Here's What the Books/Websites DON'T Tell You...

I'm not a huge researcher. I'm too lazy. I've changed only slightly during pregnancy and I say slightly because there are SO many things that you can't find information on in books or on the Internet. I've decided to compile a list throughout my pregnancy because one day when I'm done teaching, I'm going to get famous with this stuff! People will eat it up! (right????)

Cramping

• The week I found out I was pregnant, I had cramps like no other. I had only been off my birth control pills for a month (sorry if this is TMI) and figured I was about to start. However, I also did wonder if there could be a chance I was pregnant and began to research cramping with pregnancy.
• Well, the only thing I could find with this is that if you're pregnant and cramping, it is most likely a miscarriage. Great! Maybe I'm pregnant and this is it--now what? But...I didn't have any other symptoms, so I shrugged it off.
• Took my little home pregnancy test and what do you know? PREGNANT! Shocked, thrilled, scared to death! But why am I feeling cramps STILL?
• Call the doctor to get an appt, tell her that I'm cramping and her response is "Your uterus is expanding, so you might be feeling some pain due to that." That's it? That's the answer? Seems so simple now that I know it, but really...couldn't some book/website have told me that? I obviously wasn't typing in the correct words into the search engine!
• Good news: any time I feel anything...it's just the good ol' ute!

Red Dots

• TMI warning again! I read, and read, and read. And then, one day I woke up and noticed that one boob had a cluster of red dots on it. Now...I've read about seeing more blood vessels in your boobs due to the increased amounts of blood now flowing through my body to prepare for baby, but no book/website said anything about red dots.
• I even went so far as to call Jeff and ask if he happened to bite me and I just wasn't aware of it! (I know, I know....stupid! But...I just couldn't figure it out. I showed him when he got home and he acts all suave and tells me it's just the blood vessels--but I didn't believe him! So...on one of my calls to Courtney I mentioned it to her and she's like, "Yep...blood vessels." REALLY? Really?? (Notice I only believe a female who's been through this before!)
• So....for all of you out there who've never been through this....it's completely okay to see those red dots. They will eventually meld into who knows. My body is now a question for myself all over again!

Maternity Clothes

• LOVE them! I fought them and fought them and fought them and after buying my 1st pair of maternity jeans at 3 months I thought and thought and thought....what the heck was I waiting for?
• I'm mainly talking pants here b/c I have lots of shirts that are flowy, long, etc. and I was not in the need for those like I was for anything that did not button or push against my belly. Not that I'm growing that fast, but man...little Dickens DID NOT care for anything pushing against him/her! It got to a point that when I went to the bathroom, I could feel my stomach just sighing in relief because I'd unbuttoned!
• All maternity pants ARE NOT created equal! I have always had a tummy pooch and I absolutely hate the pants that sit below this area. I'm sure I'll re-think this when I'm at 9 months, but right now they just make me feel like an overweight junior high girl who's trying to fit her body into the "cool jeans" (oh wait....I think I actually WAS her years ago!!).
• The "Secret Fit Belly" actually makes me feel less fat! Depends on what top I'm wearing with it of course, but I actually feel like one of those half-way cute pregnant ladies I'm always jealous of. It's just like Stacey London and Bethenny say, "Fit and tailoring can make an outfit!" My "Secret Fit Belly" is my own version of maternity fit/tailoring!

Going to the Bathroom

• First of all, I go all the time now. This is coming from someone who goes 6 times a day: morning, conference period, lunch, after school, when get home, before bed. I'm lucky now if I get a full night's sleep without waking up to go to the bathroom!
• Smaller bladder??? Baby on bladder??? Both??? Probably so! All I know is that being a teacher teaches you to hold it. You don't always have the chance to squeeze through 300 pre-pubescent kids in the 5 minutes you have between class! Nowadays, if I wait too long, it takes me about 3 minutes to actually go to the restroom. Why you wonder? (Or maybe you just wonder why the heck I'm giving you all my personal info) It's got to be the position that baby is sitting in. I now get a "trickle, trickle, trickle" due to pregnancy instead of "whoosh". (Once again, had to confirm this with a few other mommies out there that yes, in fact, I am still normal....it just all has to do with the baby!)

This is Part 1. When more frustrating info comes up, I'll add to it. The ending frustration: most people don't want to share their "TMI" stories with you. Personally, I look on it as "helping me feel more normal" and would really appreciate it. Like I've said, there is a lot that no book/website tells you! However, I am glad to have signed up for all of the baby/body/pregnancy newsletters that now clutter my inbox. When I finally sit down to read them, they do help more than most books. I guess I'm one of those people that needs the information week by week--not in one setting.

That being said...if you have a list of advice or helpful hints of your own that you'd like to share with me, please feel free to send me an email with all of your "TMI"! I promise--I'll love it!