Embracing Pregnancy: Five Lessons Learned on the Journey

I love learning.

Not in the sense that I would run to school eagerly each day. I’m just a naturally curious person and I love to develop my knowledge. Sometimes this is academic, but often it’s just a case of being open to what life has to offer.

Being pregnant is one of those stages of life where you have the opportunity to learn through many avenues. There’s an academic element to it, there’s the wild world of the internet (if you want to subject yourself to that), there’s plenty of anecdotal advice and tales from other people, and you can learn through embracing the experience itself.

As we get closer to meeting this little baby, I’ve been reflecting on what pregnancy has been like for me and what I’ve learnt from it.

As someone who was never super “maternal” and has never been “clucky”, I had no expectations of pregnancy and how it would affect me or how I hoped it would go.

This has allowed me to keep an open mind and learn a lot about myself, my body and the experience as a whole. There’s far too much to write in one blog, and although everyone’s experience is different, I wanted to share some of these lessons with you.

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1. Non-alcoholic Drink Options Suck

I love water, and I’ll guzzle it endlessly all day long, but sometimes you just want something a little more “fun”.

Of course, we all know that alcoholic options are off the table during pregnancy, and honestly, I haven’t missed the alcohol factor at all (how good is it knowing you won’t wake up with a hangover?!).

But finding my preferred alternative to alcohol has been, well, a failure.

I don’t really know what I expected, but I didn’t think I’d struggle to find something decent to drink like I have.

Sweet drinks (whether because of sugar or sweeteners) have never been that enjoyable for me after the first one or two. Now, in pregnancy, fizzy drinks tend to bring on heartburn. And, do you know what most non-alcoholic drinks have in common? They are either sweet, fizzy, or both.

I realise this is the top of all first-world problems, and I’m really not complaining. In fact, it’s probably a blessing as it means I ultimately end up circling back to water, so my hydration levels are through the roof.

But it has made me realise that drinks that you don’t find in the alcohol section really do leave a lot to be desired.

(Oh, and don’t even get me started on “non-alcoholic” versions of alcohol).

2. You Don’t Get to Eat for Two

Unfortunately, “eating for two” really isn’t a reality of pregnancy. This might be perhaps the most disappointing lesson for any pregnant woman to learn.

Apparently, you should eat normally (as much as possible) for the first two trimesters. In the third trimester you may require an additional couple of hundred calories a day, but this does depend on your level of activity.

Look, it’s not like your midwife is monitoring your food intake or there’s advice out there to count your calories, but it’s not nine months of endless buffets either.

The cool thing that I’ve discovered, however, is that my body is very good at telling me when it needs food, and often what it needs too. I don’t know whether this instinct existed pre-pregnancy and I just never listened to it, but certainly while I’ve been pregnant, I’ve found it very easy to listen to what my body wants and needs.

3. Working From Home Is a Blessing

I have never been more grateful to work from home full time.

This first became apparent to me when we discovered I was pregnant. In those early stages, with the knowledge that it was possible that morning sickness (and other symptoms) could hit at any time, I was so grateful that I didn’t have to worry about trying to hide that from my work colleagues.

As my pregnancy has progressed, I’ve become thankful that I don’t have to deal with a commute, and I’ve learnt to appreciate the fact that I work alone. I may not have ended up suffering from morning sickness, but in both the first and third trimesters I’ve felt exhaustion like never before. Not having to get up earlier to commute to the office or pretend to be sociable with colleagues when I really want to crawl into a ball and nap has been a godsend.

I also haven’t had to purchase new corporate clothing to account for my growing body.

Which leads me on to my next point…

4. My Existing Wardrobe Isn’t as Adaptable as I Thought It Would Be

Now, obviously I knew my stomach would expand.

But, in my naivety, I assumed I had a wardrobe that was basically designed to lend itself towards pregnancy.

I’ve never been someone who felt comfortable wearing tight fitting outfits, so all my dresses and tops have always been looser and flowy. On a daily basis I tend to live in leggings, which are famous for being stretchy.

So, I just assumed that I’d be able to use my current wardrobe throughout this pregnancy. I could wear my leggings around home, and when I went out, I’d just throw on a dress that I already had.

A match made in heaven, right?

Wrong.

Leggings can only stretch so far, and many of my dresses are not as baggy as I thought. Oops.

5. It Took Me a Long Time to Be Confident With This Bump

This final lesson makes me feel a little vulnerable, but I think it’s worth sharing as I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt this way.

So often I’ve seen pregnant women (whether in real life or through media) proudly showing off their baby bump, and it seemed to me that this came naturally with pregnancy.

However, I have found it has taken a long time to have confidence around this new belly of mine.

As a woman, it’s (sadly) almost a rite of passage to have insecurities around the way we look. I’d be willing to bet there’s not a single female out there who isn’t insecure about some part of her body.

For me, my biggest insecurity has always been my stomach. (Hence the loose clothing I mentioned in my previous point).

When I got pregnant, I was kind of excited that I wouldn’t feel like I would have to hide my stomach anymore. What I learnt instead is that that feeling can take a long time.

It wasn’t until about six months along that it felt like I had a proper baby bump, and I was no longer self-conscious about my stomach.

Most importantly, this has been an immensely powerful lesson in learning that my body is about so much more than the way it looks or what size it is.

That stomach that I have spent as long as I can remember trying to hide is the exact place that has and will carefully and safely grow our baby. How is it possible to be ashamed of a part of me that can do something so extraordinary?

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There might be an endless source of information out there to research and learn from during pregnancy, but I love that some of the biggest and most impactful lessons have come to me simply by embracing the experience and learning to listen to my body and intuition.

And thank God, because the internet really is a minefield.

That’s all for now,

Jordyn

“Don’t postpone joy until you have learned all your lessons. Joy is your lesson.” – Alan Cohen