20 Things I've Learned During My 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy
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Most of you probably know WE’RE PREGNANT! But if you didn’t, then surprisseee, baby boy is due in June!
I’m now 21 weeks and officially halfway through the pregnancy (that’s crazy!). A lot has changed over the course of these 5 months in terms of what I’ve experienced or how I’ve felt pregnancy wise, and I wanted to share those moments with you. Maybe you can relate or maybe not as all pregnancies are different. But, here are the top 20 things I’ve experienced (and experiencing) for the first 20 weeks of being pregnant.
1. The Morning Sickness
I don’t know why it’s called morning sickness when this can occur at any time? I had “morning” sickness starting exactly at my 7 week mark until I was 14 weeks. For the first few weeks, I was getting sick almost daily and nausea would kick in at any time throughout the day or evenings. What I learned during these glory days is I needed to eat ALL the time to not feel nauseous. And, it couldn’t be anything healthy. I like to eat (relatively) healthy and every-time I had a salad or vegetables, the baby said NO. I needed ALL the carbs - burgers, fries, pasta, pizza and more fries…and, then I would feel so much better :) What else really helped me was these pregnancy popper candies from amazon - they worked like magic for me and I wish I had known about them sooner!
2. The Heartburn
Oh man. I’ve had my share of heartburn because I LOVE spicy foods and put hot sauce on almost everything. BUT, DANG! The heartburn I have now is no joke, and I feel it might get worse as I progress in this pregnancy! The only things I’ve learned out of this experience is, popping all the tums doesn’t help me, laying down makes me feel like I could breathe out fire, and I’m finally seeing my doctor next week to get a prescription which I’ve heard works much better than the over-counter medicine.
3. Putting on Socks + Shoes
Easily bending down is no longer the way to put on your socks and shoes. I have to sit on the bed and lift my leg to my knee for this task to be complete. This is something I really didn’t think about happening pre-pregnancy, and as the belly gets bigger, I can only imagine how much more challenging it will become! And, save yourself some time and just get monthly pedicures to keep your feet looking good…trying to reach your toes is a JOB!
4. Getting Out of Bed
My abs? hmmm, I can tell those muscles are not really in use anymore. Instead of just sitting straight up to get out of bed or even off the couch, I now do a side roll to help myself up. Or, just have the hubs give me a little helping hand. Again, this too must get harder as the baby grows.
5. School Enrollment
Things you never thought of before like pre-school, school districts and when to begin the enrollment process will slowly start to cross your mind. It was also SUPER strange filling out a daycare application and when asked the question, “Your relationship to the student?”…and the answer is MOTHER?! Reality kind of sinks in then haha!
6. Eating For Two
I will say at the beginning of my pregnancy, I was STARVING all the time. Particularly between 3:00am-4:00am. That was fun. I ate more frequently and had meals with snacks in-between to help with the hunger. But, I learned you really don’t need to overdo your calorie intake as you only need 340-450 extra calories a day, and this isn’t until your 2nd and 3rd trimester.
7. The Need to Pee
No matter if I JUST went to the restroom, literally 10-20 minutes later I feel like I haven’t gone. And, once I do go, it’s not much…I think this is just the baby playing games with me now ;) And, let’s not forget getting up 2-3 times a night to pee has become the new nightly routine.
8. Charlie Horses
I‘ve experienced a few intense muscle cramps in my stomach…so painful! It’s like, you move just a certain way and your ab muscles FREAK out! I haven’t had a full on Charlie horse (knock on wood!) in my legs yet, but throughout the night (you know, when I come back from all those bathroom breaks) if I stretch my legs a certain way, I can tell my muscles WANT to break out in a Charlie horse, which scares me. Those are the worst!
9. Where are the Maternity Clothes?
I was so excited to go maternity shopping and then as I went from store to store, I realized most stores didn’t carry maternity clothes physically in the store OR, the selection is super small with limited variety (sorry, Target). I’m not a fan of online shopping, so this was very frustrating for me. Luckily, we found Maternity Destination at the outlets here and I definitely had a shopping spree because they too are shutting their doors and only providing online!
10. Your Husband Doesn’t Get It
My husband is really caring and considerate of how I feel at times during this pregnancy, which is so appreciative. HOWEVER, the husbands don’t get what you are really feeling or experiencing mentally, physically OR emotionally.
11. Being the DD
Congrats! You’re now the Uber for your friends :) Honestly, this is good thing - you get to still be part of your friends’ weekend shenanigans and not have a hangover the next day! It’s a win win!
12. Uncomfortable is The New Normal
With the belly changing weekly and the ligament stretching that tags along, I’m feeling uncomfortable most days but I’ve noticed I don’t think about it as much as I used to in the very beginning. So, that’s a plus.
13. “Flutters” vs “Bubbles”
Before week 20, I didn’t feel the baby moving. Right when I turned 20 weeks, the only thing I can describe what I felt was like an air bubble slowly moving around. It crossed my mind that this was the baby, but didn’t think it was because EVERYONE was telling me the baby would feel like a “flutter”. Well, a flutter to me means the feeling of the butterflies. “Flutter” isn’t how I would describe this experience, but it’s definitely a bubbly effect with a tiny kick here and there. It’s such a special moment to feel little kicks or bubble movements, because you don’t know when it will happen, but you enjoy it when it does!
14. Being Winded
Welp. I used to consider myself a pretty in-shape person, and I admit I’ve been a huge slacker about working out lately, but I’ve noticed the stairs make me way more winded these days!
15. Strangers Will Talk to You
I’ve had quite a few strangers glance at the bump and then just spark a conversation with me. “How far along are you?”, “When are you due?”, “Boy or Girl?”, and “Do any smells make you sick?”. It’s sweet and strange to see people be so interested :)
16. Stretching Skin
This is kind of a weird sensation. And AGAIN, I’m sure it’s much more intense later on, but I’ve noticed an itchy and stretching feeling at times. But, the nightly cream I use really helps keep it moisturized. So keep that up!
17. The Dehydration is Real
I can’t ever get enough water! Yet, sometimes, I forget to drink enough throughout the day! And when I do…yup! It’s bathroom runs every 10 minutes. It’s a struggle.
18. Mentally Not “Feeling” Pregnant
I guess pre-pregnancy me thought I would think differently for some strange reason, or like I would feel like a “mom” from the start. I’m not obsessing over the baby clothes (yet!), or panicking about things I thought I would be freaking out over all the time (umm, the whole birthing situation). Sometimes I have to tell myself, this is really happening! Overall, I think being pregnant is such a surreal feeling because its a completely new experience and chapter that I can’t compare to anything else.
19. Tired With An Active Brain
I’ve noticed my brain is almost hyperactive with thoughts of things I need to do, things I feel I MUST get done, etc. Maybe this is the whole “nesting” thing kicking in that people always talk about. And, while my eyes are tired, my brain is like, NOPE. There is work to be done! Haha. Luckily my sister had a baby last year, and almost everything I have experienced, she says she did too - so, I know I can’t be the only one that feels this way.
20. Don’t Worry
I think the most important lesson I am learning, is to not worry about things in the future. Obviously prepare, but don’t overstress if things aren’t picture perfect ready when the baby comes, or overstress if it’s going to attend a certain school when it’s 2 years old. What I’ve learned over the years, and what our friends say who already have babies, is everything works out the way it needs to. So let’s enjoy this short and sweet time growing our baby bump!
“Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be”
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