Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Pregnancy symptoms

OK, this can
probably be directed towards those of you who already have had children...
but my experience is limited


I am not really happy with the descriptions of pregnancy "symptoms" within fandom, generally a lot of stories cite Lois (or whoever) experiencing "flu-like" symptoms

My experience of the Flu (which I have had countless times) involves mainly head-aches and a congested nose, along with a fever if I got one
this does not really fit with my concept of symptoms experienced during the first trimester of pregnancy

I remember my mother being a bit tired, but mostly nauseous...
(although my youngest sibling is 13 and I was only 9 at the time so ...)

now I know that women have a wide variety of experiences as we are all a widely varied bunch... so I would love to find a whole range of experiences from all of you...

I also know that a lot of women LOVE to share their experiences. so I was hoping that I could use your passions for YOUR CHILDREN and your writing to help me out a little

I have read *Text Book* descriptions about *Possible varieties* of early pregnancy experiences... but these are so dispassionate that they almost makes them useless for my purposes (writing my own experimental fics)

I would be grateful for any opinions on the matter that any of you can offer
Yours, your wife's, girlfriend's, mother's, father's, aunt's, sister's.... any experiences described by you would be great,

(of course as I am currently studying bioethics)
I guarantee you my utmost degree of respect for confidentiality
I promise not to divulge to anyone any of the identifying information (names, and locations of pregnant women)

and would advise you that should you be sharing experiences not your-own, that you keep that information to yourself as no-one would want to be surfing the net to find private information shared in such a random place as this forum...
I have no way of telling who's experience it was (yours or your Uncle's boyfriend), and nor does it matter to me...

I am adding this note not to boost my post numbers, but to put an aside into the topic....

As I said before, I promise not to divulge any of the information given in good faith by the generous people writing in this topic


I do not promise, however, that I will produce a story for general readership within the forum. As I am heavily set in writing for a scientific audience, I am currently trying my hand at a lot of practice stories...

A lot are rewrites of your original plot ideas anyway, with my own touches added * (IE I do not use any of your words, but all my own, just your plots...), * and hence I feel it unethical (to say the least) to publish anything like that. these are mainly to help me practice character development... some only really go as far as rewrites of specific scenes...others may be rewrites of original fiction published by reputable authors with the characters replaced by our favourites... and yet others are rewrites of other television show episodes, or movies again with the characters replaced by L&C...

Copy-write issues set aside for now, these stories will most probably not see the light of publication even within this forum as they were intended as exercises, and I would much rather wait until I have something I really LOVE myself before I even dream of showing it to a beta...


Taking everything into account, your personal stories would be of great use to me literarily speaking (LOL pardon the pun, I meant in my literary development). And may or may not be used in publication only within this forum,
and should this happen it would be only after consultation with you, and after I receive your feedback so that I would only publish with your aproval...knowing my exact words beforehand...


Lenny Benny Canary
author of the longest asides, PS's and NOTE's in history...(the history of fandom at least)

I had the pretty typical symptoms: Extremely nauseus/queasy (as in all day 24/7 ALL 9 months!! Whoever called this morning sickness was deluding themselves!), and pretty tired (although I don't recall if that was during the 1st trimester as much as the 2nd and 3rd). But we had been trying for quite awhile, so were very much looking for any signs. I never really did the puking thing, nor had any significant cravings, but my eating patterns changed incredibly: didn't want to eat anything (in fact I lost 20 lbs the first trimester), and when I finally did, not much that I typically enjoyed tasted good. I ended up enjoying foods that I hadn't previously enjoyed (ham, shrimp). Saltines and pretzels were my constant companion from the moment I woke up (literally... they sat next to my bed) until I went to sleep...it was worse the 1st half of the pregnancy, but never really left until I gave birth.

It was the same for both pregnancies for me.

Hope this helps some!
Jo

The main thing that tipped me off to my second pregnancy was that I'd spent days feeling really horrible, nauseous & sick but *without* any cold symptoms. I could not stand *any* pressure around my waist, so pants got unbuttoned very early on.

I had "morning sickness" in the evenings. I'd be okay first thing, but start feeling queasy before lunch, and forget about dinner. I never knew how much I might be able to eat; somewhere along the way my stomach announced very clearly that if I took one more bite, it was all coming back up. I was also very sensitive to random smells, like peanuts.

