Okay...tell me about the lasting physical repercussions of pregnancy...

[ohiomom28]

Well, I can't prove it, but I think my gallbladder needed to come because of my children!

Me too! Although I had one attack before I got pregnant but didn't know what it was. They started within 2 weeks after giving birth and I had it out when my son was 2 months old.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

I have a weird one - while pregnant I couldn't wear earrings without my ears getting infected and even now I can only wear gold earrings and I never had a problem before getting pregnant.

I also have some loose skin on my lower tummy that I would need a tummy tuck to get rid of and my feet are slightly longer and slightly wider.

All of it is so worth it though.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well, I can't prove it, but I think my gallbladder needed to come because of my children!

My DSisIL insists the same thing!

 

[Piecey]

C-section scar and I had to get my gallbladder out. Apparently pregnancy is hard on a gallbladder and I had mine out a few weeks after delivery because I developed stones during pregnancy that caused really bad attacks.

Other than that, I've got a road map belly from stretch marks.

I also get really sick sometimes for no apparent reason. There is no correlation between the things that I eat/do when I get sick.. I just get sick.
Not sure whether to blame it on the c-section or the gallbladder surgery yet. lol.

 

[minnie1012]

i thought i was the only person who had a problem with taking vitamins!! they make my stomach a complete knot. i've tried taking B, C, and D vitamins and everytime they give me horrible stomach problems! glad to know i'm not the only one who has that!

Me too! Most vitamins make me nauseous! I take Flinstones and they are yummy!

 

[princessbride6205]

Cavities - I had never had one in my life and at my first dentist appt after birth, I had three! Dentist said this is indeed related to changes in your saliva during pregnancy as well as morning sickness damaging the teeth.

I had a superhuman sense of smell during pregnancy, and it never went away.

Teeny skin tags around shoulders and br**sts. My girls are super flabby and stretch marks galore on them.

I too never felt like I was glowing during pregnancy. I vomited, retained an insane amount of water, had hip and back pain. There is a silver lining though. Compared to all that, I thought the actual birth wasn't so bad! I would totally go through the birth experience again if I didn't have to be pregnant for 40 weeks!

 

[ogreenlee]

feet are wider and longer. couldn't wear any of my old shoes except flip-flops and sandals.

bladder control when i sneeze or cough really hard.

the tiger claw marks on my lower abs also with the belly flab.

Hair was Asian straight, and now it's curly Q.

Bewbs aren't quite what they used to be.


Uh.. yeah.. totally worth it.

No really... it is.

I think.

Yeah, it is.

 

[ginna74]

Cavities - I had never had one in my life and at my first dentist appt after birth, I had three! Dentist said this is indeed related to changes in your saliva during pregnancy as well as morning sickness damaging the teeth.

I had a superhuman sense of smell during pregnancy, and it never went away.

Teeny skin tags around shoulders and br**sts. My girls are super flabby and stretch marks galore on them.

I too never felt like I was glowing during pregnancy. I vomited, retained an insane amount of water, had hip and back pain. There is a silver lining though. Compared to all that, I thought the actual birth wasn't so bad! I would totally go through the birth experience again if I didn't have to be pregnant for 40 weeks!

I still have that as well!!!! Other then everything being stretched as someone said, nothing else really.

 

[2binak]

I've had 2 pregnancies. I had my gallbladder removed after my first pregnancy and I have a c-section scar from my 2nd pregnancy. TRIGGERS - we lost our first baby to a fatal birth defect when I was 20 week along. 5 months later, I was pregnant again, so I was pregnant for 14 out of 19 months. I was back to my pre-baby weight and wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans within 6 weeks of giving birth to our 2nd baby. I had a little pooch of a belly though.

I also felt nauseous from the time I woke up until I went to sleep every day of the first trimester of both pregnancies. In my 2nd trimester, I was at the gym 2-3 days a week, riding the stationery bike & using the eliptical. During my 2nd pregnancy, I also took a yoga class until I was 8 months along.

I hope the next 2 trimesters go much better for you! If you can get to a gym or ride a stationery bike, that would be a great help. The better shape you're in before delivery, the better delivery & recovery you'll have.

 

[bumbershoot]

Besides, of course, the presence of a new child at the end. I know you Disers love an easy joke.

Seriously, folks, this is my first pregnancy, and I've felt pretty awful since the very beginning. Nonstop nausea, persistent queasiness, intermittent vomiting and lack of appetite for anything that's not bland since less than four weeks along that has required two prescriptions to get under control. Despite that, I have to eat about every three hours or I can't focus at work due to hunger pangs that will not be ignored. Heartburn after pretty much anything I eat and often for no reason at all. Last night I drank a Diet Dr Pepper too close to bed, and I woke up literally every hour on the hour paying for that one...not that it matters too much since I sleep so lightly and poorly now and always feel run-down. I can nap on command now. And I'm only about 13 weeks along! Really, the only upside I've experienced so far is that my skin (though never bad) has been remarkably clear despite the fact I do nothing but wash and moisturize, using no "treatment" products since so much is unsafe and I haven't really had the energy to care anyway. I feel like my body has been taken over by this little alien baby that just likes messing with me from the inside out - even sneezing hurts and feels different than before.

