22 Things No One Ever Tells You About Pregnancy

    Where did all these freckles come from?

    Robyn Wilder
    by Robyn Wilder

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. In the early days of pregnancy, you are both pregnant and not pregnant.

    Rede Globo

    Doctors calculate pregnancy from the first day of the mother's last period. So if you're pregnant, for at least the first few days of your official pregnancy, you weren't pregnant at all.

    2. Pregnancy can give you hyperrealistic porno dreams.

    Getty Images / BuzzFeed

    Due to a heady mix of hormones and interrupted sleep, pregnancy dreams can be weird, intense, and a little bit sexy.

    3. And freckles.

    Getty Images

    You may develop new freckles, patches of coloured skin, and even darkened areolae around your nipples.

    4. Your nose can work overtime…

    ABC

    Suddenly, you can smell everything – rubbish bins and fishmongers miles and miles away. And meanwhile, on public transport, you find that you take against anyone wearing perfume.

    5. ...and then stop working.

    Warner Bros.

    On the other hand, there is such a thing as pregnancy rhinitis, where the sheer volume of extra blood in your body causes your nasal tissues to swell and make breathing uncomfortable.

    6. You might mistake the first trimester for flu.

    Karina Farek / BuzzFeed

    Tiredness. Nausea. Upset stomach. Headaches – just some of the joys of the first three months of pregnancy.

    7. At some point you will be too big for regular clothes and too small for maternity clothes.

    Paramount

    You won't be able to squeeze into your favourite jeans, and maternity ones will slide right off you.

    8. Your cravings may be inconsistent.

    9. You may have more saliva than you know what to do with.

    Warner Bros. Television

    No one really knows what causes excess salivation during pregnancy, only that it occurs more often in women with heartburn and morning sickness. Oh, and talking of morning sickness...

    10. You might vomit while brushing your teeth.

    youtube.com

    Some women find that their gag reflex becomes extra sensitive, so that even toothbrushes can trigger it.

    11. And your gums may bleed.

    commons.wikimedia.org / Via Creative Commons

    Pregnancy hormones can cause temporary gingivitis and sensitive gums.

    12. You may feel too cold…

    Walt Disney Studios

    Some women feel unseasonable cold when they're pregnant, especially in the first trimester.

    13. …and then too hot.

    Paramount Pictures

    Hormonal changes increase the blood supply to the skin, making you feel warmer and more sweaty than usual. Hooray!

    14. Your attitude to sex may change. And change again. And again.

    Sarah Aspler / BuzzFeed

    You may be too nauseous for sex in the first three months. In the second trimester your libido may become very "healthy". In the third trimester the logistics of sex may be beyond you, since at this point you're basically Miley Cyrus and the wrecking ball in the "Wrecking Ball" video.

    15. Your legs might come to life at night.

    Universal Studios

    Restless leg syndrome (RLS) – a sensation of pins and needles in the legs that makes you move them around – is common in pregnancy.

    16. You'll really miss sleeping on your belly.

    Loryn Brantz / BuzzFeed

    Especially in the third trimester when you require three pillows and some sort of crane to get into bed comfortably.

    17. It's okay not to want everyone to touch your belly.

    20th Television

    For some reason, some people think pregnant women's bellies are public property. You are allowed to feel exactly the same about someone running up and touching your pregnant body as you would someone touching your non-pregnant body.

    18. You will start to count things in weeks, not months.

    Paramount

    That's fine – your doctor will do it, after all. And it's fun to tell people you're 196 days pregnant, and let them try to work it out in their heads.

    19. Your ultrasound photo may freak you out.

    imgur.com

    Don't worry, that's just what ultrasounds look like. My baby looked like a grinning demon-clown-doll in his ultrasound photo, and now he looks like a cherub.

    20. Pregnancy terms will bewilder you at first.

    Metro-Goldwyn Mayer

    21. Feeling the baby move will be weird…

    Flickr: 152191659@N03 / Creative Commons

    It can feel like a goldfish swimming around in your belly. You may think it's gas. Then you see it, and it's like something out of Alien.

    22. ...and then wonderful.

    Getty Images

    Once you get used to the wriggling, it all starts to become real. There is an actual little life in there, and suddenly you can't wait to meet them.