Most of my pregnancy symptoms did not present themselves the way I expected them to.

Fatigue

My very first symptom, about a week into my pregnancy, was EXTREME fatigue.  I remember waking up one morning and literally couldn’t get out of bed.  I had gotten mono a year prior, and this felt similar, but worse.  Luckily though, this only lasted a few days.

Tummy

The next symptom I noticed was that my tummy looked different.  This is when I realized I needed to take a pregnancy test.  This was week 4.

Morning Sickness

For some reason I always imagined that morning sickness consisted of mild nausea and occasionally throwing up.  In my mind, it would subside quickly each day and had a duration of a few short weeks. 

Blissful ignorance.

Little did I know that morning sickness can strike anytime, day or night.  It can be very debilitating, and sadly for some women it doesn’t go away until after delivery.

I started getting “morning” sickness about week 9.  My morning sickness would come everyday around dinner time.  Sometimes I could manage to eat dinner, sometimes I couldn’t eat anything, and sometimes I would eat and regret that terribly (yuck). 

Besides being miserable each evening, I was scared I would hurt my baby from violent retching or lack of nutrition.  Thank goodness though, our babies are safe through it all!

Looking back, even though the nausea was way worse than I expected, I was lucky.  If you have evening sickness like I did, the best plan of action is to grab a mild drink (I like white Gatorade) and a unisom, put on an audiobook, and go to bed.  This was my daily routine from about weeks 9 to 17.

My OB recommended taking unisom to ease the morning sickness, and for me it did wonders!  But it also helped me sleep…and sleeping off nausea makes it a bit easier to deal with.

Finally the nausea subsided, and my health and energy returned.  I had a lot of relief the rest of my second trimester. 

Note to future self: the second trimester is the time to do most of the baby prepping.  Seriously, take advantage of it!

Dizziness, etc.

Unfortunately, the second trimester whizzed by and the third trimester brought a bunch of new challenges.  While my back never hurt and I wasn’t plagued with hot flashes, I had plenty to complain about. 

Sitting in a car would make me feel dizzy and I almost passed out while driving.  My ribs felt broken from the constant pressure.  And no matter what position I tried (sitting, standing, or laying down) I could not get comfortable…

This was by far the “longest” part of my pregnancy.  My prevailing thought was “why the heck would anyone do this more than once?!?”  Haha.  But we get through it!

Symptoms I Didn’t Have

Besides never having a back ache and hot flashes, there were a few more typical symptoms I expected to have, but didn’t:

• Frequent urination
• Specific food cravings
• Food/smell aversions
• Mood swings
• Backache

Symptoms I Did Have

• Craving ice water
  • This one was a bit strange.  I have NEVER in my life craved water.  I don’t like it, so it’s hard for me to drink enough.  Ice water is especially bad, because the cold hurts my head.  But when I was pregnant I couldn’t get enough water.  And the colder, the better.
• BIG appetite (once the nausea passed)
• Feeling cold frequently
• Constant anxiety about keeping my baby safe

The Takeaway

If you Google ‘pregnancy symptoms’ you will find plenty of resources with fairly comprehensive lists.  If it’s a good resource it will also acknowledge that every pregnancy is different. 

EVERY PREGNANCY IS DIFFERENT.  Yes! 

Although you can read ’till your eyes fall out, resources can only give you a general idea (not an exact picture) of what being pregnant will be like for you.  Your pregnancy will be a totally unique experience.  Any subsequent pregnancies will also be unique.

Finally, being pregnant is HARD.  I’m not going to lie.  There were many times I was “done”.  But it also strengthens you.  It makes you better, stronger, more resilient, and patient.  It prepares you for being a mom.

Mama, you got this!  You really do!  And I promise the prize is totally, absolutely, 100% worth it!