All growing up I was told about being pregnant. Pregnant women throw up a lot, get fat, and have funny cravings (like pickle ice cream in the middle of the night). I was curious to know what it felt like to be pregnant and I always wanted to be a mom, so I was very excited to find out I was pregnant.
Pregnancy, for me, was at once better and worse than I thought it would be. In the first three or four months, I was nauseous, but rarely threw up. I was never hungry and always exhausted. Probably the biggest annoyance was the exhaustion. I was amazed at how little energy I had. Also frustrating was the fact that I didn't look pregnant at all.
As for cravings, sometimes I have odd ones (like strawberry waffles at midnight), but mostly I just want a certain kind of food for a couple of weeks. Early in the pregnancy I had a few weeks where all I wanted was Mexican food. Then it was Chinese. And then Italian. I never exactly "craved" pickles, but if they were in the house I ate them. I did not like ice cream or chocolate.
By the fifth month I had a little more energy and tended to be in a much better mood. I finally began showing my new tummy and overall was more comfortable. Still, new difficulties surfaced. I began getting terrible heartburn and had some trouble sleeping. This lasted until the eighth month.
Cravings at this point steadied a little. I had developed an aversion to Mexican and Chinese food, but pretty much anything else was fine. I found myself eating tons of fresh fruit and drinking gallons of milk. I also began enjoying sweets and icecream again, but I try to be moderate about those things. Other cravings have included: cinnimon, cheese, spinich, and cheese pizza.
I am now in the ninth month and my biggest craving is water. I go through three or four water bottles a day, though I often supliment with milk or juices. I eat anything I can get my hands on (and take tums for the inevitable heartburn). The exhaustion has returned, but I find I can usually work around it. Mostly I am bothered by the aches and pains that go with a baby growing like a weed inside me. I would like to get more than two hours sleep at a time, but I won't get that for some months, so I'd better get used to it. The little man inside has a bad habit of beating on my ribs and pelvic bones, which can bruise after a while, but I don't really mind. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone.
So, all in all, pregnancy wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I am very ready to have my body back. I can barely remember what it felt like NOT to be a beached whale. Here's hoping labor won't be as bad as they say.