Also, for first time pregnancies especially, certain baby-feeding parts of a woman's anatomy can get really sore and tender

PJ

I've never understood those people who go the whole nine months without realizing that they're pregnant. Personally, I had it figured out before I even missed my period (and we had only been married two months at the time and the LAST thing in the world I wanted was to have a baby). I'm really rather clueless most of the time - it takes a lot for me to sit up and take notice.

My husband and I were at the pool and I had challenged him to a race. It was unfair, because I had been on the swim team in high school and college and he had only a long ago stint in the Navy. I'd kicked his butt many times before but that morning my a** was dragging and I was overwhelmed before I'd even reached the middle of the pool. When I went to drag myself out of the pool I darn near fainted, I was so dizzy.

I told myself it was the flu. It was awfully close, but suddenly smells bothered me. My nose had become hypersensitive. I could smell the burning oil on the car's engine, someone cooking eggs next door and just walking into our local convenience store sent me running for the nearest garbage can to heave my guts out. I was working part-time at a bar and the combined smells of cigarette smoke and alcohol meant that I spent at least a portion of my shift in the bathroom. My breasts felt all swollen and tender. I was nauseated constantly - morning, noon and night.

After a week of that (and still a week away from being due for my next period), I took a home pregnancy test that came out positive. I went down to the Health Department and they tested me too. They didn't want to at first when I told them that I wasn't even late yet. But, son of a gun, their test showed positive too.

And that was it. I did get flu-like symptoms after a couple more weeks. I had a runny nose nearly the entire length of my pregnancy. I never get headaches, but I had them with frequency while I was pregnant. The second time I was pregnant (I miscarried) it started out the same way. I knew I was pregnant before I ever even missed my period, although I wasn't nearly as sick and horrified by odors the second time around. Just dizzy and vaguely nauseated with very tender breasts.

Hope that helps.

The first time I started getting nauseous and vomiting a few days before I found out, which was my biggest clue. The all day sickness lasted the first 4 months. It was pretty constant. Had a lot of headaches, aches and was definitely more sensitive to smells.

This time I was midly sick for the first 10 wks or so. I am always exhausted but that could be cause I'm chasing my toddler around all day. Lots of minor aches and pains. I also cannot stand any pressure on my stomach. It's really uncomfortable. Oh and did I mention the constant stuffed up nose? I had that last time too.

Jackie

Each time it happened to me (I've been pregnant six times, with twins the last time) I didn't notice anything at first except being very tired. Then, somewhere around six weeks, I began to notice that I was mildly nauseated most of the day. Riding in a car made me extremely motion sick unless I was driving. I only actually threw up once or twice, but I was usually nauseated just enough that nothing looked good when I went shopping for food, so usually grocery shopping was an abject failure unless I sent the husband. From the second month on, I had ferocious headaches that were caused, my doctor said, by hormones. After the fourth month those went away.

For the first two pregnancies the nausea lasted almost the entire time, letting up at maybe a couple of weeks prior to delivery. The remaining four lasted the traditional six weeks and then went away, at which time my appetite increased dramatically. My usual food craving for all of them was chocolate, except for a few incidents when I absolutely had to have chiliburgers. As for the stuffy nose: back then I usually had a stuffy nose anyway because I had hay fever a lot of the time, so it may or may not have affected me. I wouldn't have noticed. The thing I recall the most vividly was being tired all the time.

Nan

you are a brave and loving woman.


James

I had incredibly easy pregnancies. Mostly I was just tired, tired, tired during the first trimester. (And did I mention tired?) I had no nausea at all either time, though certain foods that I had formerly liked suddenly had very little appeal. I couldn't stand the thought of broccoli, for instance, whereas normally I like it. I also craved eggs, as did my sister. We both ate scrambled eggs practically every day for the whole nine months. No other weird cravings that I remember, though there were a few other foods besides broccoli that were on the banned food list. Now I can't remember what they were, though. I also remember some breast tenderness early on, but really, that's about it as far as symptoms go.

