Nine months of pregnancy lessons couldn't fit into one post so here's round two. Read my first post here.
Nauseousness can come back at the end of pregnancy. Eating a poptart after you brush your teeth will help. But probably will only make your next dentist trip even worse than it already is.
Speaking of dentists, going while you're pregnant isn't as bad as when you're not because they can't do x-rays and can't tell you about all the cavities you have.
You may have the desire to tell your doctor that there is a real baby in your belly (as oppose to every other patient he has) and he should give you an extra ultrasound to assure you everything is fine.
The emotional worries and fears are far harder to deal with than any physical pregnancy symptom.
People like to stare at pregnant bellies.
You may spend about two hours in the middle of the night thinking you are experiencing contractions and going into labor soon and then after going to the bathroom realize there is a good chance it was just gas.
You will be almost as excited to see your husband hold your baby as you are to hold her yourself. Almost.
Getting your pregnant self tan is not as easy as you think. Apparently the sun will only hit the top circle of your big belly and leave you with a red and even itchier stomach. (Which makes for some funny tan lines on your post pregnant belly.)
Pregnancy weight gain is far from predictable. You can gain 5 pounds one month and one the next. It is hard to not let it mess with you.
The waiting at the end of pregnancy can take quite the emotional toll on yourself. The days go by ridiculously slow and as much as you hear you need to enjoy the time to relax by yourself, your desire to meet your baby and get passed the labor will far outweigh any desire to "relax."
It is never a good idea to try on your shorts from last summer when you are nine months pregnant just to see how they may fit. Nothing good will come of it.
A few lessons I learned during my pregnancy . . . .
Don't be afraid to try out new fashion trends like crop tops.
Just kidding. I did not wear this out. You will be stuck with the same four or five tops that fit near the end.
Anxiety never ends. You will think once you get to the next stage: hear the heartbeat, get an ultrasound, know the heart is healthy, get past 27 weeks . . . . your anxieties will lessen but they won't. Trusting that God is in control and giving over your worries will always be a struggle.
Generic poptarts are better than the real deal. And you can also justify eating half a poptart every night in bed before you go to sleep.
Comparison will make you crazy if you give in to it. Comparing your pregnant belly, your clothes, your symptoms, all of it. Try your best to remember every pregnancy, baby and woman is going to handle pregnancy differently.
You should not download the baby app or baby forum groups to your phone and check them often. The simple updates are good the forums are not. They will scare you and make you more anxious. Delete them from your phone! Remind yourself over and over how many healthy babies are born every day.
Your underwear, pants and shorts will leave you with some pretty serious indent marks, making you think you've gained new stretch marks whenever you get ready for bed. Which will probably bring you to tears at least a few times.
It may be better to not know if you have stretch marks under your belly where you can't see until after the baby comes when you are so aware that it was worth it.
You may never get the urge to start nesting and think it is something that people just make up that makes non-nesting pregnant woman feel useless and lazy.
Feeling your baby kick and move, while at times feels a little too much that a mini alien is trying to take over, will never get old or annoying as it reminds you of the miracle growing inside of you.
You can go from one extreme to another. Some days you may feel completely great and others feel pretty terrible. Some days you can feel so ready for this baby to come and others feel like it might be a better idea to just stay pregnant. Some days you'll feel like you have more than enough baby things and others I feel like you've barely started getting your house baby ready. It's tough to find the middle ground.
You may think that you will be one of those woman that works out throughout their entire pregnancy but the moment you have one complication your fears of anything happening to your baby (even if later they tell you it's completely safe) will outweigh any desire to have a super fit pregnancy.
You may fear that your child's gender was predicted incorrectly until the day they tell you "She's here."
