Sore Boobs:
Throughout your pregnancy you’ll notice a change in your girls! Your breast will most likely go up a cup size or two and while some ladies might be excited about that, it also comes with some downfalls. Since your breasts are expanding in size, this means that they are getting ready for milk production. They prepare for the milk by producing extra blood flow, fat production, and hormones, which in turn cause the tenderness, especially in the first few weeks. Something as light and simple as putting a shirt over your chest may have you aching. To alleviate this sensitivity, try out a maternity bra or a nursing one, which you might be using in the near future. This discomfort and tenderness usually goes away when you’re in your 2nd trimester, but once you start breastfeeding it might come back even more painful than before.
Morning Sickness:
Good ol’ nausea! Although this topic is usually discussed more than others, doesn’t mean it makes it any easier or less or frustrating. Morning sickness usually starts within the first few weeks of finding out you’re pregnant and lasts through your 1st trimester. The sickness is the result of the increasing amount of hormones in your body. Although this may be the hardest part of the early stage of pregnancy, there are certain remedies to relieve the vomiting and queasiness. For example, a quick and easy fix to morning sickness is a fresh scent like a lemon. Since morning sickness is usually smell-associated, sometimes certain smells can turn your tummy, so keeping something fresh smelling nearby might help you rid the stinky odors. Another easy remedy is ginger. Ginger is known to ease nausea and settle stomachs, so definitely give this one a try!
Hemorrhoids:
Whether you’re pregnant or not, this a topic nobody likes to discuss. For such tiny protruding bumps, they sure do cause a lot of discomfort and uneasiness! Hemorrhoids appear when your blood volume increases and your uterus pushes against the pelvis, in turn causing the veins in your butt to enlarge. During bowel movements, don’t be alarmed if you experience bleeding, itching, or stinging sensations. Although hemorrhoids tend to go away after you give birth, dealing with them can be a real pain in the butt LOL! Some ways to cure hemorrhoids are: putting witch hazel on the irritated area, not sitting for long periods of time, taking baths to soak your butt in warm water for 10-15 minutes.
Swollen Feet:
Hey there big foot! Usually during your first pregnancy your feet swell and can go up a whole shoe size. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, your feet permanently stay this size too. But hey, this is just an excuse to buy new shoes! The thing that causes your feet to swell is a hormone called Relaxin. This hormone is used to ease or “relax” ligaments in your body, especially in your pelvis area in order for it prepare for birth. Since Relaxin can sometimes reach your feet, this causes the loose ligaments to stretch out and elongate due to the extra weight gain from the baby, which pushes down on your feet. The swelling or puffing of your feet may also be caused by your body retaining extra fluids. Make sure to keep a comfortable shoe close by at all times!
Rapid Hair Growth:
You might feel like a wooly mammoth at some point during your pregnancy. You’ll see hair starting to grow where you’ve never had it before, for example, your face, back, nipples, and belly. Although that sounds disastrous, there is a plus side to this madness! Your hair on your head will now be shiny, thick and voluminous! In some pregnancy cases, people with curly hair, tend to now have straight hair and people with straight hair might now have curly hair! While you might be loving your new luscious locks, unfortunately the healthiness and thickness won’t last forever. The extra hair growth and shininess tends to stop after the baby is born.
Acne:
Everybody always talks about the pregnancy “glow” you get while being pregnant, but nobody ever says you’ll go back to your teenage years by breaking out?! During your 1st and part of your 2nd trimesters, your body is experiencing a lot of hormonal changes. Your skin reacts to all of the hormonal fluctuations by breaking out. The acne that you get will eventually stop once your body regulates it’s hormones. Luckily, there are some preventatives to help steer clear of looking like your puberty years. One solution is to eat food high in antioxidants, like broccoli, dark chocolate, and pecans! Going to your dermatologist is always a good idea too because there are a lot of products pregnant women cannot use due to birth defects.