My first pregnancy occurred after several years of infertility, so I was seeing a doctor regularly and found out I was pregnant before I had any symptoms. My second pregnancy was a total surprise ("shock" might be a better word, actually) when the first baby was only seven months old. My first hint was when I carried him a long distance one day and had an unusual lower back ache. He was kind of a chunk, though, so I shrugged it off. A week or so later, though, I just knew. I can't tell you how since there weren't really any definite symptoms, but I was absolutely convinced I was pregnant and really only took the test to convince my husband. I just knew I wasn't the only one in my body anymore. I continued nursing my son through that second pregnancy, but I did have to supplement some with formula since the pregnancy hormones kind of play havoc with the nursing hormones. So I guess decreased milk production was a "symptom" of the second pregnancy.

Other than that, I coasted through both times with the tiredness early on being my only real symptom. I loved being pregnant .

Caroline

Both of my pregnancies were so different from each other. The first was the easiest. I had a lot of nausea with both in the first trimester. During my first pregnancy, I craved cheese early on, then suddenly one day I couldn't stand it. I wasn't able to eat cheese for the rest of my pregnancy. During the second pregnancy I had an aversion to Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, mostly the types of pop I drink on a regular basis. I was suddenly drinking grape soda (Yuck!). The second time around I had a lot of heart burn and hot flashes. The hot flashes were so bad that I would wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and have to change the sheets. I've heard that some women miss being pregnant after having their baby, that may have been a little true after my first child. But after I had my second child I was jumping for joy that it was over. My second pregnancy was the worst.

For me, the I had the nausea and tiredness right at the beginning - in fact, my friends and I joked that I either had the flu or I was pregnant. That lasted about a month - sensitive to smells and cranky as all get out (not a good combination when you work at a restaurant.)

After I got over that - I had incredible energy levels. We were living in an old house that we'd been upgrading and I went in and started on the baby's room - out to the studs and joists! My hubby had a hard time believing it - I was months away from nesting and still working!

Everybody had been telling me how tired I was going to get and that I should quit work - so I turned in my notice (every two weeks and then I'd take it back) I finally actually quit a month before my due date.

And just to let you know - doctors get seriously weirded out when the baby's late. Tests, more tests and tests to double check the first tests.
And mine just didn't seem to get it when I kept telling the poor kid (well, he WAS younger than me!) that the baby wasn't ready cause I hadn't started nesting.

Oh, my baby starts grad school in September.

LOL, cute...
HEY... "This Time" ????... congrats Jackie (I don't regularly check the off topic board so don't know if it is general knowledge or not...)


Dandello: This is because it can actually be dangerous for the child to be too far over the due date...
My cousin's aunt (if that makes sense, my mother's brother in-law's sister...) , whom I am not close to so I don't know much details, gave birth to a still born baby boy after the doctor's insisted her due dates were different (and they changed the estimation of the dates a couple of times). The simple answer is he was over cooked

Thanks to al of you already (I think it has only been 3 hours or so since I posted the question...)
I am actually surprised as to how many of you are reporting the stuffed up nose, because no-one I know had that and this was what confused me with the whole "Flu like symptoms" description... but not to say you are abnormal, just a new concept for me, that's all...

keep 'em coming please, the more people who write, the better my knowledge is, and I would bet that others may be able to benefit as-well...


To NAN: My mum had 9 pregnancies (I came 3rd)... I will never, ever, ever, tell anybody that I disagree with my mother's (and father's) decisions to give all 9 of us life...

I love all of my 6 brothers and 2 sisters equally, and could never choose between keeping one or another...

I am grateful to my parents for them all. Your decisions were equally brave (but so are these decisions made by all parents, of 1, 2 or 20 children), and as such I would love for you to receive this gratitude in leau of my parents

for it is very rare that any person could face the philosophical dilemmas involved in disagreeing with their parents' choices, and hence would find it equally difficult to broach the subject even in support of their parents...

from my experiences I love to think that every child mentioned in these posts loves their parents and siblings in the same way.....

Well, I'm on number 4 and everyone kept telling me it must be a boy b/c I was sicker, but I don't buy that.

The first time, I was tired. So very tired. I could sleep 14-15 hours at night and take a nap in the afternoon. Especially the first trimester, but throughout.

The second time, I was less tired, but slightly queasy from time to time - threw up once, but was sick too.

