Finding out that I was pregnant was a very unexpected but pleasant surprise in 2010. We weren’t planning a pregnancy, but we were very excited once we got over the initial surprise. A pregnant woman will hear many things from many different people who are trying to be helpful regarding the challenges and experiences one will face during her nine months of pregnancy. Upon finding out that I was pregnant, I went to my local Barnes and Noble bookstore, and I picked out a few popular pregnancy books on the shelf which included the book “What to Expect when you’re expecting” by Heidi Murkoff and Sharen Mazel. Below are the top 5 surprising things I learned:
1) Only about 5% of babies are born on their due date.
Although I read this fact, I believed that I would be one of the few moms who would have their baby on their due date so I planned as if I would be giving birth on Thanksgiving Day of 2010. I told my relatives not to expect me for Thanksgiving, and that I would love a turkey dinner at the hospital. Little did I know that my little bundle of joy would decide to arrive 6 weeks early and would attend his own baby shower which was scheduled 2 weeks before Thanksgiving.
2) You only need about 300 extra calories.
Finding out that I should only add an additional 300 calories to my diet each day was a huge disappointment. This meant that I could only add an extra two cookies or so to my diet. I had been under
the impression that you could eat an extra meal or two because you were eating for two.
3) During pregnancy, the average woman’s uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal size.
This was amazing to me! Can you imagine that your uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal
size and then goes back to its pre-pregnancy size? A mother’s body is such a beautiful creation.
4) Each month there is only a 20 % chance of conception.
There is only a 20% chance of conception even when you try to calculate your ovulation date so that you
will or will not get pregnant. I did not know that stress, diet, and exercise could also dictate the likelihood of getting pregnant.
5) Most women experience all day “morning sickness”.
This fact was unfortunately true for me. Before I became pregnant, I thought morning sickness was something pregnant women experienced only during when the first few hours of waking up. For both of my pregnancies, I was sick morning, afternoon, evening, and even midnight. This affected my day to day life including my work schedule. During my bouts with morning sickness, I researched online for morning sickness remedies, and I found that the only thing that I found that helped me was the BRAT diet which consisted of bananas, rice, apple sauce, and toast.
Overall, pregnancy is such a wonderful and unique experience, and even through the morning sickness and stretch marks, I look back at both of my pregnancies with fond memories. I love being a mom, and I have learned that each pregnancy is an exciting experience that I will never forget.
