This title is only slightly click-baity. SOME of these pregnancy related changes are spoken about but not all, and I really was not prepared for a few! So here I am to tell you the weirder changes that people may not talk about out loud, or the changes you may not read about on your favourite preggy app!
Scroll down to the bottom if you’d like to see which four pregnancy apps I used throughout my pregnancy.
NOTE: There will be comments on private areas and bodily functions that you may not want to read if you are not pregnant! So fair warning!
Skin – Face
Apart from a handful of nasty angry pimples that were definitely thanks to hormones, I never really experienced bad skin. It’s an old-wives tale that female fetus’s suck your “beauty” out, leaving you with a rather dull complexion. Thankfully I did not experience this, but then again, I do have a better-than-average skincare regime.
Skin – Body
Again, I have not yet experienced stretch marks. I have been good with applying my lotions and potions but I have not been the best ever. I KNOW I could be better, and more dedicated to applying my stuff twice a day instead of just once. I am only 30 weeks today so there is still plenty of time to stretch and for stretch-marks to grow! I am however not overly concerned. At this point I just want her to grow healthily and get out of me. If stretch marks are part and parcel of that, then I welcome them!
Breasts
I haven’t had the huge increase in boob size that we regularly hear about in pregnancy! I am happy about this because I was always happy with my chest size pre-pregnancy, and I was not looking forward to forking out hundreds (even thousands) of rands for bigger bras that I would only use for a few months. I still have a long way to go before my milk comes in so we will see where that leaves me.
However… why do your nipples get so big in pregnancy?! Okay, I know why, this is more a rhetorical question. I think that area of my boobs look horrendous and, coupled with the weirdo veins that develop, its really an odd sight. I almost wish I could upload a photo (blurring out my nipples obviously) just to show how intense these chest veins can be. SOOOO freaky looking!!!
I can’t advise anything to use to help your tatas look semi-normal in pregnancy – sorry! But I can recommended this blog post which details my fave maternity body products. Also grab yourself some soft and stretchy yoga type bras. I grabbed some amazing ones from Pick n Pay and I will add a picture in here if I remember.
Hair & Nails
My hair has always been long, healthy, and strong, but the pre-natal vitamins really surged this through the roof! And my nails became stronger and harder as if overnight. Weirdly enough this has all gone downhill in the last week. I have had tons of hair falling out when I brush it, and a few nails have split. But it all seems on track with what my apps predicted for this week 🙂
I have gone back to using the nail hardener that I used pre-pregnancy to try and alleviate the splitting. I don’t have a review up unfortunately but it is the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails (R99.95 from Clicks). It REALLY is a miracle product.
Bum
The most weird, and saddest, part of this entire post. Before pregnancy…I would not say I had a bum that could win awards, but at least I had one! My combination of losing that initial 1st trimester weight and not exercising in 2nd trimester (I know, I know, I should be) has resulted in a flat bum. If you Google ‘Gru’ from Despicable Me, that is what my current side portfolio looks like. It is a very sad state of affairs.
Stomach
I am carrying pretty much all out in front and I don’t think you can even tell I am pregnant from behind.
I did not have wash-board abs pre-pregnancy either (truth be told I had no form of abs whatsoever!) but I am pleased that baby is sitting front and center (albeit, lowwwwdown) instead of splaying herself in fifty different directions. That being said, it really is a lot to get used to having this big “thing” in your way every day.
I still smile each and every time I look down and realize that hey, I look pregnant! But those first few seconds in the morning where you haul yourself out of bed are a struggle. And the sounds you make can be really hysterical. Often I get out the bath or pick something up and I hear Chris yell “Are you okay?” from another room. Turns out I make all sorts of weird noises and I don’t realize as I am doing it.
Discharge
Yes, I am even covering the wonderful topic of discharge. While not having your period for 9 months is wonderful, your hormones are still out of whack! You are advised in pregnancy to monitor your discharge as there are certain types that should be monitored as potential cause for concern.
This being said, there will be regular discharge and sometimes there will be lots of it. Simply use pantyliners (NEVER tampons while pregnant) when you need them and you are sorted.
Loss of ability to control the most simple bodily functions
And potentially my most hated of the lot… no longer being able to hold in certain – ermmm – bodily sounds? I thought pregnancy was a magical, beautiful, “glowing” time of life. Now I can’t even pee without farting? No man, I did not sign up for this. If someone pre-pregnancy told me this, I would have said hell no, I have a will of steel. No farting from me! But no. Fake news.
If I need to pee I take myself off to the furthest possible bathroom just so that Chris does not hear the potential sound that may or may not emit from oneself – but 90% of the time it does indeed emit! We are not yet at that wonderfully close stage of farting in front of one another. Well, HE is, I am not.
I am blushing just writing this paragraph but really ladies, do not be embarrassed. Every single pregnancy comes with the not so great side effects and this really is not the worst of the lot. I should be grateful, actually!
And that is it for the weird and wacky (albeit wonderful) bodily functions that you may not be prepared for! There are so many others but these are the day-to-day ones that immediately spring to mind. Let’s not even start on backaches, swollen extremities and nose bleeds!
If you want to use the same apps that I use, then these are the 4 titles:
Ovia
Pregnancy
What To Expect
Pregnancy+
Rayne XX
