So, as you’ve all probably realised by now, I’m not one to act like pregnancy has been my favourite experience so far. And I was quite disappointed with the misconceptions I’d been led to believe in the last however many years about pregnancy. But in contrast to that, I still do have some good bits (it’s not ALL bad!) so I’m going to go with the pros and cons and hope they balance out. If they don’t, just take it as it is – the TRUTH of the situation LOL.

Pros:

• It’s actually fascinating and you will never experience anything like it. Since I’ve been pregnant, and actually thought about everything that entails, it’s one of the hardest things to comprehend. It’s amazing what your body can do, what it is doing and how naturally it changes to create this new life. This is the first time science has ever been of any interest to me and I love it.
• From 20 weeks onwards, things start getting more exciting! More baby movements, more visible baby bump, more appointments, finding out the sex (if you choose to) & lots more to do! Now is a good time to start shopping around.
• If you’re having a late winter/early spring baby, you’ve got all the Christmas; Boxing Day; New Years & Winter sales to cut costs on lots of the more expensive baby equipment you’re going to need!
• If you’re heavily pregnant through autumn and winter then you’ve got it good. You manage to avoid carrying all the weight through the summer heat, and get a nice toasty body temperature to get you through the cold winter. Win win situation.
• The “glow” if you’re lucky enough to have it – feeling like shit but being told that you look great all the time. Does wonders for your self-esteem & confidence with your new looks.
• Shopping. Simply put, if you’re anything like me – you enjoy shopping. This is a reason to shop more, spend more & with a good cause. Why not?
• Eating. Chocolate cake? Eat it. Waffles? Eat it. Fry up? Eat it. Whatever you fancy? Eat it. (In moderation) You can generally get away with eating whatever nonsense you choose, and pass it off as a “craving”. Without being judged as a fat cow. All you can eat buffet, anyone?
• Specifically, baby’s movement has to be one of the best parts. I asked a lot of other mums what their favourite parts were and this came up everytime. Feeling your lil one moving inside of you for the first few times is such a crazy thing. To stop and think, “that’s a real life, MY baby moving inside of me” and know what that means in itself is amazing.
• The end result. There is not one person I know who has ever told me that the pregnancy was not worth the end result. No matter how bad the pregnancy was, the baby at the end was always worth it. And there’s proof of this in the amount of people that do it again and again!

Cons:

• Morning Sickness - the bit they forgot to tell you. It can happen all day, everyday, whenever it feels like. From the first 2 weeks until the end of pregnancy if you’re really so unlucky. I had it from 4 weeks until 14 weeks. That’s 10 weeks of vommiting on and off. 10 weeks of hardly eating. 10 weeks of torture. At that point, I did not see myself enjoying pregnancy ever.
• Summer Pregnancy – luckily, I will have the fortune of skipping this bit. But speaking to many people who haven’t, it can be torture. Excessive weight in excessive heat. If the weight wasn’t bad enough, you’re already sweating more than everyone else, already more tired than everyone else, already hotter than everyone else. And then they throw in the 27-33°c temperature. Thanks.
• Finding a new sleeping position - if like me you used to sleep on your front, you have learnt, or will soon learn that it becomes impossible. And you then have to learn to get used to sleeping on your sides. This generally leaves me with a dead leg and numb hand every morning. All I can advise is plenty of pillows supporting you and one between your legs. Other than that, have fun trying to sleep.
  
• Getting used to and then missing the baby bump - I haven’t experienced this yet. But I have seen a lot of people feel this way. They miss the bump and the closeness they have with the baby while it’s inside of them. My sister still rubs her belly as though there’s something in there. My niece is 2 in just over a month LOL.
  
• Labour - another one I haven’t experienced yet but I am 100% sure I will not enjoy it. All this represents in my mind is pain and lots of it. Considering I’m someone that’s never broken a bone, been to hospital or anything of the sorts, and the most pain I’ve felt is a tattoo needle… I’m sure to be in for a surprise at the definition of what pain really is.
  

As you may have noticed, which has come as a surprise to me, there is noticeably less cons than pros. Which means I must be beginning to enjoy this whole pregnancy malarky. Hopefully, this has given you a lovely insight into the world of pregnant woman and what we go through just to produce our little bundles of joy. So next time your wife demands a cinnamon bagel covered in marmite at 4am, do not hesitate to provide it.

*There were 135,000,000 babies born in 2008 if you figure that 2,000,000 of those pregnancies resulted in twins that leaves 133,000,000 pregnancies a year. Multiply that number by 0.75 (the length of a pregnancy in years) and you get almost exacltly 100,000,000 woman are pregnant at any one time around the world. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_in_the_world_on_average_are_pregnant#ixzz1bPWhd4Tw