Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Weird Things About Being Pregnant

There are many weird things about being pregnant (especially being pregnant for the first time) that I find very interesting.  I think the fact that we're having twins makes a lot of the pregnancy symptoms more pronounced because of the higher hormone levels.  Here are some of the things I've noticed:





  1. My nails and hair grow a LOT faster.  I think that's because of the increased blood flow.  They say that a pregnant woman's blood volume increases between 25 and 40%.  Some say 50%.  I would assume that I'm on the higher end, because I have twice the number of babies (but I could be wrong).  The average adult only has about 1.3 gallons of blood, so I guess that's not really that much volumetric increase.  I was surprised to learn that.
  2. I can see veins all over my body that were not there before - on my stomach, my arms, everywhere.
  3. Sometimes I get a weird taste in my mouth - almost metallic.  It makes me brush my teeth more, which is probably gums that are now bleeding more.  Some people get pregnancy gingivitis, which is also caused by the increased blood flow.
  4. My back hurts a LOT now, which is the newest and must frustrating symptom.  It's right in the middle of my back, and seems to get worse as the day goes on.  That makes it the worst at night right before I go to bed.  The only comfortable position I can find then is to lie flat on my back (sitting up gets very uncomfortable).
  5. I get out of breath really quickly - from exercising, from talking in front of a group of people or making a presentation.  It's weird to me, because this was never a problem for me before. 
  6. I haven't had too many weird cravings, but I have had a hankering for barbecue and Papa John's (which were never strong cravings for me before).
  7. I am extremely congested.  I though my allergies were just going insane until I started reading about the increased blood flow affecting your mucus membranes and causing severe congestion.  Who would have thought?
  8. I cry really easily at sentimental things, like thinking about how much I love Jason or watching the Olympics (especially the ice skating).
  9. I have trouble sleeping.  I always slept through the night before - hardly ever waking up to go the restroom and never waking up when rolling over, etc.  I was one of those lucky people who falls asleep and then wakes up when the sun is out and it's time to get up.  Not anymore.  Now I wake up probably at least 6 times a night, sometimes not being able to fall back asleep. 
And I have a feeling that all of these symptoms will get worse and that new symptoms will pop up as I progress through the pregnancy.  We're not even half-way there yet.  Wow.  I think I've gained about 10 pounds (at 16 weeks pregnant).  I'm hoping to keep my total under 200 lbs.  I'm not even kidding.  =)

1 comment:

  1. You will be beautiful no matter how many baby pounds you gain! Love you! :) Katie

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