Being Pregnant - What's it Like?Here Susan (one of our staff and a mother herself) explains just what being pregnant is really like. I come from a pretty close knit family and have three other sisters, being the eldest by five years I was often sought for advice, usually this was when one of my younger siblings had another row with their boyfriends. However, when I became pregnant, their only interest was what it was like being pregnant, they wanted to know how it felt, was it uncomfortable, could I feel the baby move, everything! I came to realise, that actually all women who had never been pregnant, were interested in what being pregnant was like. I think this must have something to do with our maternal instincts. Out of my group of friends and of course my younger sisters, only one was already a mother. So the fact that I was the only 'real life' pregnant person they knew, only fuelled their interest further. I remember at the time, being pregnant was more of an emotional challenge than a physical one. Obviously this changed as I got bigger and less nimble, however I can still remember my mind was full of thoughts that I might somehow be a poor mother. I was terrified of actually giving birth and of course, I knew absolutely zero about being a parent. So a lot about being pregnant was about conquering my own demons, when I speak to friends now who have since started their own families, I realise that everyone feels like this at some point. The great thing for me was that I spoke about it a lot with my partner, this I think in hindsight brought us closer together, in a way we were both nervous about being parents for the first time, we helped each other through it. Definitely the hardest part about being pregnant was the morning sickness. Fortunately, not everyone suffers from morning sickness, and I certainly would not wish it upon anyone. For the first few weeks mornings were a complete right off. This eventually settled down as I entered the second trimester. From memory, I enjoyed the second trimester, this was a period of pregnancy when everyone else could begin to share in our joy. We were able to tell more people and I started to show, being pregnant felt real for the first time. Another good thing about being pregnant was that it restored my faith in people. At the time, I used to commute regularly into the big City. I had already decided to work up until about mid way through the third trimester, the bad part of this was that I would regularly use busy public transport. I dreaded having to stand during even the shortest journey, so I am pleased to confirm that each bus I took certainly had its share of gentlemen (and gentlewomen). Describing what it is like being pregnant is like a walk down memory lane, to this day I find it difficult to sum up the whole experience in eloquent prose. The only analogy I can really give you as a summary is that being pregnant is like training for a world record attempt. It's hard on your body, you'll start to have doubts, sometimes you'll wonder why you even started it, yet after nine gruelling months of training when you've finally achieved your record, all of that discomfort is suddenly forgotten as you look over at your prize or achievement. Being pregnant - what's it like? It's wonderful! Read more of our articles on being pregnant Symptoms of Being Pregnant |