The third time, I was nauseous every evening. If I hadn't eaten dinner by 530 or so, I had to MAKE myself. I knew I wouldn't throw up, but ugh. And less tired.

This one... I've been VERY tired and have thrown up more than I care to think about [including last night... I'm 21 weeks people!]. Sometimes I'm nauseous and then... but mostly it's an EXTREMELY sensitive gag reflex. Even sitting wrong and make me start to heave sometimes. Either way, it hits at random times. I've only [officially] gained 5lbs with this one [wouldn't it be nice to get out of this with only 10lbs or so?!?!]. And the 'baby feeding body parts' are EXTREMELY tender.

The first sign I was pregnant with the last two was spotting. I'm very irregular and with #3, only about 9m post partum with only one real cycle. I started spotting, took a test, very faintly pregnant, blood test came back barely positive, blood test came back less positive and they said it was a miscarriage, blood test at follow up came back *more* positive and two weeks later saw a heartbeat. I was nauseous and extremely emotional that whole time, but I think that was at least partly due to stress. I'm convinced I lost a fraternal twin...

This one is giving me fits with... is it still PPD if you're pregnant again? And weird dreams. Crazy ones and trouble sleeping. Night sweats [not to the point of changing the sheets though], indigestion, ....

Ah the joys of pregnancy .
Carol
ETA: This time I've had a cough almost continuously. It started in Nov. and was finally diagnosed as bronchitis after I was pregnant but before I tested [but suspected so...]. It never went away and was diagnosed as 'almost bronchitis' again in Feb. Still have the cough, though it comes and goes now, instead of literally living on Robitusin and cough drops.

I have ZERO experience (and am thankful for it ), so I can't offer any practical info on the details, here. Besides, you're getting plenty of good advice on that from those in the know.

But I just wanted to say that I would imagine that when authors equate pregnancy symptoms to the flu, they are probably talking about stomach flu, (what we in the UK tend to call gastric flu) which does have the symptom of nausea/vomiting attached, rather than the coughing and sneezing version. Using that, I imagine, to confuse the issue and have Lois (and/or Clark or anyone else) assume that she's throwing up because of stomach flu and not realising she's pregnant till later.

It's a common plot device to muddle the pregnancy waters used in movies and TV shows, too, I've found. So not an uncommon red herring for authors to use.

Although, whether or not anyone in real life has ever confused the two is quite another matter.

LabRat

6 pregnancies, Nan?

No wonder you write Next-gen stories like the Dagger and Home series so well.

Did you base Lois' final pregnancy (and experiences with that) in the dagger series off your final one?

I think it's gone past "red herring" and right into "tired cliche" Anytime a female character feels sick (or faints), I'm convinced they're pregnant.

Btw, do people here have trouble with fainting? I only did once, with my first pregnancy -- I was eating New Year's Eve dinner at my in-law's house. *Big* party, ~50 people, family and corporate officers. I was 5 months along, so I thought I'd be okay, but while I was eating I realized it wasn't a good idea. I got up quickly to run for the bathroom, but the getting up part made my head swim, so it was a race to get to the bathroom before losing consciousness. I barely made it, and I think I puked & passed out pretty much simultaneously. Some ladies I didn't even know helped me clean up, and I spent the rest of the evening lying down.

Btw, for me, pregnancy puking is ... well, let's just say that before then, I'd never experienced projectile vomiting My *tongue* would hurt, after, from the strain. Seriously weird.

PJ
whose oldest "baby" just turned 10...

I didn't notice Heartburn anywhere but I skimmed so if it's been mentioned nevermind, but I had HEARTBURN so bad with my second pregnancy I often ended up throwing up, even if I hadn't eaten any thing.

My first pregnancy I got hot a lot right from the beginning. That's when my hubby would tell me I was "GLOWING", yeah, from like a billion degree temperature!

To beethoven,

It was never a question of loving my kids, although I could tell you some hair-raising stories ...

The middle one was the biggest handful -- she rebelled against everything and fought the rules we laid down tooth and nail. To escape her oppressive parents, she enlisted at 17 in the Marines. By the time she graduated, of course, she was eighteen, and then found out what real discipline was. Interestingly, she re-enlisted at the end of her hitch, and finally left after a total of seven years. She's married to a Marine, and they have 2 kids of their own.

