Things that freaked you out when Pregnant?

[puffkin]

This is sort of inspired by another thread about strangers touching newborns.

I am 20 weeks pregnant with my first and I was wondering if others have been freaked out or bothered by certain things. My DH thinks I am nuts about some of these things and tells me to just get over it so I want to prove to him that there might possibly be others out there that feel the same way about this stuff. Mainly:

1. My size. I am just really starting to show now. I have always been normal sized (not overweight but not super skinny). I cannot stand the constant comments on my size from everyone and anyone. I know I am getting bigger. I don't need to be reminded about it. I know it is selfish, but I am not enjoying getting bigger. Why does everyone need to comment on my size?

2. Touching me. Ugh! I cannot stand that everyone thinks they have free reign to touch my stomach. No strangers yet....but it bothers me that family and friends think they can touch. I think I will really lose it if a stranger would try.

3. Maternity clothes. I refuse to buy anything that looks like a tent. Most of the stuff out there now adays isn't too bad, but it is really depressing to be in the stores trying to find clothes. I want it to be form fitting (but not too tight), work appropriate clothing. Not a tent! And why must every maternity top be cut down to your belly button. Some of us just aren't well endowed (even in pregnancy ). I have to wear a camisole under every maternity top in order to make it work appropriate.

That is about if for now. Anyone else have similar experiences or different ones to share?

 

[mommaU4]

When I was pregnant with my first I worked in a maternity store. So I got to hear everyone's complaints as well as go through it myself.

As far as the clothes go, there are very nice maternity clothes out there now. Motherhood Maternity, JCPenney, Pea in the Pod, even Target have some cute things. Hit their websites and I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Now regarding your size, I'm going to tell you what I always told my customers who complained about "getting fat". You are pregnant! Not fat. There is a huge difference. If you weren't putting on weight and growing in size then that would mean something was not right with the baby. Be proud of your size. Show off that belly. Pregnancy can be very sexy! Stop worrying, the weight will come off after you deliver (as long as your not gaining an unusual amount) and you'll have an amazing little miracle to show for it all.

Congrats and good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

By far the thing that freaked me out the most was the fact that I was having twins! Many people tell me they always wanted twins, but I can assure you I was never one of those people.

My size also scared me quite a bit. At birth the babies weighed 7lbs 4oz and 7lbs 10 oz so I was beyond huge, talk about comments and stares, LOL! But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Good luck with your pregnancy.

 

[missypie]

I got huge, so I looked like I was ready to deliver any minute from about 6 months on. I hated everybody's comments like "You mean you haven't had that baby yet." Two of the three kids were late...folks would call on the phone, I would answer, they would reply "Oh, I didnt' expect to get you." I hated that.

But as for freaking out: I read one of those "What your doctor doesn't tell you" books. It went into vivid detail about how and where the epidural is given and all the things that can go wrong. Completely freaked me out...but of course, not enough to keep me from begging for one!!!

Oh, by the way, exactly 13 years ago today, I gave birth to my lovely daughter (aka the Fattest Baby Ever Born) (She was 10 lbs. Her brother was 11 lbs but DD was just plain fatter.)

 

[NMAmy]

I'm going to share a little humiliating story with you just to make you feel better.

I was extremely thin when I got pregnant. I gained 55 pounds during my pregnancy and a big chunk of that was right at the beginning. My dr was not concerned because I was underweight to begin with but, frankly, it just freaked me out. I had never not been able to fit through something because I was too big--it was an eyeopener for me.

One day, late in my pregnancy, I went grocery shopping. This was in 1990--I had a T-Bird which was a two-door sedan with big long doors. Some yahoo parked too close to my car on the driver's side and I was too fat to fit into my own car. I couldn't get in the passenger side because I had a center console--I couldn't get over the console and under the steering wheel.

So, I just sat on the trunk of my car, crying my eyes out and waiting for that yahoo to come out and move their car. Feel better now?

I also used to cry every time I got a Victoria's Secret catalog in the mail--sure I would NEVER be able to wear anything sexy again. It was such a huge change for me to be so much bigger--I didn't deal with it well at all. I wanted to be a mom but I REALLY hated being pregnant and not just because of the weight gain. I hated everything about it. In fact, I was SO tickled when I went into labor that I giggled and laughed through most of that night!

