My Pregnancy Truths

Since being pregnant, there are some things that have completely changed within my lifestyle (obviously) that only other mamas can truly understand. And that's totally fine that my friends don't really get it because they're not in the same place that I am now but I just had to be the first to experience all of this, kind of like the guinea pig for them. You're welcome, girlfrands.

 I want to throw these ridiculous manifestations out there and explain how/why they affect me so much.

Exhaustion. Full on takeover of my mind/body. 
Majority of the time you can ask me how I feel and I'll say, "Great, I'm really lucky my pregnancy isn't a rough one (so far)," but that really just means I'm leaving out the boring details because 10 times out of 10 I'm overly exhausted. Extra emphasis on that. More than half of the time I have an (exaggerated) fear of leaving my own house thinking that I'll fall asleep in public somewhere. It's a real safety hazard. When I say I'm too tired to have company or when I'm being brutally honest by cancelling plans with you for the sole reason that I want need to nap - don't take my statement lightly.  Also, try not to take it personally. Imagine yourself at your most "hungover/still drunk/skipped sleep last night" combination level of exhaustion then times that by 10. Ya couldn't keep your eyes open, could you?

During pregnancy, they say the mama is eating for two and while, yes, I am always hungry and could eat more than my husband for most meals now (which is scary), in reality - the second human occupying my body only needs 300 calories from my diet so I'm not actually eating for two. However, I am craving SLEEP for two. or three. or an army of people. eternally. Okay, not eternally but at least for the next 7 to 10 weeks until this little baby pops out. I could take a 3 hour nap every day and still want to go to bed at 9pm. So if I'm too tired to hang out, you better believe it's about triple your kind of tired.

Not only could I collapse and start snoring just about anywhere, but my mind totally checks out....which leads me to the next thing:

Pregnancy Brain: The brain of a dumb blonde mixed with a....sloth.
I have had my fair share of blonde moments but nothing compares to "pregnancy brain." Hoooooly cow is this symptom real. I heard about the pregnancy forgetfulness from other mamas but I didn't realize it would actually happen to me. I'm 7 months pregnant and was told it only gets worse from here on out; not only that but mama brain doesn't sharpen back up even after the baby is born. 

Just to show you how bad this is, the other day I put my plate of food in the fridge meaning to put it in the microwave to warm it up and then walked away only to feel hungry 20 minutes later but when I went to the microwave it wasn't there....it was in the fridge. der.


Food. More Food. SWEETS. It has been...not long enough...since my last confession. Dear God. My need to devour mini mint chocolate milano cookies is sickening. I'm worse than the cookie monster at an all you can eat cookie buffet. 

I have never been a huge sweets person but since I hit third trimester I all of a sudden can't get enough sweets and chocolate! I don't always give in but I've had my fair share of those sneaky cookies and ice cream with hot fudge, raspberries, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Here's where I've broken this down from: Eddy (Adam's dad) has a sweet tooth. Julie told me that when she was pregnant with Adam she ate sweets on sweets on sweets, and she's normally a fruits & veggies eater like me. Now Adam has a huge sweet tooth. I've caught him red handed with a pack of oreos nearly gone that I never touched. So...our little girl has a sweet tooth in womb and it's completely her grandpa and daddy's fault. :)

The crappy part of this craving stuff is my guilty conscience. I was already "lectured" (P.S. I'm dramatic) by the nurse practitioner at my last appointment for gaining 9 lbs over 5 weeks time when I should have only gained 5, by the book. That sat a little heavier with me than I thought it would and it probably shouldn't have. Every thing I eat now migrates my mind to that conversation in the doctor's office and it's turned into a constant mind versus craving battle. I give in to a lot of my bad cravings but I also think I eat as much/little and often as I did before pregnancy. Minus some dinner servings that tend to be bigger in proportion than I was used to before. Plus, I can't get enough fruit! Which I thought was a good thing, I had no idea my weight gain sped up like this. On the other hand, they say 25-35 lbs of weight gain during pregnancy is normal and so far, 10 or less weeks away from delivery, I've gained about 25 lbs total (23 as of last Monday but I haven't checked since). 

I think I'm doing pretty dang good, if only my body and mind would let me feel that way. But noo, mirrors, cellulite, my arms, pictures angled upwards of my face/what I think is a double chin ;), and my ridiculously heavy boobs constantly remind me of where that weight gain has gone besides to by belly & baby <-- where I wish it would stay rather than spread out! 

Ugh. Thank God for yoga and my newly discovered kettlebell workouts. I am so not the type of person who can pull off that "you look good with a little meat on your bones" look. I can't wait for skinny back. End rant.

Cravings guilt occasionally leads to....

8 Month Pregnancy Blues
THIS symptom sucks. I have never been the kind of woman who does well on birth control pills because the hormones are too much for me to handle. I turn into a crazy, emotional wreck. When Adam and I had been together for at least a year, I decided to go on the pill for the third time, trying a third brand. I warned him that if I got really bad then he would have to tell me and he would have to be the one who makes the decision whether it was worth it to stay on them or not after the 3rd month when they become most effective. Obviously I could make that decision too but he's the one who would have to put up with the emotional chaos that my body was spitting out. Which it did, just like I thought it would. Just like the other two pill brands did that I had tried before. Right before we hit 3 months of me being on it, Adam had to sit me down and as gently as possible ask me to get off of it. So I did.

Noooow with pregnancy, with hormones escalating I've started to hit this (going on) 8 month blues. By no means have I ever had depression or felt consistent sadness or anything like that. This symptom is completely random when it hits. And nothing specifically usually triggers it. Besides eating desserts. 

All of a sudden I just get really emotional and have to cry. It is one confusing feeling. Yesterday, Adam and I were in the middle of a good conversation about where we are in life right now and how things will change when Harper comes and all of this exciting stuff that we are looking forward to, etc., and then Adam asked if I was feeling emotional because he said he could tell by my lips and eyes that I was about to cry. And then I did. But it wasn't like a tears of happiness type of cry! It felt like something sad had just happened and I cried. Except nothing did! I never cry! 

Adam seriously deserves some kind of first time dad/most amazing man/best husband to ever walk this planet - type of award because he is one hell of a man. During our conversation I felt like I had to apologize to him for basically holding him prisoner these past 7+ months because I have been more needy than ever and wanted him close to me at all times. This poor guy has a great life of his own but I have dictated everything it feels like to make sure he's there for me 24/7. And he has not complained once. I have the BEST of the best. Don't worry, hubby, once Harper is born you have free reign to leave the house and take her with you (if you want - which I know you do) to whatever car shows or events that you want to go to!

I miss not face planting. I can't even put on underwear without (just about) face planting. Even Adam has had to help me step into a pair of shorts or a dress or whatever it is. He laughs at me when he watches me attempt to put on a pair of non-slip-on shoes. I can't even roll over to my other side when I'm laying down without putting in all of my strength and effort. And it's not so funny when you need to have your husband completely push you up off of the couch.


....I'll add more later. I'm tired. and it's only 3pm.