So, this whole time, what's been getting me through has been to tell myself, "In xxx days, it'll all be over and I will feel like myself again." But a little bit ago it dawned on me - sometimes I hear women say things like "Ever since my pregnancy, xyz has never been the same or xyz always happens." Now I'm starting to get worried...ladies (or folks with experience), tell me what about you changed, what symptoms persisted, what was never quite the same after pregnancy? I'm aware of the obvious issues of baby weight and, um, relocation and reshaping of body parts due to various things like breastfeeding (though I do plan to formula feed). Do you have any lasting physical repercussions or did you really just feel like yourself again after a healing period?

I have never been able to really enjoy tomatoes again. They tend to taste like fish to me now.

I play with my food in ways I started while pg; I pull the top of hamburger (well, veggieburger, LOL) buns half the time and I don't know why. I cannot stand cheese when it's started to get hard after being melted; that started while pg...I actually had a meltdown once when hubby brought me to-go enchiladas and the cheese was congealing...I'm not that bad anymore, but I do have to eat Mexican food a bit faster while it's still melty.

My joints "went" only a few months in, and it took probably 2 years to feel like my joints were really back in place and together.


Other than that...the thing with changes is that...at the same time you're going through pregnancy and dealing with the new baby...you're also getting older. So a lot of the things you will just never know what the cause is.

 

[bumbershoot]

OH, and for a long time I called the baby "kudzu", because it felt like a parasite had taken up residence. Took all my energy, every drop of it.

I'd love to feel that way again and glory in my misery this time!

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

I have only had one pregnancy so far but here is my list:
Stretch marks (some that had faded from childhood reappeared with a vengence)
Belly flab (had a hard time getting pregnant and gained weight because of fertility drugs so I am still working to get the weight off)
BAD PMS (even with being back on birth control pills)
Motion sickness

All in all nothing to bad. I would go through everything again...even the 16 hours of labor...to have my Son.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I've got the stretch marks and much of the other usual physical stuff, but the one that bothers me the most is the low blood sugar issues I have now.

It started when I was pregnant. The *instant* I got hungry, I was rock-bottom low blood sugar, and throwing up. I absolutely hated being pregnant! I didn't understand what hopoglycemia was at the time, not until a few years later. I wish I was more knowledgeable about it, I would have made better food choices, and probably felt a lot better.

I still have low blood sugar issues, but not nearly as bad as when I was pg. I've been tested for hypoglycemia, which I don't have, so my Dr said I have "hypoglycemic reactions" that are triggered by the foods I eat. I have learned to keep it level with lots of protein and fiber, and limiting my sugar and carbs.

I never had this problem before I got pg, but then again, I think I might have done it to myself because I was really underweight when I got pg, and didn't know how to eat healthy AT ALL.

 

[Kimberly815]

I feel pretty much the same as before. I have a C-section scar. I have been having a bit of an issue with indigestion which is likely tied to my gall bladder. But nothing terrible (yet, at least!). My doctor said it is very common for recently pregnant women to have it, and my gall bladder may eventually have to come out.

 

[phragmipedium]

I've got the stretch marks and much of the other usual physical stuff, but the one that bothers me the most is the low blood sugar issues I have now.

It started when I was pregnant. The *instant* I got hungry, I was rock-bottom low blood sugar, and throwing up. I absolutely hated being pregnant! I didn't understand what hopoglycemia was at the time, not until a few years later. I wish I was more knowledgeable about it, I would have made better food choices, and probably felt a lot better.

I still have low blood sugar issues, but not nearly as bad as when I was pg. I've been tested for hypoglycemia, which I don't have, so my Dr said I have "hypoglycemic reactions" that are triggered by the foods I eat. I have learned to keep it level with lots of protein and fiber, and limiting my sugar and carbs.

I never had this problem before I got pg, but then again, I think I might have done it to myself because I was really underweight when I got pg, and didn't know how to eat healthy AT ALL.

Very interesting. Of course I've felt hunger pangs before being pregnant, but now that I am pregnant, the hunger pangs are so intense and I *have* to eat right away or I do feel queasy and sick. I also have to eat about every three hours, which I never had to do before. I've lost about 7 pounds since getting pregnant, but the dr says it's okay - I was really sick at first, and I wasn't rail thin so I'm not underweight or anything, and I have a feeling that will start to climb now. But I didn't have the best eating habits, and in the first couple weeks of pregnancy I tried to eat really well but since morning sickness kicked in I have eaten what sounds good when it sounds good and counted my blessings if it went down and stayed down, whatever it was.