Fortunately, no one ever criticized us for not considering an abortion, even when I turned up pregnant with twins at 38. If they had, they'd have gotten an earful, as I'm sure they knew. Those twins graduated from high school last June, and now I spend 3 days a week watching my oldest daughter's kids, also a boy and a girl, while their mom and dad work.

No, Woody, I didn't base what happened to Lois on my last pregnancy. The idea hit me when I was writing the story because of that scene where Lois is dreaming about dozens of kids while she's trying to interview Queen Elizabeth and the Pope and the kids are multiplying geometrically. I had almost no trouble with my twins. I looked like an elephant, and my feet hurt a lot, but other than that, no trouble. They were born 4 and a half weeks early, which isn't unusual, and they didn't even have to stay in the hospital. They were 6 pounds 2 ounces and 5 pounds 4 ounces respectively, and gave me less trouble than some of their older siblings. We even went to Disneyland when I was six months along, and except for the fact that I wasn't allowed on any of the really fun rides, I had a great time.

On the other hand, now you probably know why I picked my sig line.

Nan

PS: And no, Pam, the only time I ever fainted in my life was when a cat bit through my thumb nail. And I wasn't pregnant at the time. <g>

Some previous threads which may be of interest:

Pregnancy complications

Morning sickness

Everything other than morning sickness

Are you pregnant?

Pregnancy and the indicators of

My sister-in-law did. She had low blood pressure for most of her pregnancy. She ended up wearing support hose a lot, and having to sit down in her job because she was told to stay off her feet. During their wedding (can you guess why they got married? ), fainting was a big worry. Luckily she got through it.

As for cravings, my mom craved crunchy foods when she was pregnant with me. The crunchier, the better. Luckily, Doritos had JUST come out.

I don't have any pregnancy stories myself, but give me a few years...

Beethoven,

Hm. Let's see. I had no symptoms except a missed period. I p**d on the stick, it came back negative. Finally called my doctor and had a blood test, I was 2 months pregnant already. I had an incredible energy, kind of like Dandello. I never had nausea, I had some mild tenderness in the baby feeding body parts (but that wasn't unusual during certain times of the month), and I craved hard-boiled eggs. I did get heartburn really bad once, (so sorry you did, too, shimauma) when I was 5 months along, so I just started eating 6 small meals throughout the day.

I did have an increased sense of taste, though. Not so much the smell, but the taste and texture of foods was something I was very sensitive about. I couldn't stand yogurt with fruit in it for some reason. Plain yogurt, flavored but with no bits it, but not with bits. Ugh!

I do agree with Sue and Caroline - I KNEW when I was pregnant.

However, before anyone throws rotten tomatoes at me for the lack of nausea, I made up for that on the other end. Like Carolm, I suffered from post-partum depression and it was worse after each pregnancy. My kids are 10, 7, and 5, with only 18 months between the younger two. I've only (finally) kicked the last of the depression this past fall (sept/oct 2006). There's nothing worse than having a disease that doesn't show and affects your mental abilities, which affects your social and behavioral abilities. And yes, Carolm, it counts as PPD even if you're pregnant again. I hope you don't get hit with the huge whammy I did after the second birth. Talk about falling off a cliff...

Funny thing was, I never, once, in all four of my pregnancies, ever showed positive on the p** test. Ever. My second pregnancy ended in an 9 week miscarriage, and initially the emergency room refused to believe I was pregnant because the p** test was negative. My husband got big and bad and made them give me a blood test, which showed, of course, that yes I was pregnant. I required 4 units of blood during surgery. That took me a while to recover from.

So not everyone reacts the same. The infinite variation of the human race is absolutely amazing.

I hope this helps, Beethoven.

mmouse

EDIT One weird symptom I had was that my vision changed so much during my pregnancies that my glasses didn't work at all, and my husband had to drive for the last 2 months with all three, because I couldn't see far enough to be safe driving. I was grateful to have his support throughout everything.

I always think this too, then roll my eyes at the cliche when it turns out to be true. But that's probably because I didn't feel like that at all. No nausea (not once in the whole pregnancy), no tenderness, no smells/aversions. No feeling at all that I was pregant. I only knew because my husband and I were trying to conceive, so I took the test on the first day the calendar said it might possibly show up. During the pregnancy, I didn't feel tired - I did yoga up until the week before I gave birth. The only things I craved were milk and hard cheese. So since I felt so great during my pregnancy, I end up thinking that the illness-giveaway-clue is a bit too convenient.

