This week I’m doing a parenting series on things I wish someone had told me before I had kids.  (It’s possible that someone did indeed tell me these things and I just wasn’t listening.)  I do not claim to be a parenting expert (not even close), so take what I say with a grain of salt.  Everything you see here is based on my experiences.  Yours may be different…and if so, I’d love to hear about it!

Today I’ll be talking about the things that no one ever tells you about pregnancy, these things that you won’t find in the informative weekly prenatal newsletters you have delivered to your inbox.  (I’ve touched on some these before, but it’s been a while.)

• Your girly bits will never be the same.  (Go ahead and start preparing yourself now.)
• Neither will your boobs.
• You will probably pee on yourself.  Sometimes it’ll happen when you cough, other times it will just happen.
• Buy a Bella Band (or something comparable).
• And a body pillow.
• Research but don’t obsess.  About pregnancy symptoms.  What carseat to buy.  Cloth or disposable.  Epidural or drug-free.  Bottle or breast.  Just make a decision and run with it.
• Be prepared to buy bigger shoes.  My feet got fairly swollen during each pregnancy and grew and average of 1/2 size with each child.
• Follow the ‘rules’ if you want.  But don’t feel like eating soft cheese or lunch meat will automatically hurt your baby.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  I followed all the ‘rules’ with my first baby and he was born with 8 toes.  I didn’t worry about the ‘rules’ with the other pregnancies and they were fine.  That being said, use common sense!
• You will cry over the oddest things, get pissed off by things that normally make you happy, and periodically question your sanity.  Pregnancy hormones are cuh-ray-zee, not you.  Just stay aware of the fact that it’s the hormones and try not to freak out the people around you.
• Okay…well, maybe you are crazy.  But it’s only temporary.  And just being aware is half the battle.  Find a friend who can listen and share your crazy with them.  It makes it much easier to handle that way.
• If your symptoms don’t fit the books or don’t follow the timelines that you see online, don’t worry.  Every pregnancy is different.
• You are the perfect size and so is your baby bump.  Some people start showing when they are 10 weeks along and some people don’t show until well after 20 weeks.  Some people look like they are about to pop when they are only 30 weeks and others get to delivery day looking like they’re only a few months along.  Remember, every pregnancy is different.

What did I leave out?  I’m sure there are tons of things that I’ve forgotten!  What surprised you about pregnancy?