you would change it for anything in the world, its all for a good cause in the end, but there certainly are some not-so-great things about being pregnant.

Like all the things you can't eat...
Soft cheese - oh how I love me some Brie!

Pate - despite what others think of it, I have a massive weakness for salmon pate

Ham - is there any greater or more versatile meat? Aside from bacon that is, which is essentially the same thing I guess so the answer is definitely HELL NO!!!

Soft serve ice-cream - it wasn't until after I was pregnant again that I suddenly realised (and of course started craving) that I had had exactly one chocolate sundae from Maccas since having Mia, and that was the night after she was born, which resulted in a massive sugar high after not having had anything so sweet for over three months thanks to my gestational diabetes. Thanks Kelly, you are the best! And I would like another one after this child has been born. With a side of small fires to dip into it too. Thanks!

Alcohol - while strictly not a food its still a banned substance, and after finally convincing Dave of the joys of Moscato we had been enjoying trying every type and brand we could find on a Friday evening.

And then there are the other things, like no spas and saunas, which I remembered while basking in a particularly hot shower one night. 

Swollen feet. My God, the swollen feet. People were actually a little scared of how swollen my feet were by the end! Heck, I was scared, those bitches be HUUUUUUUUGE!!!
Scary huh?!? Fucking elephant feet!
Rhinitis. I've always had shitty sinus issues (thanks Mum!), sinusitis is a common issue in winter, but I totally forgot about the fact that for most of my pregnancy with Mia I had a severely stuffy nose, like chronically bad hayfever, and by the end was seriously struggling to breathe through all the crap blocking my nose. This is probably one of the worst things about being pregnant for me.

Excessive hair growth. While the lovely hair on my head was one of the awesome things about being pregnant, the extra hair that started growing on my face was not so much. Seriously, my sideburns would have given 70s man a run for his money!

Pimples! What the fuck?!?!?! Having been one of those lucky enough to have pretty awesome skin most of my life and less than the occasional pimple as a teenager, I guess it was only inevitable that I would be one of the unlucky ones whose skin breaks out the minute that pesky little sperm sticks its nosy head in my egg.  In fact, apart from the return of my super-smell, the break-out on my chin was the other thing that tipped me off to the fact that I was indeed pregnant before I'd even bought a test!

Seriously worried that I may
have to shave this time around!
{Image Credit}
I mentioned this on facebook and asked what things people had forgotten about, that had then smacked them in the face the second or subsequent time on the pregnancy roller-coaster. The answers reminded me of even more things I'd forgotten!

Like Housewife in Heels, whose theory is sound - "I forgot how debilitating morning sickness was. I think we're wired to forget how bad these things are, otherwise there'd be a population crisis." Yep, that's also why we forget about the pain of labour and childbirth!

And Cate, who reminded me - "I had forgotten about the advice vultures - those who have something to say about everything, even when they really know nothing, especially about your situation." Oh yes, they are vultures of the worst kind!

But never fear, its not all sucky things on my mind. There certainly are awesome things about pregnancy that I had forgotten, but I will save those up for another post. Today its all about the suckiness. Sorry.

Have you got anything to add to this list? What did you find suckiest about being pregnant? Or for the boys playing along at home, what did you find suckiest about your partner being pregnant (play nice!).

Linking this post up with the ever awesome Grace for Flog Yo Blog Friday.


Comments

SubversiveReader said…
I had debilitating carpal tunnel - not looking forward to that with a second pregnancy. Plus the need to be close to a toilet all the time! And I developed a severe aversion to chocolate in the first 12 weeks . . .
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh man, I think the aversion to chocolate is the scariest thing there. I would not have survived the last 12 weeks without some chocolate!
Kelly HTandT said…
You and your hilariously fat feet!
Hey I just installed disqus. Or rather, tried to. Probably shitty timing considering I JUST posted? Ah well. Fingers crossed.
And you have yourself a Sundae deal!
Weirdness: horribleness- my inability to eat anything but iceberg lettuce with viniagrette. I really just wanted to drink the dressing but thought I'd maintain 'normalcy' by giving it a vehicle. Funnily enough, my big girl now LOVEs lettuce, more than anything else. Thank god it all passes. Hang in there Kylz, you and your giant feet!!
simply.belinda said…
For me it had to be having to deal with more medical professionals than I had ever had the misfortune to need to up until that point in my life.

I was introduced to this wonderful concept when I walked into the GP's office and was promptly informed that as I was deemed too "high risk" I couldn't give birth at my local hospital.. 10 minutes away... No, I was going to need to travel well over half an hour due to bureaucracy. Who knows I may not have accidentally ended up giving birth at home if I knew I only had a 10 min trip ahead of me. It was underlined when I was not allowed to see anything lower than a registrar, with every single appointment having a results screw up of some kind(then being treated like a hysterical pregnant person for choosing to check up that the results for my next appointment had actually arrived when I had to that point had 7 separate results go astray.. with a complete refusal to actually do anything when the results were not in the system as received cause "they might be on the registrar's desk" NUP , until after 30 weeks as I wended my way through 3 pretty darn perfect " full glucose tolerance tests". if it's tedious once imagine spending 9 hrs in the pathology office. It then ended with Pediatrics refusing to let us leave for 3 days basically because I couldn't get help with breastfeeding cause it was deemed that the hospital lactation consultant's were not required between Christmas and new year ... Yeah, Uh, WHY.