On the upside, today's the first day I've been able to skip an anti-nausea pill without getting queasy or sick. I also have a cold so I don't know if that is affecting it at all, but I'm at 13.5 weeks so it's possible I'm coming out of those early stages. I hope so. I've been really fearful that I'd feel this sick all the way through like some women and it's very overwhelming. For someone normally quite healthy, it has been very challenging to feel sick to my stomach all the time and all I've want to do is lay on the couch.

For the person who mentioned vitamins making them sick - sometimes it's the iron in a multi, but sometimes I think it's something in the pills themselves that does it to my stomach. I have a very hard time keeping vitamins down, even with a meal or at bedtime and they make me feel really sick. Check out VitaFusion gummy vitamins - they make multis and several other "blends" and they taste so good, like really good fruit snacks, that you will wish you could have more than your daily recommendation. The Vitamin C ones are especially good!

Anyway, thanks everyone for all of your stories. Glad to hear it's all worth it in the end and that not everyone else is the glowing pregnant woman you may have expected to be (like I did).

 

[staley7580]

6-7 hours isn't long, imo. i just hear all these people talk about "20+ hours of labor" and i would be in rare form of that happened to me, i know it right now lol.

twins run on both sides of my DH's family, and on my father's side of the family......so everyone thinks that when we do start having kids, that we'll probably have a set of twins

I wouldnt worry to much! Twins come from the mothers side of the family.. It has something to do with having a history of dropping more then one egg at a time. There is a more scientific explanation, obviously!! Not that it mattered in my case! No twins anywhere.. But in MY house!

 

[AustinTink]

6-7 hours isn't long, imo. i just hear all these people talk about "20+ hours of labor" and i would be in rare form of that happened to me, i know it right now lol.

21 hours of labor for me!! The first 17 were without any drugs whatsoever. Then I hit my breaking point and said bring them on!

 

[IHeartTink04]

I just had a baby two months ago and so far the thing that has stuck around is a terrible back ache and I'm not sure if it's from the epidural or carrying around a 15 pound baby!

 

[AnnetteF]

I had my daughter at 40 and that was my one and only pregnancy, and the symptoms you are experiencing now sound identical to mine. I'm sorry to tell you that, for me, most of the pregnancy was that way. Vomiting every day, food aversions, but a constant necessity to eat something. One thing that really worked for me was drinking a Coke at room temperature. It always seemed to settle my stomach and I was actually able to eat something and enjoy it (it took me a while to figure this out, though, and what worked for me may not work for you, but it might be worth a try). I also found that drinking any cold beverage would make me feel sick.

Anyway, aside from all that it was a very uneventful pregnancy, with the exception of a c-section at the end. Of course the recovery from that was more difficult, but I remember waking up one morning about 2 months after my baby was born and realizing that I FELT WONDERFUL. I mean physically wonderful. My baby weight also came off effortlessly without my even trying to lose it - and then some. The only thing I was left with was the scar but even that was amazingly small and hardly noticeable.

As I said, everyone is different. I know this is miserable now, but it will be worth it in the end. As your pregnancy goes on, you will find ways to deal with your symptoms. Think positive - you may not have any lasting physical effects from it.

Congratulations!

 

[Becky2005]

is the whole "being in labor" thing taking so long.

And that is just like everything else with pregnancy -- you never know until it's happening -- you could do like I did with baby #2 -- got to the hospital & he was born 45 minutes later...I was not so smart -- I was waiting at home until my water broke even though I had some intense pain...good thing I didn't wait any longer.

My theory was my first took 3 hours from the time my water broke until the time she was born & frankly I *barely* had any pain until my water broke with her. Sooo...my thinking was "I will have 3 hours AFTER my water breaks, no sense in going to the hospital before that"...so I was trying to tough it out until my water broke....Thank goodness for the pain because I would have been having a completely unintentional home birth had my water broke...he pretty much shot out when my water broke.

I've had 4 pregnancies and frankly, I STILL couldn't even tell you how long I was in labor for, I'm assuming I was in labor with my first before I got to the hospital since I was at 4 cm (my magic #, I was at 4 cm with every single kid & totally different timing of going to the hospital). I wasn't even sure I was in labor when I called, told me to rest but then my water broke...made it pretty obvious at that point. I know you hear the horror stories of forever in labor & I seriously thought there was a MAJOR problem since it had only been a couple hours (for that matter the nurses didn't believe me when I thought things were speeding up -- until they took a look, ran out of the room while saying "I'm going to call the doctor again"). Nobody ever told me that it was entirely possible to have fast labor with your first baby.

By baby #3 & #4 -- they never even ASKED me any information -- I would give my name when calling the doctor with "I think I'm in labor" and the answer I got was "go to the hospital NOW"... My first they asked me how far apart contractions were, a bunch of other questions, told me to relax until they were X apart, etc... what a change from baby #1 to baby #4. I think #4 was the longest at probably maybe 5-6 hours but that's only because I went in MUCH earlier than I really needed to due to my history...I wasn't about to have the baby in the car on the way to the hospital scenerio.