Pregnancy: What's Unexpected

Hi GG

Having been 'wingman' to a friend of mine who was pregnant, I can +1 Oddity #3
It was like witnessing a miracle. It was a miracle.

I might have other comments later, but what's brimming me over is just how very, very happy I am for you .... for the both of you ... for all 2.5 of you ... and that, still fingers crossed, everything is going fine.

Take care

 

I've got one: for a few days after giving birth many women still look pregnant. Some look like they haven't even given birth yet. So, don't be thinking you're going to be wearing your favourite skinny jeans home from the hospital (not that you were).

 

As you get further down the road, people will come out of the woodwork with horror stories about problematic pregnancies. I don't know why people feel a need to scare the shit out of pregnant ladies; but I felt a need to drag several away from my wife.

 

If your hospital/doctor offers parenting classes, take them. There's lots of good info, including infant CPR, schedules, etc.

Babies love schedules and routine. They already have one of their own when they're born, only you don't know exactly what it is (actually you, the mom, has the closest guess but you won't know feedings). The first week, they will sleep a lot and you'll wonder what the big deal is. Then they'll "wake up", and life will change.

Expect lots of people in the delivery room, even if it's a low risk delivery. Minimum of you, dad, doctor and a nurse. For one of mine, there were 6 folks (baby doesn't count), but the other two had 10+. Don't freak out about it, just be prepared. They're there to help and/or learn.

 

My allergy to shellfish disappeared when I was preggie, I always tell people thats why I stopped at one, I love shrimp too much to want the allergy to come back lol I also lost my lactose intolerance.

 

Every woman experiences pregnancy slightly different. I also never had any morning sickness, desire to overeat or a loss of energy, though in the late stages I was dragging a bit .

What I didn't expect was the constant state of sexual arousal I found myself in at about 7 months which continued unabated until I delivered. Surely from the weight of the baby pressing down on my pubic region, which makes sense.

Do they talk about that in the book?

 

You wanted odd and unexpected.
I had plantar warts on the bottom of one of my feet. Hazard of being a barefooter. They went away and never returned without any treatment.
With my daughter I craved the color yellow.
I had very odd dreams, probably from anxiety. I really wanted my first child to be a boy, I knew he was a boy but as the due date got closer I wasn't so sure. I even almost got into a fist fight with another pregnant woman who said his ultrasound looked like a girl.
I shit you not, some of the baby's personality quirks will manifest while in utero. At the 5-month ultrasound my son was curious and then a smart ass. As a fetus he was very easy going and had no issues with being crushed or smooshed. As a teen he is very easy going but also a curious smart ass.
My daughter seemed claustrophobic; could not stand it if I leaned against anything and was crowning when I was dilated 8 centimeters(she was only 6lb very easy)did not like to be held and later tested within the Autism spectrum but very high functioning.

 

expect to change up to 7-8 nappies a day on some days. its 'cute' at first, but it really begins to grind on you after a while.

its been such a relief to get baby-lish out of his nappies. ive got another year or two before poo-lish finally decides to stop shitting in his nappies too.

 

Mrs. Levite is, of course, pregnant now-- just starting the eighth month.

Thing 1: Morning sickness is a fiction. It happens all the time. Mrs. Levite gets hers in the afternoons and evenings, and it won't stop. She has to take Zofran (a prescription anti-emetic) so that she can keep it down to barfing once a night, rather than several times a night.

Thing 2: Who knew about pregnancy sciatica?! The Mrs. has to wear a support belt that looks like a cross between a weightlifter's belt and a chastity belt just so she doesn't get excruciating, crippling pain from her hip down her leg.

I'm sure other weirdness will come along....

 

I never had allergies that I knew of in my life. That did not change until after baby #2. Within 6 months, I became allergic to both the indoors (dust mites/molds/ dander) and outdoors (trees, grass--anything that blows in the air). I'm a mess most of the time, never going anywhere without tissues. I conceived and gave birth and live in the Chicago area and when I travel elsewhere symptoms vary, with staying at a fairly remote part of south-central Ontario being the least symptomatic for me.

Just the same, I concur with rogue49: stress is not your friend.

Unexpected things happened at the delivery but I'm sticking to the Q in the OP unless directed otherwise. Pregnancy stories told to those that did not do the birthing can get really old, really fast.
--- merged: Oct 4, 2012 at 4:45 PM ---

 

Maybe some of you already know this (but just in case):
Your boobs are going to get really big and your husband is going to love it.

 

In line with Oddity #3, my wife was a lot hornier during the last two trimesters.

 

I lost three stone while pregnant on my first son from throwing up constantly. I was in a bikini at 6 months with a washboard stomach. People only believed I was pregnant because I kept shoving his ultrasound pic in their faces after I spectacularly threw up .

 

It isn't that odd to deliver at any time within two weeks of your delivery date on either side. In fact, delivering on your due date is pretty unlikely.

Sex identification via sonogram is far from foolproof. Maybe less so with the newer, higher definition machines.

Breastfeeding can be insanely frustrating and the evidence that it is better than formula is disproportionate to the amount of emphasis placed on breastfeeding's importance (in the US at least). Breast might be better than formula, but being white, middle class and having a college degree is more important than either. If you don't breastfeed (can't, won't) and have access to formula and clean drinking water, it is very unlikely that your child will suffer in any demonstrable way because of it.

 

According to my wife, the best thing about breastfeeding was that it is the only time in a woman's life where she can shed (rather than shrink) fat cells (short of lipposuction).

 

I'm trying to have a completely intellectual reaction to your statements Bodkin van Horn and yeah, you are entitled to your opinion but when you say this: 'Breast might be better than formula, but being white, middle class and having a college degree is more important than either,' I have to wonder WTF you are talking about.

Study after study after study, not to mention many years of simply observing the results of a breastfed versus bottle fed babies indicate still that 'breast is best.'
There are very good reasons that a woman begins to lactate upon giving birth.
I understand if the child physically cannot do it or the mother cannot for the same reason but I emphatically believe that if you are unwilling to breastfeed for at least 6 weeks then why in heaven's name do you want the moniker 'mother'?

Being a parent is all about sacrifice in the beginning.
Breastfeeding as noted, is time-consuming but it does not have to be 'insanely frustrating' unless you are ill-equipped to do it.

 

My wife loved being pregnant, experienced only the mildest morning sickness, got horny as hell during the middle months, never experienced weird cravings, and learned the most important lesson very well... when your contractions start in the middle of the night, DO NOT wake your husband; you have lots of time

Her first delivery was the hardest (not unusual I believe), and also the smallest of our 3 children, all of whom were large. Our youngest, my 6'0", 15 year-old daughter was by quite a bit the easiest delivery, and by a lot, the largest. Practice seems to make it easier, at least for some women

As for breastfeeding, be prepared for some frustration as both you and the baby are new to it. But do not get discouraged. Like many skills, especially essential ones, it is learned fairly quickly and almost universally. I'm not sure if the La Leche league is around in your area, but they have a lot of experience in the area, and can provide support and advice.