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| 4 months - jeans = buttonable! |
For starters, let's talk about the First Trimester.
In case you don't know what that is, it's the first 1/3 of a pregnancy.
For me, I felt pretty normal. The way I physically felt could have been largely contributed to the massive amount of depression/heartbreak I felt, as well as the intense stress I was under... I'm not quite sure if the fatigue, nausea, and mood swings were from depression (possible) or pregnancy (also possible). I may never know.
The first 6 weeks contained a lot of alcohol and cigarettes, but very little food or sleep.
Once I found out about my loving little parasite, I quit drinking... and that's about it.
There were days I'd have my prenatal vitamin and a very humble bowl of ice cream... and that'd be it.
I gained my appetite back at the beginning of the second trimester, but I still get very little sleep.
As of smoking, I finally kicked that habit at about 4 months.
Here's the fun part- the Second Trimester.
The second 1/3 of pregnancy.
This is what everyone calls the best part of pregnancy, and I already agree with them. At the ultrasounds, you can see your little one move around and it starts to actually look baby-esque. You also have the option of finding out the sex at this time, and you can feel it move for the first time!
(For those of you who have never been pregnant, it's the most wild thing. Imagine the sudden sinking you get in your stomach right before you have to rush to the restroom so you don't poop your pants- it feels like that without any digestive urges or pain.)
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| 6 months tum tum |
Physical Changes
Sensory Changes
1. sight
Sometimes I have small hallucinations, but they're only ever for a split second when I glance at something. I always do a double-take just to make sure that I really didn't see a gargoyle perched on my open door, and I'm always very relieved to find out that whatever I saw is not actually there.
2. sound
This sense just seems to be much more sensitive. At nighttime, in my bedroom (trying to sleep), I can hear the murmurs of my brother and his friends talking inside a parked car in our driveway. Mind you, our house windows are shut, and so are the car windows.
Sometimes the beeping of the register at work is unbearable.
3. SMELL
There are pros and cons to this one.
I can't walk through the bread section at a grocery store without wanting to run away, but smelling garlic butter in the air from Red Lobster is a wondrous thing.
4. taste
I'll just list some of my favorite things to taste- Honey Nut Cheerios, anything with cinnamon, salad. (I eat those three literally as much as I can.
If you know me well enough, you should know that I'm not a huge pizza fanatic. You would also know that if I do eat pizza, it has to have a lot of meat on it or be Greek pizza. Welll... my new true love? CHEESE PIZZA
I can also drink plain milk now. I even drink the leftover milk at the bottom of my cereal bowl.Yes, ladies and gents, I have turned into a five year old.
5. touch
This one might be a little strange to say, but let's just say that my nipples don't like the strong water pressure in the shower.
External
Let's talk about my favorite one first. My boobs grew! A whole cup size!
I cannot express my excitement over this. I sang "Movin' on up! To a C cup!" to myself for a week or two after buying a couple of much needed 34C bras.
Now OBVIOUSLY my belly is not as small or flat as it used to be. It's amazing how I could wear my jeans normally at 4 months and avoided wearing them at 5, just because I hate the stupid belly band that you put over your unbuttoned pants to hold them up. Ain't nobody got time to adjust their clothing every time they sit down or stand up!
With my growing belly, my center of gravity has shifted, which has caused me to change the way I bend down to pick things up. Instead of bending at the back, I bend at my knees. It may look a little funny, and I may look like a frog if I'm bending and standing repeatedly, but I want to avoid backaches, and my thigh muscles are getting nice and strong!
Also, it's pretty frustrating that I couldn't look at my lady parts if I wanted to. Blind shaving isn't exactly fun, people.
Internal
I'm lucky in this department. All of the other girls in my mommy group suffer from bad headaches, leg cramps and back aches. My burden? (Well, they've got this one too.) Constipation.
This may be weird to talk about, but let's face it, we all defecate.
Before pregnancy, I suffered irregularity for a few years, but once I learned how to control my pelvic floor muscles (being able to tighten AND relax them), I became much more regular.
I had done a lot of research, and a lot of people say that adults are supposed to have a bowel movement at least once a day. I felt at the time that once a day was a little much, but... think about how little babies eat and how much they poop. Now think about how much we eat... once a day is fair, if not minimal.
