Pregnancy symptoms: It’s not all glowing skin
“Pregnancy Symptoms – It’s Not All Glowing Skin” is a guest post by Kell Kelly at All Mum Said.
You hear all the time how amazing pregnancy is. And don’t get me wrong, it can be. It can be such an incredible experience.
But what about when it’s not? What about when your pregnancy side effects put a hindrance on being able to enjoy those ‘glorious’ nine months?
You expect pregnancy symptoms but…
The moment you find out you are expecting, you begin to notice symptoms that you would have typically overlooked. Increased urinating, tender breasts, nausea and fatigue are common symptoms but what about the others? What about the side effects that have long lasting impressions?
Stretchmarks
You know stretchmarks are a possibility but in the back of your mind you are hoping you are one of the lucky ones that don’t have a tiger stripe in sight. Unfortunately for some, a stretchmark covered belly is just a reality of pregnancy.
For me, and I know this isn’t the case for everyone, my stomach is an abstract piece of stretchmarks from well above my belly button to my pubic bone. I was quite small framed before I had my first child, my body did not handle being stretched to accommodate a 9 pound baby.
I have four children now, with my eldest aged 10 so I have grown to accept my stretchmarks. I don’t love them but I definitely don’t hate them. I don’t feel that pride some women do about their stretchmarks but I am proud that I was able to provide a safe place to grow those perfect little babies.
The flap
I’ll be honest, I never really gave much thought to what would happen to my body after my baby was born. I knew it wouldn’t be the same but I never anticipated my baby being delivered by caesarean section, leaving me with the ‘apron’. I never even knew the ‘apron’ was even a thing until after I had my son. I knew my body had stretched a lot but it never crossed my mind that I would have this flap of excess skin that would never go away.
I have four children and to this day, the apron stares back at me. We are not friends but we co-exist in peace.
Varicose veins
If you are lucky enough to escape the wrath of varicose veins, be so very grateful. These veins vary in their degree of pain and discomfort. Yes they can be unsightly but more than that, they can be extremely painful.
I never had varicose veins with my first two pregnancies but I discovered very early on with my third how uncomfortable they can be. Compression stocking are good for reducing the pain but you need to put them on when you first wake up. Unfortunately varicose veins, just like stretchmarks, once you have them they are there for life.
Right about now you are probably thinking this woman really doesn’t see any positives to being pregnant. By reading my article and points above, I can see how you would come to that conclusion however I loved being pregnant. For the most part anyway.
I just want women to know that if they are pregnant, they could experience these unfortunate pregnancy symptoms just like I did and for those that already have, you aren’t alone!
About Kell
Kell can be found over at All Mum Said delivering an honest account of life as a time-poor mum, hilarious parenting fails and everything else that motherhood entails. The mama bear in her looks after her readers by ensuring there is fresh and exciting content and a great range of reviews and giveaways for her fans.
You can also follow Kell on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Some of Kell’s favourite products are from the BabyBjorn range. You can read her reviews on them here:
BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light
BabyBjorn Carrier We Air
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