What can I say but I would have to think long and hard before I put myself and my baby through that the stress that system caused me again.
*RANT OFF*

Kind Regards
Belinda
Danya Banya said…
Congratulations! I hated it when people tried to force you into admitting that you wanted one of the opposite sex to the one you already had. They wouldn't believe that I had ni preference. Oh and mum trying to suggest baby names - she already had her turn!
Amy Wells said…
I had super smell aswell, which is in turns awesome and terrible, but I will warn you that the breathlessness you got with your first baby, and the continual discomfort before they 'drop' ..... Yea that's pretty much the entire 3rd trimester because subsequent bubs drop so much later! I was in agony most of the 3rd trimester with Tully.... She didn't drop right down until they broke my waters!
SarahMac said…
Morning sickness, morning sickness, morning sickness! It is horrendous. I'm not a vomiter but trying to work and look after a 2 year old w while suffering from a hangover that lasts for 20 weeks was FARKED!
Ai Sakura said…
I missed having soft cheese and sushi so much during my pregnancy. Congrats on baby #2! Sure gonna be such a cutie like Mia :)

Ai @ Sakura Haruka
My hips turn to crap when I'm pregnant so that I walk around with a limp or, if I've been sitting for too long, I nearly fall over when I first stand. So lucky they're worth it.
Emily said…
Oh I just remember all the back pain of waddling around so huge and then trying to pick up 2 other kids. The heat, the not being able to have a nice wine at the end of a shit day. The tiredness is what really killed me. Just think though it means 9 months without a period !! :)
Yellow_Dandy said…
I still eat soft cheeses *gasp*, they are really only a problem if they aren't pasteurised, and the majority of them in Oz are. I just make sure I buy it local, so I know it hasn't been sitting around for ages! And Ham, I just heat it up on a fry pan and put it in my sandwich! Not looking forward to swollen feet again, mine weren't that bad, except for when I flew to QLD then I could barely walk when I got off the plane!
Grace Titioka said…
I hated the fact that I couldn't eat sushi. I ate barrels of it after the boys.
And strangely, my feet didn't swell up until post-birth. Just as I thought I got away with it, they went all elephant on me!
LYBliss said…
so at the risk of bringing hatred on my head.. crazy lists of "must nots"- why not ham? That's a new addition since I had my last baby. Shockingly, millions and millions of babies have been grown over thousands of years when food was buried in a cold garden for a few months to preserve it and refrigeration has only existed for 60 yrs of that 100000 yrs. Be sensible sweetie but all the food rules are just due to scary one in a million chances, basquallions of babies have been born with ham sandwiches at least until 2004. Have a soft serve icecream from a clean, busy facility. U have more chance of being hit by a bus than getting listeria from a Maccas soft serve. Eat soft cheese, just not an obscure, bought from the farm door gooey concoction. Make ur own pate with fresh ingredients and stop worrying.
Bless
School of Mum (Ange) said…
Oh God Yes. The first trimester is the suckiest thing. In fact, let's face it - most of is sucky! I hated the spewing the most. I did it 3 times a day, most days for the majority of the 1st trimester. I know people have it worse, but it seriously sucked. All I remember is trying to get someone to cover me every 5 seconds in the classroom so I could duck out and say g'day to the staffroom toilet, once again. Can I say sucked anymore? lol.
Talia Carbis said…
I would still eat all the food anyway. Particularly after at 14 weeks I got food poisoning from a 'safe' meal (as in, there was nothing not allowed on it!!), and when we talked to the hospital they said that my body will protect the baby and just make me sick. So after then I was especially like "Why the hell do they have these lists of foods you can't eat?!" Haha. I've very sceptical about the whole thing. My doctor told me the only thing I couldn't eat was blue cheese, I only read about all the other foods from other women, or from books and magazines. So I kinda wonder where they get their information from? This is Australia after all - we have really high food standards!

Anyway, THAT was my main annoyance in pregnancy - people telling me I couldn't eat X and Y! So yeah, I think I got it pretty good in that sense!



I am with you on the feet thing - but woah. My feet did not swell up as much as yours did! The really bad thing that happened though was that they grew a size (I was already an 11, now I just don't have shoes that fit...) and they NEVER GREW BACK. I seriously still have massive feet and it is all Lior's fault. haha!