Well, I used to have a painless BM every day. Now? Every other day if I'm lucky.
And let me just say that I'd hate to be taking a prenatal vitamin that DOESN'T have a stool softener in it.
(Mind you, the digestive tract slows down during pregnancy, allowing greater water absorption. Also, there's more pressure on the digestive tract from growing baby. The iron in prenatal vitamins is no help, either, so I know I'm not alone here. Basically, if you get pregnant, count on lots of constipation.)
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| I feel like I'd sleep better in baby's bed than in mine! |
Another more commonly discussed discomfort during pregnancy- the need to pee... ALL THE TIME.
I'm lucky if I sleep for 4 hours without getting up to go pee. (1. I drink more fluids 2. Pregnant women retain more fluids AND have something crazy like 30% more blood running through their veins!)
Something that is often overlooked- the lack of ability to sleep well, and not just because nature calls! It's hard to get comfortable when you're pregnant! You aren't supposed to sleep on your back (cuts off blood flow to baby), it's uncomfortable to sleep on your stomach, and neither side is comfortable to lay on for too long- leading to a night full of tossing and turning. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.
Annndd the weight gain. I haven't heard anyone tell me that I'm gaining too much weight (aka getting FAT), so I want to say that I look decent for being 6 months pregnant. However, everyone could just be being nice to avoid my mood swings and a possible meltdown! Haha!
I can tell you that I gained a whole 11 pounds between January 6 and February 5... I was astounded.
Surprisingly enough, my doctor said that it could just be a large jump in weight, and I may not gain much more weight per month from then on. (The previous months, I'd only gained 2 lbs per month.)
Granted, I ate a lot of sweets during that month, but I craved them a lot i.e. soda, doughtnuts, cake, ice cream, chocolate. Now, I'm craving a lot of fruit, veggies, and cheese pizza. (Much better, Brittany!) I try not to be too hard on myself and take into account the fact that I had to purchase new bras during that period of time, that I actually gained a bump during that time, and that I'm holding onto extra weight from constipation setting in, not to mention the fluids I'm retaining. So is 11 pounds still that bad? I don't know.
Considering the fact that I'm still working, going to college, and staying very busy with all the baby preparations (i.e. shopping, putting the crib together, cleaning), I feel I'm getting a normal amount of exercise (for me) in my daily schedule.
I can still fit in my jeans, my belly is just too big to button them!
P.S. I went shopping for maternity clothes the other day (since a lot of my tops are just too short now, and it
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| size 8 maternity jeans/size small maternity top... not bad? |
I wear a small :] (I could also fit into my size small shirts if they weren't so short/tight on my belly.)
Nothing like a confidence boost when you're feeling as unattractive as ever.
Emotional Changes
Ever wanted to cry over a look someone gave you or scream just because someone asked you a question?
Didn't think so.
People complain about how bad my mood swings are, but they need to realize that I'm going through hell too! I hate being angry or sad at the drop of a pin. I haven't cried over food like some other pregnant ladies have... not yet.
I cry about being lonely instead.
Mental Changes
This part is probably the biggest section of improvement for me.
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| Sorelle Princeton 4-in-1 crib and changer... love it! And for you guys out there that think I'm crazy, those blankets are only there to keep the walls and crib dust-free. They'll be removed once my little girl is in her bed! |
I've become a hell of a lot more responsible. I don't stay up late, I make sure I'm awake at a decent hour, and I'm more likely to take care of things way before I need to i.e. homework, bills.
I've also become a lot more clean! I care more about dust now, and I've noticed that I'm more particular about cleaning inside every little crevice in my bedroom.
I've been sooooo much better at budgeting money. (Yay for not feeling like I'm broke!) I also have become so much better at preparing for things before they happen. In this kind of a situation, you have to become good at that, otherwise your baby won't have a place to sleep, any diapers to pee in, or any clothes to wear!
I still have another trimester to go, but I imagine that I'll be way too busy cleaning, shopping and sleeping (between work and school) to update this!
All in all, there have been goods and bads, and it seems like all the good ways I've changed in are here to stay! Hopefully the bad ones don't stick around, but most of the bad things are physical aspects that should go away once my little girl exists outside of my body!
Thanks for reading :]
Sorry if I happened to gross you out :p
