I’ve been terrible at writing about the physical experience of pregnancy. I’ve been fortunate enough to have an easy pregnancy. So here is my experience of pregnancy, in one large go.
I’m heavier and larger than I’ve ever been. Since the weight has mostly gone where pregnancy weight is expected to go, my fundamental body image hasn’t changed.
But the size and shape changes have had an impact (especially when combined with recent joint loosening). Getting up from sitting is hard, especially if the seat is cushy. I can’t l lay on my stomach or, without propping, my back. My balance is off. I haven’t fallen or injured myself (and hopefully won’t), but I have found myself using the wall or a table for support from time to time.
My reach is shorter. With an extra 6 – 8 inches between me and whatever I’m reaching for, I effectively have shorter arms. When I’m washing the dishes, for example, I have to strain to reach the bottom of the sink.
My abdominal muscles are less effective. Now that I can’t use them well, I realize how much they are used for. They, as much as the shape and weight changes, are implicated in my problems getting up. But they also make basic activities like twisting my torso and reaching for things noticeably more difficult. Fortunately, I can replace using my abdominal muscles with using my arms much of the time.
Probably the most frustrating thing for me — both practically and for my self-image — is that I walk slowly and can cover less distance. Late April was the last time I was able to handle a 2.5 mile walk. These days, I can still handle 1 – 2 miles, but I have to take it slowly, and it had better not include much in the way of hills or heat. I’ve lowered my weekly step goal from 80,000 to 50,000 — and I’m really happy if I get it. All this is partially due to the general weight gain and fatigue, but it’s also due to lower blood pressure which leads me to feel dizzy if I over exert myself. (There was only one time I almost fainted, but that one time was by myself at a bus stop with no bench; I was scared until I felt passed the point where I knew I wouldn’t loose consciousness.)
Of course, no post on what it feels like to be pregnant would be complete without discussing the classic trio of nausea, pee, and sleep problems. (Lovely, I know.)
If there was any part of my pregnancy where I experienced symptoms that were worse than average, it was nausea. I didn’t have nausea to a point where it was medically worrisome, but I was generally sick daily, sometimes multiple times in a day. My nausea lasted through the second trimester, and it was into the third trimester before I stopped having minor nausea triggered by long bus rides and brushing my teeth wrong. Nausea more commonly is gone early in the second trimester, and while feeling sick every day is common, being sick every day is not. I learned to be very careful about how much I ate and how often. Not eating enough would make me feel sick, but eating too much at once would also lead to me feeling sick. I also carried around my emergency tupperware container until I stopped commuting to work (takes up more space than a bag, but way easier to deal with once it’s been used).
On the positive side for digestive problems, it’s really only been the last couple of weeks that I’ve started having acid reflux issues, and those mainly when I go to bed too soon after eating. Many women have to deal with reflux during most of the third trimester. Ah, the joys of a compressed stomach.
Another internal organ that’s compressed is the bladder. Yes, the stereotypes are true: pregnant women need to pee a lot. Fortunately, since my mobility has not been much impaired, this has not been too hard to deal with. I did end up being late for meetings more often; I can’t take as many back-to-back meetings without a bio break as I usually can. What’s been more difficult has been losing my ability to really tell if I need to urinate. Sometimes nothing feels the same as a significant volume waiting to come out. (Isn’t this part fun?!)
Urination is one of the big contributors to not being able to sleep well, but far from the only one. I wake up 2 – 4 times a night due to needing to urinate or being uncomfortable (in the latter case, I’ll probably take a bathroom break anyway, because I’ve learned to never turn down a good bathroom break opportunity). It’s really hard to get and stay comfortable when you can only sleep on your side — and I’m normally a side sleeper — and when flipping from one side to the other is an olympic event.
Then there are the random things. Like having my belly button go flat, the general increased soreness/bleeding of my gums (minor, but annoying), and being warm all the time. There are probably a dozen more of these, but at this point, I’ve gotten so use to them as to not notice.
There are also the symptoms I’ve been fortunate enough to mostly avoid such as back and hip pain, food cravings, swelling, hemorroids, constipation, visually prominent veins, etc.
Overall, I’ve had a pretty reasonable pregnancy so far. I haven’t had any magical feelings of glowing — I’m definitely not one of those women who enjoys pregnancy for its own sake — but I haven’t had too much suffering either.
I like to look at the problems I have as practice for having baby. Bad sleep gets me use to waking frequently. Nausea gets me use to having to deal with bodily fluids at awkward times. Small frequent meals prepare me for small frequent feedings. Walking slowly and shorter distances prepares me for life carrying or walking with a small child. Obviously, none of these are the same as it will be with baby, but it’s still practice. I’m just grateful my pregnancy has been mild enough that I can look at it positively.