Pregnancy: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

It’s hard to believe today marks thirty-five weeks into my pregnancy. I’m so thankful to have made it this far, especially since there’s always the risk of pre-term labor with twins along with other complications that come with a higher risk pregnancy. I’ve tried to share my pregnancy journey (last post here) with you and thought it would be fun to share some of the good, the bad, and the ugly as I’m only a few short weeks away from finally meeting these cuties.

The Good

So let’s first start with the good. There’s no greater happiness than finding out you’re pregnant (well, maybe finding a great Chanel sample sale). It’s marks a major milestone in your life and sets you on a new course into parenthood. Once you’re able to announce it publicly, you witness the immeasurable joy that it brings to your family. For me, it was an even greater surprise to find out that I had two (perhaps more for my husband who almost fainted in the doctor’s office upon hearing the news).

Once settling into the news about your pregnancy, it’s time to begin preparations which include things like getting the right nutrition, vitamins, and preparing your “nest”. Nutrition plays a critical part of your life as you’re eating for two (in my case, three!). While you hear stories that pregnant women can indulge in any possible food, your doctor will monitor your weight and also encourage you to stick to foods that are nutritious. Remember, anything you eat, you baby consumes as well. But you can still indulge, and anybody who knows me, knows that I love to eat! I’ve always been a healthy eater and the first few months of my pregnancy I craved fruit. After my first trimester, cravings for fruit were replaced by fries and chicken nuggets (I’m actually craving them right now). And blow pops! I bought bags of blow pops. In short, you want to be able to enjoy your pregnancy and eat the foods you (and your little one) crave, but also try to ensure you’re getting the right nutrition and vitamins by eating foods that are fiber-rich, high in protein, and good fats.

The Glow
Many people talk about that pregnancy “glow” and it’s a real thing. My skin was blotchy in the first few weeks and that’s normal because your hormones are a bit all over the place. But once your body settles into your pregnancy, you will start seeing your skin radiate and indeed glow. I was able to go makeup free and enjoy that natural summer glow (but I do love a great cat eye and nude lip so I touched up the glow a tad).

Good Hair Don’t Care
It’s all about the hair darlings. I had to go on a break from my stylist and colorist because I was told I couldn’t highlight or color my hair (I miss you Cherin!). But not to be too worried, your hair, thanks to prenatal vitamins and folic acid, takes on a new hue and grows very fast and comes out full and luscious. If I could only bottle pregnancy hair.

Nest is Best
You hear about nesting before your baby arrives and it’s a thing. Our plans to nest took a detour when our place was flooded and almost everything we owned suffered irreparable damage. We had bought a house a month prior and were readying for a move, so there was upside as we now didn’t have anything to move. We were also in the middle of a major home renovation. So to recap—flood, everything damaged, home renovation, big move, no place to stay, pregnant with twins. It was a challenging time to say the least, but things looked up when our representative from Allstate Insurance called to tell me that they were sending me a check to purchase all new furniture, electronic equipment, and material for my home. Hello Restoration Hardware (more on that in an upcoming post). Flooding does have an upside.

 

The Bad & Ugly

Yes, Us Weekly may create the impression that all pregnant women are fashionable, impervious to the challenges around pregnancy, and spend their days shuttling to coffee shops in a great pair of sunglasses. One could only wish. There are certainly a lot of challenges, especially for mom’s of multiples.

Blotchy Skin
First, your skin can change a lot. In the beginning, I would get random blemishes or blotchy skin. That, coupled with strange things happening to your body doesn’t make you feel particularly confident or even sexy. And so I changed up my skin regimen to only include eco-friendly beauty products and that helped tremendously (Jessica Alba, you’re on to something with Honest Beauty). Along with skin issues, I became veiny. I noticed more prominent veins in my neck and breast region or décolletage.

Morning and Night Sickness
In the first trimester, I also had severe nausea. Not sure why they call it morning sickness as I was afflicted at night. Along with that, I definitely started feeling lower energy. My twins were sucking up all my energy and some days my body felt as if I had just run a marathon. I needed sleep and wasn’t able to do things I enjoyed like cooking dinner or seeing friends. Though I rebounded in my second trimester, the other thing I didn’t anticipate is the sleep deprivation. As my belly grew larger, it became more and more difficult to get a good night’s sleep. I guess perhaps this is Mother’s Nature way to prepare me for the forthcoming sleepless night’s when the twins arrive. I’m still grappling with this because I love sleep and have also encouraged good sleep as part of living a healthy lifestyle.

