Things No One Told Me When I Was Pregnant

There are SO many things that no one tells you about being pregnant. Even if you read every book you can get your hands on, there are still a bunch of things that will sneak up on you.

Stress- I was going to school and working two jobs when I was pregnant with my first son, not to mention trying to plan a wedding. It was awful. I was so worried about falling behind in school and making sure that everything I was juggling didn't come crashing down around me in a burning pile of rubble. Now that I am pregnant with the twins, I don't work and I think that I am more stressed out than I was when I was constantly running at 110%. Now I am more worried about their development, and how it they are going to effect Tucker's perfect little world...etc. So basically, pregnancy is stressful no matter if it is your first baby or your fourth... or whether you work or not.

Energy- Everyone knows that being pregnant can be exhausting, but you can also feel more energetic then you can remember feeling. What they don't tell you is that you will feel horrible, then great and back again all in five mins.

Leaky Boobs- This one caught me off guard. I was working in a Chiropractor's office and the sweetest old lady brought the large wet spot on the front of my scrubs to my attention. I remember calling my mom and asking her why she never gave me a heads up on this embarrassing perk of being pregnant. It never happened to her, and apparently it doesn't happen to quite a few people. But I did spring a leak, and I was only 5 or so months along. It didn't stop either. Not until after I had nursed my son for a few months. Not fun. Now with my second go around I don't have this issue.. cross your fingers.

Pregnancy Rash- You may have read about this in one of your books. They usually call it the "mask" of pregnancy, and usually people get darker spots on their faces etc. But not me. I got two dry and itchy patches on my shins. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it honestly drove me nuts. It was the only symptom of pregnancy that I had all day everyday, and it was a bummer. Now with my second pregnancy I got it again, but not on my legs. Now I have one spot that drives me nuts and it's right where my bra strap hits my shoulder. Sigh... what we deal with to have children.

The way you feel the First time you feel your baby move- Unfortunately it's not something that I can explain to you. It was the most incredible and surreal moment of my life. It is a moment that you will never be able to forget as long as you live. It is really a shame that guys aren't able to experience this feeling. It was the only part of being pregnant that I actually missed once I had Tucker.

The way you feel the first time you see your baby- The first time I saw Tucker on the ultrasound it really felt as though time stood still. Just for a moment, life stands still and you fall in love with this little thing way before you've ever felt him move. I really don't think that I'm an overly sentimental person, but I really could have cried when I first saw the little guy, and saw my husbands face when they told us he was a boy. I honestly didn't know that I could ever love something so much so quickly. When we decided to have another baby, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to love anything or anyone as much as I love my little Tucker. But when I saw my twin boys in there for the first time I felt the exact same way.

How disgusting you feel- Between the overall leakage, the "fat" that seems to be developing all over, and (my personal favorite) the last min stretch marks that you were so sure you weren't going to get... you will have what I like to call a blob day. I'm sure it's the hormones, but you will just feel gross.

How beautiful you feel- There is always the good with the bad, or course you will have your bad days, but most of the time I felt great. I felt more like a woman than I had at any other time in my life. It's what they mean by the "pregnancy glow." I had way more good days than blob days.

FYI- These are things that you should never say to a pregnant woman, unless you want to piss them off(or make them cry).
*Don't tell someone that they are so small for how far along they are. I got this alot with my first pregnancy. You may be trying to give a compliment, but it gets lost in translation. What it does do is worry the poor mom into thinking that her baby isn't developing the right way, or that it's going to be too small.
*Don't tell them they look huge. This may seem like common sense but people still say it all the time. Also don't say things like, "You look like you are about to pop." You might as well have just called her a mammoth.

Hey Everyone!

While I was pregnant with my son Tucker I realized there is just about a million things that no one ever tells you. Even though I read every book I could get my hands on, I still felt completely unprepared for most of the things that happened. For example that while you are pregnant your "baby assets" can leak through three layers of clothes... while your at work, or that after you have your baby someone is going to follow you in the bathroom and check your pee. Minor things that dont really matter, but it would be nice to know beforehand. Since I was pregnant I always joke about how I should write a book about all of the things that no one tells you. That is the reason for: By The Seat of Your Pants or BTSOYP. I want this to be a place where Moms (or soon to be Moms) can talk about things that happen to them and get support from other Moms who have been there, done that, and had to figure it out as they went.