Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Was Pregnant

Getting pregnant for the first time can be exhilarating as well as challenging for many. I mean, no matter how many magazines you read or how many sessions you attend at your gynaecologist’s, there is always scope for more. Given everything else that motherhood throws at us, we cannot help but feel that experience is best gained second-hand!

Here are a few things I wish I had known before pregnancy. These come straight from the heart for all you moms-to-be:

• You’ll need to pee on a stick for the thousandth time before confirming the pregnancy! Whether you are on the pill or not, one test is never sufficient. Keep peeing to check and validate. I remember peeing on at least 3 to believe that I was indeed pregnant. False positives are common.

• Pregnancy takes time, and cycles vary from woman to woman. Some ovulate on day 14 (The lucky ones! They still make me jealous!). For some, it can be up to 45 days or even more. There’s no need to worry or panic. And if you think you’ll get pregnant in the first cycle and you try, be prepared to be disappointed! I don’t mean to be negative, but it isn’t a breeze like shown in the movies. Real life comes up with real challenges, and this is one of them!

• Your hormones are going to take you for a toss! I could not imagine being sane throughout my pregnancy. Thankfully, my partner was supportive, and so were the in-laws. I remember cursing him for no reason, cursing myself for being bloated 24*7, craving dark chocolate at 2 AM, crying frantically for no reason, and getting emotional every time I saw a baby. To be honest, the last one was not totally the pregnancy hormones, but me. My point here is, just ensure you warn your partners about what is going to come in the upcoming months. I am sure they will understand.

• Photo documentation is a must! My belly went from looking like“Ah well, no exercise and binging probably don’t go well together” to“Whoa! There’s an actual miniature human growing in there” in the blink of an eye. I did click a few pictures and videos when the baby kicked. But today, when I think of it, I would have loved to document every single day of my pregnancy to relive those moments. There’s nothing in the world that sums up the feeling. To prevent regrets in retrospect, click as many as you can!

• Lastly, please love yourselves more during your pregnancy. Looking in the mirror and thinking about how you went from fit to fat is easy, but loving yourself to nurture a life inside you is more important. I remember taking off many mirrors from the walls because I sometimes hated to even look at myself. Now that I think of it, I wish I had shown more self-love. Give yourself that pat on the back and love yourself for being brave enough to embrace your body. Those skinny denim jeans will fit you well again someday, but it is not every day that life gives you a chance to create and nurture another life.