Also, I was not very pregnancy fashion savvy, so I wore singlet tops, and massive skirts over my belly the whole time. Must change that next time round...
Jennifer said…
Please join us for a Friday Flash
Blog, where you can share your favorite posting of the week and see what others
are talking about at http://www.fridayflashblog.blogspot.com



And be sure to sign up on our
site to get an email notice when the next Friday Flash Blog is live.
Jenn {mountains and musings} said…
oh look at your cankles!! You poor thing...
I love this post by the way. Some things I remember sucking about pregnancy were no soft cheese, no sushi, heartburn, morning sickness in the first trimester when you can't tell anyone, the constant underlying anxiety that makes you pray your baby is healthy and safe.
Hope you're feeling well!
Desire Empire said…
You are so right about the being programmed to forget and I always say if men had to have the babies the species would have died out aeons ago
Housewife in Heels said…
I too had a Sundae on the drive home from hospital when my 2nd was born. Never tasted anything so good :) All the best!
Kelley @ magnetoboldtoo said…
constipation. THE WORST.
Kylie Purtell said…
1st prize to you. I had totally forgotten about that! Dammit!
Kylie Purtell said…
Those things are the nectar of the gods!
Kylie Purtell said…
Absolutely, there is no way there would be humans around now if we left it to the men!
Kylie Purtell said…
In NSW they actually give you a booklet all about food and nutrition during pregnancy and it lists all of those things you should avoid. Personally I actually do eat ham, but I only eat if from the deli I trust and within a day or two of buying it, or I have it on toasted sandwiches so I'm pretty sure the heat has gotten rid of any nasties. I'm not going near cheese though no matter what anyone says. I've seen and read two warnings in the last 6 weeks about listeria outbreaks from cheese so I am not taking any chances. Mainly because I got food poisoning from some prawns when I was pregnant and its jut no fun being sick when you already feel pretty crappy to begin with.


I am so hoping that my feet won't swell that bad but judging by the fact that on these hot days I am already starting to get swollen fingers I'm not holding my breath. Although the last of this pregnancy will be in cold winter weather so who knows?
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh you poor thing, that does suck! I am so glad I haven't actually had to spew yet. I've spent most days feeling like I might any minute but never actually have.
Kylie Purtell said…
To be honest, I do eat ham, just not as much of it as I normally would, and not after its been in the fridge for a few days, and certainly not if its from coles or woolies. I just don't want to have to deal with the food poisoning. I got that last time I was pregnant and it was no fun. But I'm steering clear of cheese. With two listeria outbreak warnings in the last 6 weeks I ain't taking my chances. I can live without it for a few months.
Kylie Purtell said…
That is weird that they swelled post-birth. My went down almost as soon as Mia was out!


Dave is rather annoyed about the sushi thing as he has only just discovered it and now we can't have it as a dinner treat!
Kylie Purtell said…
I do eat ham on toasted sandwiches and from the deli that I trust down the road I must admit. Wouldn't eat it from coles or woolies though, that stuff has been known to go off after a few hours in my fridge! Cheeses I'm steering clear of purely because of the two warnings I've heard lately about listeria outbreaks from cheese. I don't eat it all that regularly anyway though to really care. The swollen feet was probably the worst, not only did they look horrendous but they didn't feel that great either!
Kylie Purtell said…
I do love the fact that I won't be getting my period at all this year if it takes as long to come back as it did with Mia!
Kylie Purtell said…
They are bloody lucky! My hip has started giving me grief too and I ain't looking forward to how its gonna feel in about 20 weeks time!
Kylie Purtell said…
That is exactly how I would describe it too. The hangover that never ends!
Kylie Purtell said…
Awesome, another thing to add to the list of things not to look forward to! Lol!
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh I know, I have gotten that already. I seriously don't care if its a girl or boy and to be honest, if I got a choice I'd probably almost pick another girl coz I know how to work those!
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh man, rant away, that sounds horrible. Its amazing how doctors can manage to make something that should be so good oh so bad. And that is bullshit about there being no lactation consultant over Christmas, as if babies just miraculously stop needing to be fed!
Kylie Purtell said…
Lol, it's funny you say that as I ate bread or toast with vegemite more than once a day while pregnant with Mia and it is now one of her favourite foods!
Kylie Purtell said…
Sweet!!! Don't forget the fries!
Abbey Richards said…
Ooh your feet!! Hope you're getting nice foot massages while you can!
During my last pregnancy I developed sleep apnea and had really bad ulcers on my tongue..??!!
So weird!? xo
Anonymous said…
lupaa [url=http://drdrebeatsonlinesale.co.uk]beats by dre outlet[/url] ufspd http://drdrebeatsonlinesale.co.uk qmtoo [url=http://beatsdrdresales.co.uk]dr dre beats[/url] aqbqi http://beatsdrdresales.co.uk nqzss [url=http://drdrebeatsonlinestores.co.uk]cheap beats by dre[/url] hirjf http://drdrebeatsonlinestores.co.uk lciqy [url=http://cheapbeatsdrdreonlinesale.com]beats by dre[/url] xrmkh http://cheapbeatsdrdreonlinesale.com fyxjw [url=http://beatsbydrdreshopping.com]beats by dr dre[/url] efpsu http://beatsbydrdreshopping.com rtgtn [url=http://beatsbydrdreoutletforsale.com]cheap beats by dre[/url] dxwdh http://beatsbydrdreoutletforsale.com hdwf

Popular Posts