The good news is that I did go back down to my normal size which was something I thought would never happen again.

 

[Microcell]

I was sensitive to smells! I am still freaked out because when I am pregnant this house has an "odor" to it, that I think is so rancid. I can only smell it when I am pregnant. My poor Dh went nuts because I begged him to clean every carpet in the house, and I could still smell it after all that cleaning! Now I fear every pregnant woman who enters knows the house smells!

 

[mickeyboat]

Two things really bothered me.

We had a tough time getting PG with Hannah, and I had lost two PG's before her, so I was paranoid that something bad was going to happen. I read every book I could get my hands on, including one which detailed all the things that could go wrong. Big mistake! I would consult that book after every twinge, and just know that something was wrong with the baby. I did deliver 6 weeks early after my water broke without explanation at 31 weeks, but Hannah is just fine today.

Now I am fertile myrtle and found myself PG again when Hannah was just four months old. (The girls are less than a year apart.) So I spent the entire PG with people asking me "haven't you figured out how that happened, yet?" and "are you insane?" Well, my family planning choices are none of your business.

If it makes you feel any better, I didn't gain a ton of weight with either PG (30lbs or so), but I lost it quickly after I delivered. Breast feeding really helped with that!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy. Try to enjoy it!

Denae

 

[mommaU4]

By far the thing that freaked me out the most was the fact that I was having twins! Many people tell me they always wanted twins, but I can assure you I was never one of those people.

I hear you! I had a DS and DD and then we decided to try for one more.
It wasn't working so I told DH if nothing happens this month then it wasn't meant to be and we'd stop. Well it happened in a big way.

My first Dr. appt. she did an internal ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay. I was only about 5 or 6 weeks. It was 2 days before X-mas and she smiles at me and says "What sort of a Christmas present do you want?"

Well, I'm just staring at her trying to figure out what the heck she's talking about because I know it's way to soon to tell the sex of the child. Then she says "There's 2. Your having twins!"

I said "What? No...... No no no no no. Are you sure?!" OMG it freaked me out! That meant I would have a 5 yr old, a 3 yr old and TWO newborns! But it all worked out and we truly were doubly blessed.
Just wanted to share.

 

[motherhen17404]

Smells bothered me when I was pregnant. I remember going grocery shopping and walking past the tuna cans. Just looking at the can and thinking of what tuna smelled like made me sick. My Dr. drank a lot of coffee, and I had to tell him to not bring his coffee in the room with him, or he could clean up the mess. I had a high risk pregancy so most everything freaked me out. I had 2 miscarriages before I had my son, so I was sure I was going to loose him too. Every ache and pain I freaked over.

I am a large size woman and I never did look pregnant, even at 9 months. But that did not stop my father from telling me how fat I was getting. I got the last laugh, I weighed the same for my first OB appt as the day I delivered! I never had to buy maternity outfits. But on the down side, when I was in labor, the ER did not want to admit me because they did not believe I was in labor. I thought for sure that DH was going to have to deliver me right there in the waiting room.

Please do not worry about getting bigger. That is baby in there not fat. You will get back to your regular size, just give yourself time.

 

[leighe]

:


3. Maternity clothes. I refuse to buy anything that looks like a tent. Most of the stuff out there now adays isn't too bad, but it is really depressing to be in the stores trying to find clothes. I want it to be form fitting (but not too tight), work appropriate clothing. Not a tent! And why must every maternity top be cut down to your belly button. Some of us just aren't well endowed (even in pregnancy ). I have to wear a camisole under every maternity top in order to make it work appropriate.

That is about if for now. Anyone else have similar experiences or different ones to share?

This is the bane of my existence right now! I am a teacher and have to put a camisole under everything because they are all cut so low. I cannot for the life of me imagine why! I hate spending money on maternity clothes but I also hate wearing the same thing over and over. I am 28 weeks now so I have given up buying new stuff and have appropriated DH's button downs for my own use. He's like, "Ew - don't get baby on them."

The left side of my left leg has been numb for almost a month now and I am sooooo sick of it! My doctor told me it's nothing to worry about but it is so annoying!

