Baby Making

Pregnancy brings a lot of changes into your life; you not only have to deal with emotional changes you also have physical changes happening to your body. The physical changes your body goes through are all temporary; once your baby is born your body will slowly begin to return to the way it was before you got pregnant. Each pregnant woman experiences different physical changes, some women go their entire pregnancy and never really experience any of these changes, while some women deal with them all, it just depends on the woman. If you do however experience a change in your body during your pregnancy that you are concerned about, do not hesitate to contact your doctor, after all, you do know your body the best. 

Groin Discomfort

As your body adjusts to accommodate carrying your baby’s weight and growing uterus, the ligaments that hold your uterus in place begin to stretch. Some women describe the stretching of the ligaments as a pulling sensation others describe it as a sharp stabbing pain that can be felt in the groin or lower back. If this is your first pregnancy you may start to feel your ligaments start to stretch as early as 12 weeks, this is normal, by 12 weeks your uterus has grown to be too big to fit within the confines of your pelvis, so your ligaments must stretch to be able to support it and your baby, as they grow and fill out your tummy. As your uterus expands to accommodate your growing baby, you may feel more and more discomfort in your groin, and the heavier your baby gets the more your ligaments will stretch to support the extra weight of your growing baby and uterus. 

Lower Back Pain

As your pregnancy progresses you will begin to carry more and more weight out in front of you, this will add stress to your lower back and spine. Your back in normally in an “S” shape, during pregnancy the shape of your spine becomes more prominent which results in more pressure on your lower back. If you find that you are experiencing an increased pain in everyday activities, try and make sure that you sit, stand, and walk straight, don’t hunch your back, as this will only add to your discomfort. If after correcting the way you sit, stand, and walk still does not provide relief, there are products out there that you can buy called belly supports, these will help support the extra weight you are carrying out front and straighten your back into the right position.

Frequent Urination

It seems like you’ve got to go to the bathroom all the time and it usually happens at the most inopportune time. As your baby grows and your uterus expands it creates added pressure on your bladder, during the first trimester it not really so bad, you notice that you have to go more often, but it’s not the sudden urge you get later on during the third trimester when you have a baby practicing their kicks and punches on your bladder. It is recommended that when you feel that you have to urinate that you do so, trying to hold it can lead to the creation of a bladder or urinary tract infection, which can cause complications for your pregnancy. 

Swelling of the Ankles, Feet and Stuffy Nose

During pregnancy you may find that your feet and ankles get swollen often and that your nose is always stuffed up. This is because your body is producing extra fluid as well as retaining it. The extra fluid is in part so that there is always plenty of amniotic fluid around the baby, the reason it ends up in your feet and ankles is because of gravity, you could be retaining even more fluid if your diet is high in sodium or salt. To alleviate the swelling put your feet up on a couple of pillows, so they are higher than your heart, this will help circulate blood flow to your legs and feet and get that extra fluid in them dispersed to other parts of your body; don’t sit or stand for longer than 30 minutes at a time then take a little break.

The reason for your constant stuffy nose is hormones; they are creating an increase in blood flow to all the mucous membranes in your body. The stuffiness, unfortunately, will only get worse as your pregnancy progresses, this is because your baby is getting bigger and will require more blood which will kick your hormones into producing more blood causing your mucous membranes to swell. If the nasal congestion gets to the point where you can’t stand it, stay away from antihistamines, stick to saline nose sprays, nasal strips, or use a humidifier in your room and some petroleum jelly around your nose to quell the dryness that comes with the congestion.

Weird Dreams

You wake up in the middle of the night with contractions; you wake your husband and rush to the hospital. Once you are at the hospital everything goes so fast, you deliver your baby but the nurses rush them off before you get a chance to see them. Everyone is telling you that your baby is perfect, looks just like you. Finally the nurse places your swaddled baby in your arms; you pull the blanket back to get your first glimpse you’re your child, only to reveal an alien baby with 5 eyes and tentacles. Wait a minute, whew, it was only a dream; maybe your dreams aren’t as vivid as this, but it’s possible that you have been having some pretty weird dreams lately. It’s nothing to worry about, just about every pregnant woman has dreams about the birth of their baby, what kind of parent you will be, and it’s just your subconscious working in over drive. The reason why you are suddenly remembering so many of your dreams is because your sleep pattern isn’t what it used to be, having to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, or turn over to get into a more comfortable position, it all interrupts your dream cycle. Don’t fret too much about your dreams though, it’s a normal part of pregnancy, even expectant dads have weird dreams. You might find solace in talking about your weird dreams with your husband, who knows; together you might make the next hit Sci-Fi.

Can’t Catch Your Breath

This change in your body is due yet again to hormones and your ever growing uterus and baby. As you get closer to your baby’s arrival your uterus will expand up leaving less and less room for your lungs to fully expand, during the second trimester your hormones will tell your body to start taking breaths that are deeper and closer together, which can leave you feeling winded just walking to the couch. During the third trimester your baby and uterus will start to take up more space in your body, pushing your other organs into some tight places. The good thing is though that your shortness of breath doesn’t affect your baby’s oxygen supply, the upside to all of this is that once your baby drops into your pelvis towards the last few weeks of your pregnancy, you will regain your ability to breathe. If you notice that your shortness of breathe is accompanied by blue lips or fingertip or you have a rapid pulse and chest pain, call your doctor immediately.

Acid Reflux and Heartburn

Hmm, maybe that last thing you were craving wasn’t the best thing to eat; now you’ve got a burning sensation in your chest and throat. It’s not that what you ate was necessarily bad for you, it’s just that your stomach doesn’t have as much room as it used to; and whatever the last thing you had to eat tipped the full scale for your stomach and got pushed back into your esophagus along with some stomach acid. If this is happening often to you, try eating smaller meals more frequently, and save the drinks for in-between meals, don’t lay down right after you eat; if you do lay down try laying on your right side and prop your head up on an extra pillow or two; keeping your head, and throat higher than your stomach can help keep that nasty stomach acid at bay.

Increase in Bust Size

It’s every man’s dream, to have a beautiful busty woman, but your sudden increase in bust size isn’t meant for your husband. As your baby grows your body prepares itself to be able to feed your baby, thus your breast grow in size to accommodate the milk that will one day flow through them to nourish your baby. When you get pregnant, your hormones kick in and start storing extra fat in your breast and pump up the blood flow to them, the hormones also start to make other changes in your chest, while not as noticeable, to prep you for breastfeeding. If you are early in your pregnancy you may not have noticed much change in your breast, not to worry you’ve got a ways to go; also don’t worry if you don’t grow much at all, the size of your breasts bear no weight on how your breastfeeding abilities will be once your baby arrives. Talk to your doctor or look for a lactation consultant, they can help put your mind at ease when it comes times to breastfeed.

Lightening

No, it’s not an electric storm, it the term used when your baby “drops” into your pelvis, and prepares for the trip down the birth canal. Some first time pregnancies will experience lightening anywhere from two to four weeks before delivery, later pregnancies usually don’t experience it until just before delivery, but this is not always the case. You don’t just suddenly notice that your baby has “dropped”, how you are carrying the baby plays a big roll on noticing, if you baby has been sitting up high you will definitely notice the change, but if your baby has been sitting low you are less likely to notice a difference in position. While lightening does mean that your little one will soon be making an appearance and you can breathe better, it also means that your baby is not resting more on your bladder, so you will be visiting the bathroom more often. But don’t let that get you down, lightening means that it’s only a short time before you get to hold your baby in your arms.