Stuff You Probably Knew Already About Being Pregnant

There's probably a reason you have to be pregnant FOREVER. I've decided the most obvious reason is that babies are this earth-shattering, life changing developments for which you need time to be prepared. So since becoming pregnant approximately seven years ago, I've used much of my free time to read all about pregnancy, childbirth, diapers, vaccines, sleep methods...there are infinite time consuming possibilities and you might as well study up before you never read or sleep again, right? One thing I've noticed appearing over and over again in every baby magazine, website, forum, you name it, is the "Things No One Ever Told You" list. I always get super excited to read these, because, you know...I want to KNOW. What are the great secrets? What are the unspoken truths that no one has dared reveal until now? Well, in this age of internets and information, these lists are often disappointing. Turns out I have heard about sleeping when the baby sleeps, meconium, nipple pads and nursing bras. But maybe you haven't.

So here's my List of Things Someone Has Probably Told You But I'm Telling You Again About Being Pregnant:

Things You Should Not Say To A Preggo
1) Don't call her preggo. I don't mind it, but apparently many women are infuriated by it.
2) Don't tell her how huuuuuuge she is. I mean, really. We're pregnant. It's not suddenly OK to inform us that we are fat. Even if we are.
2a) This includes comparing us to cows, whales and other large animals.
2b) This includes speculating on how we are probably going to have twins or triplets or give birth to a cow. Yes, she's sure she's not having twins. If she's having twins, she'll tell you.
2c) This conversely applies to telling her she's soooo small, are you sure there's a baby in there? You should eat something! Honestly, how many people really know what the average belly size is during any given month or week of pregnancy? Just say, "Your belly looks awesome!" or something equally inoffensive.
3) "Just wait until the baby gets here. You'll never sleep again!!!!" or equivalent fear mongering. Look, we know babies are nightmares from a demon dimension that deprive you of sleep and meaningful human contact. We've been informed. I do appreciate honest stories and advice from people who have been through it, but right now I'm just a swollen, seasick, injured version of myself who can't sleep, concentrate or go for a run. And I don't even have a cute little human around whom my world revolves to make it all worthwhile. "Sleep now, while you can!" That's great advice...except I can't. I'm an insomniac with heartburn and chronic back pain. Oh yeah, and a crazy 4-5 lb ninja endlessly kick-punching me from the inside. The first time I fall asleep on my stomach (my normal sleeping position) will be heaven. Even if I have to wake up twenty minutes later to change a diaper and feed her...at least she'll be on the outside!
A lady who had just had a baby 5 weeks ago saw me reaching for something on the bottom shelf at the grocery store. I was failing miserably while fighting the urge to pass out. You know what she said to me? "It gets better." You hear that? BETTER. She knows...she was JUST pregnant. Even though she hadn't slept in 5 weeks and that was probably her first time out of the house, she did not look like she wanted to switch places with me. She was like, oh yeah, I remember that one time I was so humongous that I could barely move and my body turned against me and basic functions like breathing were impossibly hard! I traded that in for a screaming infant and my life is so much better now! Oh, and she had a 2 year old.
Come to think of it, that's probably why you're pregnant for so long. So when you you are elbow deep in baby poop and you've lost your hearing and you are operating on a Charlie Sheen level of sense-making because of sleep deprivation, you'll think back to being pregnant and be like "I love this! Babies are awesome!" I'll let you know if that works out for me.

Things That Are Awesome About Being Pregnant
1) It makes people smile. I catch so many people just involuntarily smiling at me after seeing my big belly. I'll admit, it is usually a mixture of "happiness and pity" as Jon has described it, but I still like it.
2) Everything you do becomes sitcom material. I realized this today as I was ranting to Jon in the grocery store about the lack of Girl Scouts in our area. I need my Samoas! Midtown Scouts are slacking! Then I spotted Cadbury Eggs and got so excited I jumped up and down. Now, this is just normal seasonal behavior for me, but now that I'm fat and pregnant...hilarious for everyone! See also: buttoning my jacket, fitting through narrow spaces, etc.
3) It's a great excuse. What? It is.
4) It makes my husband even nicer! I hate to even mention this, because honestly, Jon already does all the cooking and pretty much lovingly does whatever I ask. But I am 100% guilty of taking full advantage of his selfless devotion during this gestational period. I had this theory that because I let my husband do so much for me in normal life, I would do a 180 in pregnancy and have some need to prove I could do it all myself. My theory was WRONG.

Things That, Seriously, No One Told Me

1) I have heard a lot about constipation during pregnancy. Let me just tell you that you can have the opposite problem. 'Nuff said.
2) Half the stuff that conventional wisdom says you can't eat, do or think is just not true. Every doctor should have a myth-debunking pamphlet that they hand you at the first appointment.
3) Delivering the placenta: Ok, why are there five million TV shows about people giving birth and not one of them ever shows this? I know it's gross, but babies are kind of gross too, at least on the way out and they still show that!

Eh, there's probably more, but thankfully I planned ahead and was born in the 80's so that I could give birth during the Age of the Internet. You can pretty much Google yourself through any tricky situation. And if you want to see a placental delivery...there's a YouTube for that.

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