Pregnancy is a journey. I enjoyed being pregnant, but there’s a couple of things I wish I knew before becoming pregnant. I definitely had some surprises and the struggle was real with some things. There are things people just fail to mention about pregnancy. Maybe I’ll be giving you a heads up on some things or you’ll be able to relate with a lot of them.
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Pregnant
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming Pregnant | Collab With Ariana| Mom Life
Pregnancy is a journey. I enjoyed being pregnant, but there’s a couple of things I wish I knew before getting pregnant. What did you wish you knew before becoming pregnant?
Watch the video above for the short version or read below for the long version or do both!
*Also check out Ariana’s video by clicking HERE. I did a collab with her on YouTube about this topic so check out her video for the things she wish she knew before becoming pregnant too. Let her know that Meet The Chambers sent ya and be sure to subscribe as she has a motherhood and lifestyle channel and I’m sure you’ll love it.
1. Morning Sickness is Not Only in the Morning
Who named it morning sickness anyway? Just rude! Ok, maybe I had an idea that it wouldn’t just strictly be in the morning, but I had no idea that it could last the ENTIRE PREGNANCY! Oh, you’ll feel better after the first trimester… LIES I TELL YOU! Feeeling nauseous was actually one of my first pregnancy symptoms and it was there to stay. I felt nauseous throughout my whole entire pregnancy.
There were so many things I tried to stop feeling nauseous from lemons to peppermint, but nothing worked. Medicine was the only way for me to feel somewhat decent and sometimes the medicine didn’t work, but it did help a lot. The feeling of being sick to your stomach is the worst and I absolutely hate feeling that way. I wish someone would’ve told me so I could’ve mentally prepared…I so wasn’t ready LOL. This is one of those things that made me realize that every pregnancy is different. Some people don’t get morning sickness at all and some have it last throughout the pregnancy. Go figure!
2. Baby Movement is Creepy
Feeling those butterflies for the first time was amazing, but all baby movement isn’t cupcakes and rainbows. Aww, my baby kicked for the first time, but nobody told me she would soon be kicking like a ninja! And what about those kicks waking me up from my lovely sleep? Aw, you’re gonna love to feel the baby move. It’s such an awesome experience. YEAH maybe when they are TINY! Nobody told me that as my baby got bigger it would feel like an alien was trying to come out of my belly! Seeing her move around was actually super creepy to me. She’d do this roll that was crazy and it felt even crazier and super uncomfortable too. Sometimes I’d have to gently push a body part to see if she’d adjust because it hurt. See me experience some of my baby’s movement along with pregnancy updates HERE.
3. Breastfeeding isn’t Always Easy
Breast is best right? I just knew that I’d be breastfeeding my baby until she was around one. I read books, blog posts, and even took a breastfeeding class. Man, I WAS READY! Being able to feed my baby from my body for the first time was quite an amazing experience, but that natural high was shortly lived. Breastfeeding isn’t always a walk in the park. Breastfeeding was a skill the baby and I had to learn…it doesn’t just come natural at least not for me anyway. Although I had learned several breastfeeding positions in class, it was harder than I thought. I kept working at it and became better at it though. My baby’s skill of latching on became flawless, but breastfeeding still didn’t work out for us.
Breastfeeding Issues
One of my baby’s main issues was falling asleep at the breast while feeding no matter how hard I tried to keep her awake. My main issue was that my milk supply was low and I tried several things to increase it, but nope still low. I also experienced cracking and bleeding nipples which of course was not fun at all. The Lanolin ointment was on deck! My baby lost a little too much weight and I had to start supplementing which I was kind of sad about.
I breastfed her for about 3 weeks and then I ended up getting a clogged duct which turned into a breast infection called mastitis. This was so painful for me and I’m such a wimp when it comes to pain that I just couldn’t imagine it happening again. The breast infection felt worse than the contractions I had when I was pregnant. I couldn’t deal. After going to the doctor about the breast infection and getting on medicine for it, I decided to stop breastfeeding.
I low-key felt like a failure for not being able to breastfeed her longer. My husband helped me get through that though and I got over it. A failure? Not I. I’m happy that I was able to breastfeed her for the amount of time that I did and I enjoyed the bond that we shared. I salute all of the moms out there that breastfeed and continue breastfeeding even though they are having a very rough time. If any mom out there is feeling like a failure or depressed about not breastfeeding their baby please take a look at Melanie Fiona’s Is Breast Really Best video. It really helped me at the time that I decided to stop breastfeeding. She spoke the truth! It’s definitely not the end of the world if you don’t breastfeed. I don’t knock anyone who decides not to breastfeed and nobody else should either.
4. Pregnancy Brain is Real
Have you ever heard of pregnancy brain or “momnesia”? I had no idea that I was going to become so forgetful during pregnancy. My husband already claims that I forget everythaaaang so I’m sure I got on his last nerve when I was pregnant. I forgot what I was about to say at times or what I was about to do. There were times that I did crazy things like put my keys in the fridge or put something that’s supposed to go in the fridge in the pantry. Pregnancy brain was very real! It’s not a joke LOL.
5. It Can Be Scary
I never knew how scary pregnancy could be! At the very beginning of my pregnancy I had a scare where I thought I was going to lose my baby. I was misdiagnosed with a blighted ovum which you can read all about HERE. It was the scariest time of my life. After going through that I was basically paranoid and worrying almost the entire time I was pregnant. I didn’t know that miscarriage was so common. Nobody talks about that. Thankfully my pregnancy went pretty smoothly for the most part. I had some more pregnancy scares, but everything was fine.
Also people can make it scary for you too. You’ll notice that people will tell you some of the weirdest things that will creep you out. People will also tell you the most horrific labor stories that could scare you to death. I just ignored it though and my labor wasn’t nearly as bad as all of the stories I heard. Why do people tell you things that will scare you while you’re pregnant? I’ll never know.
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What do you wish someone told you before becoming pregnant? Share in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.
Wow, I never knew about all the complications of breast-feeding! Motherhood is so complex.