I Gotta Go
As you grow larger, so does your baby and it begins to push into your bladder. I should start a Yelp list for bathroom’s. I’ve had to endure constant trips to the bathroom and it won’t stop until the babies arrives. You can expect double digit trips to the bathroom on an average day so plan accordingly. Fortunately, most people in the cue will let you go ahead of them so pregnancy does have some bathroom benefits.  Along with that, I’ve also developed numbness in my hands. The last few weeks have been particularly rough as my fingers are completely numb. (It even hurts to type this post, but I have to sacrifice for you my darlings). I’ve seen a doctor about it, but was told it’s normal at this stage in my pregnancy and won’t go away.

Breast Was Best
And finally, the breasts. I don’t recognize my breasts anymore. In fact, my husband jokes that he loves my new “National Geographic” breasts. They have not only become substantially larger (they have to feed two babies), the nipples take on a much darker color and are unrecognizable. (Fun fact, the color changes because babies have trouble seeing when first born so the dark color makes it easier for them find to the nipple to breast feed). I know you may be saying this is TMI, but my goal with the blog is to be real and not gloss over the joy and challenges of being pregnant.

And now I’ve only got a month to go. I’m truly blessed to be able to give life to two little ones and I can’t wait to share this journey with you. Now if you can only help me with great baby names? Comment below:)

 

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18 Comments

  1. Holly
    August 3, 2017 / 7:13 pm

    Congratulations on your twins and making it to 35 weeks! I’ve followed your blog for a while and love all of the baby posts, especially since I just had a baby 5 months ago! Good luck, and for me, the sleep actually came AFTER the baby arrived, as I too could not get enough sleep while I was pregnant! You got this mama!

  2. August 3, 2017 / 7:57 pm

    Such an honest post. I love it. Love seeing your journey babe. Sending you all my best as you prepare to welcome the babies!

    xoxo
    Katya

    • Sara
      Author
      August 4, 2017 / 7:06 am

      aww thanks love! hope to catch up soon! xx

  3. Brenda
    August 3, 2017 / 8:44 pm

    Names!!
    Girl: Sofia, Carmen, Isabella, jasmine, Malia, Talia, Marbella, Nanette

    Boy: Mariano, Enzo, Antoni, Giovanni, Karim

    • Sara
      Author
      August 4, 2017 / 7:06 am

      Love these names! Thanks!

  4. August 3, 2017 / 9:24 pm

    Congratulations! How exciting! My morning sickness is all day and night. It’s awful!

    • Sara
      Author
      August 4, 2017 / 7:07 am

      ugh i know exactly how you feel! hang in there. xx

  5. Megan
    August 3, 2017 / 9:57 pm

    Congrats! All sooo true! My baby boy Wyatt is two months today! If he were a girl he was going to be Evie, a nickname after my aunt Yvette! Good luck with your name picking it’s so fun that you get to pick one of each!

    • Sara
      Author
      August 4, 2017 / 7:07 am

      Aww congrats. I love the name Wyatt and Evie. Wishing you all the best mama!

      • Sara
        Author
        August 14, 2017 / 8:08 am

        Such great names!

  6. Chairman Mao
    August 4, 2017 / 7:06 am

    Mao Zedong is a glorious name for a boy.

    • Sara
      Author
      August 14, 2017 / 8:07 am

      Thanks Nikki! So hard to believe I’m just a week away!

  7. August 8, 2017 / 11:32 am

    Eeep! Of course, I skipped ahead to read the bad, cause I am afraid of being pregnant! haha. The hair and glowing skin thing do sound like a nice bonus though. All the best with the time you have left. So exciting! These photos are so beautiful too, you will have them to remember forever.
    xx Jenelle
    http://www.inspiringwit.com

    • Sara
      Author
      August 14, 2017 / 8:07 am

      Thanks Jenelle! It’s not so bad:) x

    • Sara
      Author
      August 14, 2017 / 8:05 am

      Aww thank you so much!

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