Also my kids at school informed me yesterday that I have started to waddle. And one boy said, "Before you were the hot teacher. Now you're the pregnant teacher." Um, thanks.

 

[Microcell]

I had numbness above my knee on my right side, and it took about six months after my births to go away, FYI.

 

[CathrynRose]

I was sensitive to smells! I am still freaked out because when I am pregnant this house has an "odor" to it, that I think is so rancid. I can only smell it when I am pregnant. My poor Dh went nuts because I begged him to clean every carpet in the house, and I could still smell it after all that cleaning! Now I fear every pregnant woman who enters knows the house smells!

Oh gawd - smells.... <gag!>

I could smell everything a hundred times stronger when I was pregnant.

And the thing that set me off? Flex Shampoo - I got the chills just thinking about it, and this was 14 years ago...YUCK! Oh yuck, yuck, yuck...

I had to buy unscented laundry soap, shampoo, soap....

Flex Shampoo - just the bottle would make me start gagging if I saw it at a store....

 

[Shannon G]

Oh, where to begin...

I was sick a lot in the first 4 months - more like 24 hour sickness, not morning sickness! One night DH came home and had picked up fast food on the way. He asked me if I wanted anything, and I said no. He then proceeded to start giving me a detailed list of what he had bought (I guess he was thinking that SOMETHING might sound good to me). As he was listing all of the food, I burst into tears and begged him to PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOD! I think that was the point where he started to realize how sick I really felt!

As for the poster who talked about people touching them - with some people it didn't bother me at all - my mom, my SIL, but I was ready to kill DH's stepmother. Not only did she constantly touch me (keep in mind I did not like her, or FIL, to begin with) but every time I saw her she would talk about "her baby" - like "How's my baby?" etc. I so badly wanted to feign surprise and say "Wow! You're pregnant too? Guess what DH - you're going to have a new baby and new sibling at the same time!!!" But I was good and bit my tongue!

 

[yeartolate]

That book "What to Expect when you are expecting"......


It made me think I was a bad mother before I even gave birth.

They had strong warnings against eating hot dogs. Hot dogs were my one serious pregnancy craving. I tried veggie dogs, tofu dogs, but they wouldn't satisfy my craving. I finally caved in at 6 months and had a hot dog. Despite poisoning myself at least once a week thereafter, I gave birth to a 9 pound two foot long baby boy who to this day rarely gets sick.


That book is probably a Godsend to some, but it was fear inducing to me.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

one time when about 8 months pregnant, we went to a Hardees and the only chairs they had were the swivel kind that are hooked onto the table. I couldn't fit in one....... I cried.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I was sensitive to smells! I am still freaked out because when I am pregnant this house has an "odor" to it, that I think is so rancid. I can only smell it when I am pregnant. My poor Dh went nuts because I begged him to clean every carpet in the house, and I could still smell it after all that cleaning! Now I fear every pregnant woman who enters knows the house smells!

I had that same problem. My kitchen smelled like sour apple juice the entire time I was pregnant.

 

[minkydog]

Oh gawd - smells.... <gag!>

I could smell everything a hundred times stronger when I was pregnant.

And the thing that set me off? Flex Shampoo - I got the chills just thinking about it, and this was 14 years ago...YUCK! Oh yuck, yuck, yuck...

I had to buy unscented laundry soap, shampoo, soap....

Flex Shampoo - just the bottle would make me start gagging if I saw it at a store....

Flex shampoo. I totally get this.

I was very sensitive to raw meat--couldn't look at it, couldn't smell it, and definitley couldn't cook it. I was never a big meat eater, but pregnancy nearly made me a vegetarian

 

[katerkat]

I worked in retail when I was pregnant, and I look younger than I am, and at 6 months my hands were too swollen to wear my wedding band. I found out some of our customers were asking if I was an unwed teenage mom.

Also, Russ dropped at 27 weeks so I waddled from there on out, and everyone thought I was a week away from delivering. No, no, two months to go, thanks for asking.

Oh, and then in my last week I went on prednisone for my PUPPPs and things just went nuts. Steriods + pregnancy = insane woman.