1. You will be emotional.

Your hormones are going up and down therefore you might feel happy one minute and cry next minute. You get upset by things that never worried you before. Your concentration level is falling and you might become very forgetful too. Emotional roller coaster is typical especially for the first trimester and it is an excuse for doing crazy things you’ve never done before. My doctor has told my husband during my first pregnancy visit that if he comes home one day and finds his playstation on a fire in the middle of the living room, he should just say “I know my darling, it’s all my fault.” And tidy up the mess. Don’t worry though, it will all get back to normal soon. Maybe after first 12 weeks of pregnancy, maybe when the baby comes. So tell your partner to be patient. You haven’t turned into this crazy …. something for good.

2. You’ll have a dog’s sense of smell.

Stronger sense of smell might be the first pregnancy sign you notice. Even though it might not click in your head just yet that you might be pregnant. It is a good enough reason to buy a pregnancy test. It’s scientifically proven that women develop stronger sense of smell when pregnant to protect their baby from danger, to avoid bad food, notice fire early etc. It can make your life very hard in early days when no one knows that you’re pregnant. Morning sickness can be triggered by strong perfumes or cigarette smoke. Ah well, there’s not much you can do about it, but again, it won’t last forever. You’ll get back to normal soon, I promise.

3. You will be tired, very tired. And uncomfortable too.

Every single task is much more difficult than ever before. You should slow down and get as much sleep as possible while you still can. Later in your pregnancy you will be up at night going to the bathroom, drinking water and it will be hard to find comfortable position to be able to sleep well. Week by week you will feel less like human and more like big elephant rolling around. Standing up from couch and tying your shoes will be real challenges in last trimester. If you do have people around willing to help, don’t be shy and ask for a favour. Enjoy this great feeling when someone else takes care of you. You will spend many weeks (months and years) taking care of someone else yourself later.

4. Your breasts will grow. Sometimes more than just one size.

Remember this weird feeling when you were a teenager and your breasts started to grow? Well, you will experience this feeling again. Starting at the very beginning of your pregnancy. Your body is preparing for breastfeeding, you might even experience leaking of colostrum (the first milk). It’s all normal part of pregnancy. Just make sure you wear comfortable bra and buy some breast pads in a pharmacy to keep your bra clean and dry if you’re experiencing the leaks.

5. Feeling your baby move is amazing.

To feel your baby kicking and moving inside of you is one of the most wonderful things you will ever feel. It’s like a miracle. You feel the closeness and connection to your baby even stronger once you start feeling movements. Yes, there is a living person in your belly. You can even get an idea about her/his personality, one thing that will never change in their life.

6. Being pregnant makes you curious and impatient.

You simply cannot wait to meet this little person. What will she look like? What about the hair, hands and feet? Sometimes you feel that you can’t wait any longer, you want to see her now. You want to get to know her. Hold her in your arms, kiss her forehead. Some parents love surprises and wait for the baby to be born to find out if it’s a girl or boy. Some others want to know as much as possible as soon as possible. They know the gender from 17 weeks onwards, they have 3D scans with lots of pictures and videos. This decisions are very personal and nobody should try to talk you into something you don’t want. Make sure you tell the staff in maternity hospital what your wishes are so they won’t ruin a surprise for you.

7. 30 minutes walk when pregnant is like 3 hours workout in a gym when not pregnant.

Amount of blood in your body raises by 50% when you’re pregnant. Your baby becomes number one priority for your body. All the nutrients are going to the baby first, you’re only getting “leftovers” – this is the reason you should eat well when pregnant. Your baby will get what he needs, it’s you who will miss out on vitamins and minerals when there’s not enough of them.

You’re doing everything for your baby, breathing, eating, removing waste products. Your body works much much harder than usual and it is very important to keep fit during pregnancy. You need to be prepared for labour as it is a hard work (that’s why it’s called “labour”) and you never know when it will start and how long it will take.

8. There IS a nesting phase in pregnancy.

Nesting when pregnant means cleaning the house like crazy and buying tons of new stuff you’ll probably never really need. Most women get this urge somewhere between second and third trimester. It is a clever way of nature telling us to get ready. It might not mean that you’ll be having your baby early, it’s just the way of getting ready when you still have energy to do something (the elephant feeling hasn’t kicked in fully yet).

9. Sex with pregnant woman feels weird for most men.

Ask your partner how does he feel about it. Or rather don’t if you don’t want to know 🙂 I heard they imagine poking the baby’s head or they feel like if someone (the baby) was watching you. One way or another, you can still enjoy it as much as you want before the baby comes. In case you don’t have any medical contraindications, of course.

10. Pregnancy makes you stronger.

One thing we all agree on is that pregnancy is not easy. It is a wonderful part of your life and all bad things you need to deal with will prepare you for what’s coming next. Having another human being fully dependent on you. Mums are strong. Often stronger than they think they are. And you’re one of them from the moment you’ve become pregnant.