Monday, June 18, 2007

Some things they don't tell you about pregnancy... and a symptom update - 23 weeks 4 days

Some of this stuff you just never hear people talk about, or it's different than I thought it would be. For instance....

  • the bladder thing. Some days I can go hours without peeing, and then when I go it's a really full bladder to empty. But other days I feel like I have to go all the time, even though when I go it's only a tiny bit. This varies from one day to the next, or even from morning to afternoon. Same at night - some nights I can get about 6 hours of sleep in before I have to get up to pee, and then other nights I'm up every hour.
  • and the bladder control thing - leaking a little when you sneeze is fun. not.
  • And the sneezing - pregnancy causes congestion. I have always been very allergy prone, so I'm used to sneezing and blowing my nose a lot. But this really is a constant congestion.
  • And related to the congestion - the snoring! Poor J! He has to sleep with ear plugs every night, because I snore so loud now. I have tried those breathing strips that you put on your nose, and I don't think they really helped much.
  • Burping - I sound like an old man. These large, loud burps come out of me, sometimes with very little notice or control. It happens when I change position - go from sitting to standing, etc. - the burp just comes out.
  • Farting - similar to above. usually with little warning. and every morning when I wake up, I lay in bed and fart for a few minutes - like my whole system is waking up.
  • Nesting - I am in full on nesting mode - everything in my house is being scrutinized. I'm in fully organization and cleaning out mode.
  • Moodiness - fortunately I'm in a good mood most days. But every now and then - I just want to snap some heads off, and the tiniest thing J does can just annoy the crap out of me.
  • Abdominal discomfort - what surprises me most about this is how it varies throughout the day. Most mornings when I wake up, I feel great - there's been no pressure on my belly for a good 8 hours, and all the muscles feel loose and comfortable. But by the end of the day I feel like all my abdominal muscles are being stretched beyond their limits. It hurts. Fortunately laying down usually cures this.
  • Dreams - no more bad dreams, thankfully. But most nights I have these random series of events that make no sense, all somehow tied together into a single dream that weaves from one non-sensical scene to another. My mind cooks up some pretty wierd stuff.
  • Food cravings - really I've had none. This is the opposite of what I had expected. I would have thought I would have been demanding large quantities of strange foods by this point. but the only thing I have craved is Root Beer.
  • Hair - my belly has gotten kind of hairy. This is definitely not something I expected. Fortunately it's very fine and very pale hair, so probably nobody can see it but me.
  • Veins - My belly, boobs, arms are covered in these bright blue veins. Some days they are a little lighter, some days they really stand out and look sort of freakish.
  • Growth spurts - I guess I thought I would grow at a pretty steady rate. I wasn't really expecting these growth spurts. I will feel like the same size for a week or two, and then I'll have a few days where I am really uncomfortable and then after those few days of uncomfortable, I notice that I seem bigger all of a sudden.
  • Heart pounding - sometimes I can feel like my heart is going to just pound right out of my chest, and sometimes I can feel my pulse all over my body.

I think that mostly covers it for now.

We went east of the mountains this weekend to visit J's mom. She lives by a beautiful lake that is a popular vacation destination and an up and coming wine region. We went to a bbq saturday evening with a number of her friends - who all know about the twins and are super excited for us. And they all just kept commenting about how fabulous I looked, and all the women said they never looked this good when they were pregnant, that I was just glowing, etc., etc. It really was very flattering and made me feel even better about my ever expanding body. It's quite nice to be complimented for hours at a time. I'm not yet to the stage where I'm getting all the comments about how huge I am - although I expect that will start soon enough.

;-)

10 comments:

Jaimie said...

It is funny for me to read how we have similar and different things going on. I agree with the bladder except I can't ever go for hours, but I couldn't before either! It irritates me that I hustle to the bathroom because I have the overwhelming urge and then there are just a few drops practically. I can occationally make it 6 hours at night and man is that the best sleep!

I don't want to say/type this, but I have yet to have bladder control issues.

I have had terrible allergies and bad sinuses my whole life. But I have hardly had any troubles with them or congestion and it has amazed me. I was expecting it to be terrible, but it has been one of the few pleasant surprises so far! That and I really thought I would have terrible acne but my skin has been great. I have had a just a bit of the burping and farting but not too bad.

The nesting is driving me nuts. I want to get everything taken care of RIGHT NOW! I don't want to put anything off at all and it is driving me nuts, like everything else.

My moodiness is insane! It is mostly not good. I want to cling to my husband, scream at him, and kick him out of the house all at the same time.

I am so with you on the abdominal discomfort. I know some days I want to cry it is so uncomfortable, even painful. I have sympathy for you having two in there. My support hose helps but some days by the evening it feels like my belly is stretching to the floor and it is miserable! It seems to be happening more & more too:( My back is really getting tired too.

I still have very weird vivid dreams, often nightmares. I don't like that. The only thing I have really craved was pineapple.

I am SO glad to hear about the hair on your belly! I have never heard anyone say anything about that before and I have it too. It is just blond and fine but it seems to get pretty long and it embarasses me!

My veins are in my legs. They are definitely big, blue and bulging. It apprears that I may have to have some sort of procedure on one of them when this is all said and done because it is scary!

I totally have heart pounding too and sometimes I can see my pulse in various parts of my body. I don't like the heart pounding at all!

abby said...

I hear ya sister!! I have almost all of the same things going on that you do...I especially related to that feeling that my entire belly is stretched to its limit by the end of the day, and all I want to do is lie down. I'm always saying "my tummy is tired, I have to lie down" :)

Also -- the hairy belly. I did NOT see that one coming! And mine is not blonde either!

Yay for a fun weekend trip and lots of people complimenting you...sounds like there are a lot of people who are really happy for you and J.

Sarah said...

yeah i pretty much have all of that, except i don't think i'm far enough along into the true joys of the burping and farting yet. on the pee thing, i've noticed for me that i have the big long pees when i'm better hydrated and the frequent little tinkles when i'm not doing so well on my water drinking, which seems kind of backwards? and amen on the discomfort! i start the day okay but by 6pm the only thing that's comfortable is floating my belly in the bath tub for an hour.

twirl said...

I HATE how the heart pounding feels!

LJ said...

Though not pregnant yet, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your updates. It's like a "girlfriends guide" but even better.

Suzanne said...

loved the pregnancy symptom list! ooooh, what no one tells you! glad you are doing well!!! almost to 24!!

seattlegal said...

Isn't it nice that people forget to tell you these things? The hair on the belly was a surprise to me, and the congestion.

Nickie said...

OMG the farting thing made me nearly pee my pants!! LOL The bladder thing will just get worse, start your Kegels now or you'll be changing your panties a lot. The ohter day I was heading out the door and had to sneeze. I made it thru the first 2 ok, but the 3rd one was too much and I had to go change. (hanging head in shame)

one thing you didn't list (hopefully because you aren't burdened with them and hopefully you won't be) is the oh-so-lovely 'roids! That one no one seems to want to warn about so let me do it for you. They suck - do whatever you can to avoid them. If you develop anemia and need to add iron supplements, be sure to add a stool softener too and do NOT let it get bad. Trust me, ok?

Anonymous said...

Holy hell, ladies. That sounds awful - I really hope you start feeling better soon. I would hug you if I could - you need and deserve it.

Marie-Baguette said...

excellent list! and I have pretty much all the same symptoms! yep, motherhood ain't glamorous!