My mother had some strange things in her pregnancies.

1. She would be having "morning sickness" before she even missed her period. With her sixth pregnancy she thought she had the flu and was taking Pepto for a couple of days until she realized it was just in the morning. Later in the pregnancy she'd feel sick all day.

2. She was a big time cravings person. With me it was rye bread and butter milk. My sister it was Barbecue from a specific barbecue joint.

3. She would gain weight fast at the beginning and the doctors would panic and actual put her on a 2000 calorie diet. (Back in the 50's and 60's when they set how much you could gain.) Then at the end of the pregnancy she would loose weight. An example is when she went in to have me she weighted 130 pounds at 5 ft 6 inches and I weighted over 7 pounds.

It has been my experience that just about anything can happen in a pregnancy.

At first, I didn't show any symptoms. Certainly no morning sickness - although twice I threw up. In both cases, I had been very hungry for an extended period of time with no food at hand. And when I finally got it, I couldn't stomach it. As my pregnancy continued, I developed another problem: Whenever I stood rather still for some time - especially when it was hot - I'd nearly faint, and obviously my blood pressure went down. (Once, my plood pressure was taken a short while after I lost consciousness under these circumstances. It was 90 to 60 - and I was feeling rather fine by then! No idea how low it had been before...).

Okay, and my tummy felt so hot that it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was lucky not to be pregnant during the summer months, I guess.

Apart from that, I only suffered the usual backache and swollen feet, had to go to relieve myself more and more often, developed a really huge appetite (but no strange stuff - although there was that week where I was terribly fond of licking salt... don't ask, I just did it.)... Oh, and I got pretty emotional. Unfortunately, I'm still (four years after!) more emotional than I used to be before the pregnancy. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Best of all, though, was that my bosom grew for slightly more than a full cup size during the first two or three months. Oh, what I forgot to mention before: My 'baby feeding body parts' were not only very tender and swollen, but even started production during my third or fourth month - which I found rather strange.

Something I'd not really consider a symptom of the pregnancy itself is the following: During the second and third trimester, my tummy grew rapidly - faster than I could adjust to it. Which caused me some problems when moving around, my tummy always getting in the way. And I remember having problems with stairs at the end because I couldn't see where I had to set my feet.

Unlike most others, I was measuring my temperature every morning when I conceived. Not that I wanted to conceive in the first place, though. More like an accident. Did you know human sperm can survive for up to a week in and around the uterus? For me, it had been four or five days between the last intercourse and ovulation. And a few days after that, I was spotting.

Hopefully it won't be too bad. Didn't struggle with it at all with the first two, but the second two are 18 months [to the day] apart - a God planned thing for sure. These two will be somewhere between 27 and 28 months apart - depending on when he decides to show up. Until DD1 stopped nursing last May, I'd been either pregnant or nursing [or both] for well over 5 years. I'm on meds for it - twice a day now. The stress over the last few weeks was incredible. Everything hit at once [doesn't it always?]. Several solid marriages suddenly disintegrated [friends], another friend's was probably disintegrating [didn't admit to the affair until 2 days ago, but we all suspected but couldn't 'spy' b/c it was in another state], pipe burst in the basement that wasn't covered by our warranty, found out I had no classes this summer [instead of my usual 2] and that we had 4 between us for fall [instead of the usual 7]. Add that to the raging hormones and I spent days trying to figure out how I could afford to live when DH decided to leave and whether or not I'd fight him for custody of the kids. Two days later I had a dream he was cheating on me with one of my best friends [this is before the other friend's affair came out]. At 3 in the morning it made perfect sense... And of course I didn't get to talk to my doc about it that week b/c two minutes after she came in, she got called to delivery.

We're aware of the problem this time and I can take my meds the whole time so that's not an issue.

