5 Things I Have Learnt So Far During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a strange yet wonderful time. I’m already over half way, only 14 weeks left *insert shocked face emoji* I really don’t know where the time has gone but it’s been an interesting ride so far and no doubt it’s only going to get more eventful as we get closer towards my due date. I just wanted to share with you some things I have learnt along the way so far…prepare for a rant or two.

I have CRAP will-power

I already knew this anyway, I have a serious sweet tooth but although I haven’t had any crazy cravings yet, pickles and mustard? VOM, I have found that once I get a craving in my head I just can’t seem to shake it off! The only craving I haven’t given into is banana dipped in melted chocolate and that’s mainly because I’m too damn impatient to wait for it to melt and too lazy to clean up the mess…ok give me melted chocolate now!

Baby shopping is so much more fun than shopping for myself

Who would have thought my new favourite online shop would be Mothercare? Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping for myself, who doesn’t? But shopping for your baby is just so incredibly exciting. Books have said “They grow up so quickly, don’t spend too much money on them” but it’s too hard not to resist. We love shopping for little Pip and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

People are seriously opinionated, patronising and judgmental

I am honestly so shocked at the amount of baby jargon and myths we have heard from other people and how everyone has an opinion, always mixed with a patronizing tone I might add. I for one will never be telling any new mums-to-be the stuff I’ve had to listen to, having one child does not make you an expert. Here are some of my favourites –

“Get plenty of rest now, you won’t get any when the baby is here” So stocking up on 12 hours of sleep now will help once he’s here?

“You push the pram, you need to practice” Sorry what? Honestly don’t have a witty quip here, the comment still baffles me.

Any time we are around babies, paired with a patronizing look, “You’ve got all this to come” No shit!

“We don’t want to know the gender, as long as our baby is healthy” This line just seems to insinuate that we only care about the gender and not our babies health. I know they probably aren’t insinuating that but it still bugs me tremendously. Everyones different when it comes to finding out the gender or not, it’s personal preference and for us hasn’t ruined any surprise at all. People say it ruins the surprise at the birth, we got our surprise at the 20 week scan and we love being able to call him by his name already, and the excitement we get when he kicks reacting to his name is amazing.

My favourite, “You want 4 children? Have one, see how you cope with that first” This line really got up my snitch, we both have brothers and sisters and have always said we want a big family. Now regardless of whether we have 4, we may not, but I know for sure we won’t just have one. We definitely want a sibling for lil pip. I know people will read this and think “She’ll change her mind, she doesn’t know what she’s in for” and to be honest I don’t care, even if we have the hardest time bringing up this first baby, we will still want another.

The breast-is-best police that pop up when the feeding subject is brought up, I’ve even witnessed mothers being attacked on social media on how to feed their children and it just infuriates me.  I’m actually struggling to put into words on how I feel about the whole situation as it just makes me so angry. All I will say is, you feed your child however you want, as long as they are fed and happy that’s all that matters, it’s absolutely nobodies business. It’s not just how to feed your baby but generally people telling you how you should raise them. Did anyone see the article in the paper about David Beckham giving his daughter a dummy still? SO WHAT?! She is his  child and it’s got nothing to do with anyone else…*rant over…and breathe*

Gender really isn’t a priority

When I first found out I was pregnant I was all “I want a girl, I want a girl.” Since Brent and I got together, we’ve always discussed baby names and we had a boy and a girls name ready, all my friends and family know my girls name, I absolutely adore it. When the sonographer told us we were having a boy for a split second I said the girls name in my head and got a little upset, not because I wanted a girl, I just wanted the name (before anyone else chose it, it’s quite unique) so I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t a little upset, but it’s strange how quickly I got over that. I’ve always dreamt of dressing up a little girl, doing her hair and dropping her off at ballet, but that will happen in the future. I got over my sadness in a blink of an eye. I’m so happy to be having a boy, the clothes are so cute, I already knew exactly how I wanted a boys nursery to look whereas a girls nursery I didn’t have a clue, but the main reason I’m so happy to be having a boy is so future siblings will have a big bother to look up and to protect them. I’ve always dreamt of a boy first, two girls and then another little boy and my dream so far is coming true.

It’s super scary

Obviously, growing a human inside of you is scary, from my first midwife meeting and her asking me what my birthing plan was, I just sat there all wide-eyed like, I only found out last week….there’s so much to think about. But it’s not all the information to take in, the giving birth or even how to raise the baby once he’s here, it’s the not knowing. From finding out to 12 weeks literally nothing happens, you have weeks of not knowing if there’s something wrong, you can’t feel flutters yet, not everyone has a bump, I didn’t get one until nearly 18 weeks and it’s frightening. I’ve had both scans now and unless we go private we won’t be seeing our little boy until he’s here and although I can now feel kicks and when he moves about, it’s still so scary. Anything could happen at any second and that absolutely frightens the life out of me. All I can say is, I’m glad I’m not a giraffe, those poor sods are pregnant for nearly 15 months!

Hope this post hasn’t put you off the wonders of having a bun in the oven. Being with child does have it’s low points but for me, so far I’ve had a brilliant pregnancy and I am super grateful for that. I can’t wait to see where the next 14 weeks take me. Now, where was I? *clicks on Mothercare*

How did you find your pregnancy? Any un-useful opinions you heard whilst pregnant?

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