10 things no one told me about pregnancy

It's nearly the end of this journey so here are 10 things that I wish I'd been told about pregnancy. This is something I've been thinking of the whole journey long but inspired by the great article over here I am writing them down:

1. Things change during pregnancy - but no one ever tells you that they change back and forth and no one can tell you when or how. Just because something is bad or hard or great or easy now, doesn't mean that tomorrow won't be different. I was surprised that, for example, my abdominal muscles separated really early. They came back together after a few weeks though. Other things that changed included my breasts getting hard and sore and then going soft again, my feet swelled and have gone down, my skin GLOWED and then has gone back to being a sulky teenager, morning/all day nausea came and went and came back again, and so forth.
   
2. Your breasts really can grow a LOT in the first trimester so be prepared to buy new underwear quickly if not immediately. It's not just a little bit of change at that stage - it can be a lot. For me it was a band size as well as a cup sizes.
   
3. It's also that your body changes shape. Your ribs spread - that means your tshirts stop fitting across the back, well before your bump stretches them. Your jeans stop fitting because your hips are bigger, not just because you're belly is. Be prepared to embrace these changes because they are hard, in our culture, to embrace.
4. That you slow down at the end because of lots of things, mental and physical. Pregnancy is a great time for you to cultivate judgement about whether you want to do something badly enough to get up and do it even when you hurt and feel like arse, or whether you can ask someone else to do it.
5. It feels good to cry when you want to cry and this can be liberating.
6. The same applies to naps. There is no guilt about napping during pregnancy, when the chance presents.
7. No one who isn't pregnant or recently so really gets how much hard work it is, but don't disappear up your own arse with being consumed with how much work it is. I wish I'd taken this advice more.
   
8. People will only talk to you about being pregnant, regardless of what you do for a living or for a hobby or how interesting you are. You don't have to be ok with this but it does help you keep #7 in perspective.
9. Having someone dance on your cervix is like being stabbed with a knitting needle through it. Even if you've never had anything else near your cervix, when it happens you'll know what I mean. And you'll be dancing on your toes until it passes.
10. That sleepless nights do start before bub arrives. Insomnia, hormones, nausea, I'M WIDE AWAKE AT 4AM, can't get comfortable, etc etc.