We were temping etc. this time too, but I was sick the week I ovulated and so thought I ovulated about 2 days earlier than I did [temp artificially high a couple days early] and that I wasn't pregnant b/c of that. That was also the week DD5 was running a temp of up to 105 and eventually was diagnosed with pneumonia. The spotting was what first gave it away. Test was positive, though faint b/c I hadn't missed yet [you should have seen how faint DD1's was - probably 1 day after implantation]. DH didn't believe me for sure until the blood test came back the next day.

Carol

I may just have to hate you for that. :p It's thirteen years later and I still can't walk into one of our local convenience stores without a little dry heave. It's the garlic bread they bake in there or something but it's just... <shudder> I was sicker than I thought was humanly possible for about the first three months. Whenever I read those "cliches" I get a little sympathy nausea for Lois.

I forgot to add that I also had "hot flashes" like someone else mentioned. It was the dead of winter and I was roasting near the end of my pregnancy. Someone else said that they heard women miss being pregnant. That idea is so foreign to me as to be laughable. I was beyond delighted to get my body back. The first thing I did when I got home from the hospital was go lie on the floor on my stomach. You just never know how much you miss something until it's taken from you.

Oh, and in the final trimester of my pregnancy (and for a few years afterwards) my right hip would pop. Just *pop* and then snap back in again. My doctor said it was a good thing (my body being accomodating or something), but it freaked me out. It didn't hurt but it was unpleasant and would make me stumble around like a drunken pirate (and I was already ungainly enough and off balance with all that belly in front of me).

So, no, I don't miss being pregnant at all.

I had to stop reading the symptoms about halfway through.

I figure if I ever want to have a kid I had better stop seeing how horrible the whole process is or I'm just going to start wearing a chastity belt and not let anyone near me ever again.


~Jojo, who knows the whole process isn't horrible and you get a pretty nice present at the end but still isn't sold on the idea.

Oh don't worry, JoJo -- it doesn't usually kill you. You just *feel* like you're going to die.

It was a pretty awesome rush, though, the first time I felt my baby move inside me. That part was just awe-inspiring. Well, at least til they get big enough to stomp on your bladder...

I'm glad I have my kids, and that I had the experience of being pregnant twice. It was amazing. But I have no desire to do it again.

PJ

I suspect the people with experience who write 'Lois is preggers' stories tend to give her many of the same symptoms they had. I know I do - no coffee or chocolate from the time the baby starts kicking until they're weaned, serious blimp-hood issues, etc.

Heh. And that's just the pregnancy. The stories you *really* don't want to hear are about labor.

LOL!!!!

I seem to remember KathyB posting several years ago about driving herself to the hospital when she was in labor...

I've got good stories and bad stories there too - I'm sure most of us do .
Carol

Yes, we don't want to hear the labor stories, the cholic stories, the teething stories, the potting training woes or the ungrateful horrors are children grow into because we can't possibly know anything. The current generation always feels smarter than the last and they just don't know what they are talking about. Face it sometimes you think the most joy and pleasure your children ever gave you was when you made them. But hark there is hope, one day your children will have children and then you get your long over due and just revenge.

Or you do what I did. I don't have children but I have 15 nieces and nephews. I borrow them, spoil them, then give them back.

I've enjoyed reading about the pregnancy experience of others. The only stomach flu symptoms I experienced was the nausea and being extremely tired, but some of the standard pregnancy stuff happened with me as well.

First, I was over-the-top emotional before and after I realized I was pregnant. I'm not one of those that know their bodies so well that they knew immediately - I didn't know I was pregnant until my period was a week overdue and I took a home test. One of the things I remember most during the first trimester was being dog tired. I remember having a conversation with my husband once after dinner. Apparently, I fell asleep mid-sentence and when I woke up 2 hours later, picking up on the conversation right where I'd left off.

I craved dairy products (milk, yogurt and ice cream) but I don't know if it was because of or in spite of the morning sickness. It was pretty bad through my 5th month. I took to wearing sea-sickness bands pretty much all the time (the ones the hold a bead against a pressure point below the wrist) and that helped me keep my meals down. The only times I ever threw up after that was when I tried sleeping without the bands on.

Other more unique syptoms - I used to hiccup once or twice when my body needed to eat. I didn't feel like eating, but if I paid attention to the hiccup and ate a snack or meal soon after, I could head off the more severe bouts of sickness. Others have mentioned the sentive and swollen breasts, but I experienced sensitivity in other areas as well. I don't know if I can mention where in the g-folder, but certain acitivities got even better during pregnancy right up until the day before I delivered.

