To future pregnant me.

I will apologize in advance for the rant that is about to ensue, but I need to write a note to my future self when I decide to plan for baby number two. I feel like pregnancy was always a little bit of a mystery for me, but one that I could easily see myself navigating through. I was wrong, this is not easy. Although I should be thanking my stars that I've had such an unremarkable pregnancy the past 8 months, there are still a few blips along the road that could have been a lot smoother had I been ready for them. So just in case I forget on the next go around, here are some things to keep in mind and take note of if and when I become pregnant again.

1. Metamucil doesn't help you poop, nothing will. For the first trimester and a half, you will be miserably bloated and uncomfortable. Drink a LOT of water, and try to get some fiber into every meal, but learn to deal with the fact that you will get stopped up. It goes away soon, don't fret too much.

2. Invest in some real maternity pants, shorts, or bottoms of any kind. When your pants are too tight, you will be in pain, and it will ruin most of the time spent out and about. So don't be cheap and invest in some good staple pieces that are comfortable. They not only save you money, but tears and ridiculous tantrums.

3. You will get lonely. They never tell you how lonely you will be. The friends that you see on a regular basis will start to diminish and act like nothing has changed. You will have to hear about how fun blahblah was and that it's too bad you couldn't go see blahblahblah, and you will just deal with it because you know it either wouldn't have been as fun as they thought it was or they didn't invite you to begin with. When you are no longer the life of the party, you stop getting invited.

4. So to fix the above issue, find a legitimate hobby or you will lose your mind. Reality TV and Facebook do not count as good time filler, and sometimes reading just reiterates how alone you feel, so find something (preferably active) to do with your off days. And stop bugging your boyfriend... he has actual work to do. 

5. Don't stop working out! You will get cellulite. Your thighs will start to touch. You will have non-baby related love handles showing up and your arms will move too much when you wave. Being pregnant doesn't give you the excuse to get lazy. It's healthy for you and for baby, mentally and physically, to get off your ass and at least go for a walk. If not, you'll get to the point I'm at- you hate the sight of your body and you're out of breath before you even make it to the seventh stair.

6. It's totally ok to cry. You will get weepy at the most random things, and (I hope this goes away when I'm not pregnant anymore) you will sob when you laugh too hard. And that is quite alright. You have a lot of hormones pulsing through your body, it's ok to feel a little overwhelmed. Don't be embarrassed and don't hide it from your loved ones, they will understand and might even be able to help soothe you.

7. There are a lot of aches and pains. You don't need to freak out if you sciatica starts acting up, or you start getting shooting pains down the sides of your abdomen, because that is all part of this miracle of life. When the baby kicks too hard, you will feel it in your cervix or hip bones or kidneys and you will make a ridiculous face and probably audibly show how much you dislike what is going on, and you will immediately think something is wrong. Nothing is wrong, the baby is just testing your love for her and you will deal with it after cursing her out and then you will smile when she wiggles back into her little ball and you realize it is all worth it. 

8. DON'T DRINK SODA, it will give you a UTI and they suck hard core. Honestly, try to stick with water or tea or coffee as long as you can. It's not even the UTI that hurts, its the pressure from the baby on your already inflamed bladder that will make you wince and tear up for a couple weeks and it isn't worth that delicious Pepsi that you want so badly. I promise.

9. Ask the doctor a million and one questions, she won't bat an eye and you'll feel a whole lot better about everything you are going through. Although I've gotten this far with keeping my mouth shut and just riding it out, I wish I would've talked to the doctor about so many things that would have eased my worries and eliminated unneeded stress. They went to school for a long time for a reason, they know what they're doing. (Also, side note, make sure to find a doctor that you like right off the bat. Don't switch mid pregnancy, it takes a lot of time and energy.)

10. Lastly, enjoy this whole experience. It is intense and scary and beautiful and it really does fly by. As much as I'm dying to meet our little girl and get this whole ordeal over with, I already know that I'm going to miss parts of it. Even with all the pain and energy you have to put into it, this is one of the most reflective and peaceful times of your life... take advantage of every moment. 

Tomorrow I will be 8 months along... I can't believe she is almost here.

[Week 31.6]