Also, my hair grew at about twice the rate as normal, got really thick and started to curl for the first time in my life. Of course, almost immediately after delivery, I started shedding until it was more like normal. I don't remember having a runny or stuffy nose, but I do remember having a lot of nose bleeds.

Another side effect I wasn't expecting was the forgetfulness. I know it doesn't happen to everyone, but I remember leading a team meeting at work and completely losing my train of thought mid-sentence. I wasn't distracted, the thought was just gone - - and it happened twice in the same meeting (I think I was about 5 months along). I told them that the 'baby is sucking brain cells' and they laughed, but it was kind of unnerving.

Other standard stuff - I gained a lot of weight, couldn't sleep well at night (whether from hot flashes, weird dreams or discomfort), got stretch marks during the final month, swollen feet, back-ache, yadda yadda yadda.

Hope that was helpful,
BJ

*chants to herself* Babies come from storks... babies come from storks. If I keep saying it over and over think it will be true?

*snicker* you wish. Actually the getting of the baby is rather fun...

mmouse

Ditto. I'm personally waiting for my sister and my best friends to get cracking. My best friend is fully aware of the future artist in her family.

Jen

I've heard that before! You want more reasons to hate me? Reasonable weight gain (26 pounds, though I looked HUGE since I'm only 5'4"), no stretch marks, no sleeping problems. I did have swelled feet, but that was only about 3 days before I went into labor. You probably all think I'm lying, right?

No crazy emotional stuff from me during my pregnancy either. I never felt better in my whole life than when I was pregnant. You know that "glow" people say pregnant women have? I could feel the energy bursting out of me. And actually, in the nearly four years since I had my son, I have missed the feeling of being pregnant. If I could be on a time loop from conception to 8 months, then start over, I'd be happy for a long time.

The labor, however, was a completely different story. I'll spare you the details, though feel free to ruminate on the following fact...
FIFTY-NINE HOURS!!!!!

Sorry it's been a few days, but I have been busy

first of all
Labby: Thanks for clearing up the FLU issue, I guess it must be a language thing, that I may have heard the term stomach/tummy flu via media and cultural exchange programs we Australians rely on (Face it people there is no Australian television or movie industry if we rely on 75% of our visual entertainment from the US and 20% from the UK)
but I had never used the term myself, nor had my mum when I asked her about the FLU-like experiences of pregnancy
(I have decided philosophically that I do not like the term symptoms being used as it infers pregnancy as being a disease; that is really complex issue philosophically, as disease entails a sense of sub-optimum Health (another complex term philosophically)


I am "enjoying" the descriptions you have generously provided, as they all pretty much fit into my physiological knowledge of hormonal changes during pregnancy, and the effects these hormones have on all of the various body systems. (NOTE if you are curious, I would be happy to explain anything... but 1. think you may be bored stiff, 2. want to keep this short 3. you haven't asked me yet and some may not want me to for whatever reasons they have--- JOJO's stork theory for instance, I do not want to disrespect her religious beliefs.)

I know that morning sickness for some can be so extreme that by the end of the pregnancy (due to nutritional deficiency related weight loss) they have lost so much of their own weight that just before the birth they weigh in at the same weight as 9 months previously (my cousin did this with her now 3 yr old). The baby's hormones program it to "suck" as much nutrition as it can get and to thrive and grow. as such its growth is at the expense of the mother and would not be compromised unless the mother's own health was compromised to the extent of a spontaneous miscarriage

The thicker hair thing is interesting. If you are OK with this I would love to use this specifically in anything I write (whether published or not). The hair growth is obviously a product of the baby's added hormones to your system, and is lost with birth removing the additional growth hormones pumped into you from your baby...
It is something I don't think I have heard before, yet makes so much sense...


thanks again
Helena

Come to think of it, I had some additional (and thicker) hair growth, too. I noticed that I didn't leave as many hairs behind as before the pregnancy. But afterwards... well, I was back to normal within half a year. :p

And sensitivity to smells - I couldn't stand the smell of cigarettes, but this sensitivity started about four weeks before conception. It doesn't make any sense to me, but that's the way it was.