5 Unexpected Things You Miss When You're Pregnant

Hooray it's Friyay! I am so looking forward to this weekend and hoping it's going to be 50% relaxing, 50% productive. I'm really starting to get that feeling of too much to do and not enough time to do it in, but it's so hard to be productive when you barely sleep at night! You know what I mean, other mamas to be? Anyways, today I wanted to bring you all a fun little pregnancy post! There are things that I knew I would greatly miss while being pregnant like wine and sushi, of course, but there are a few things that I didn't even really think about or know about in the early stages of pregnancy that I wouldn't be able to do which would leave me longing for them these days. They are all so random and simple, yet things I've always just taken for granted! Here are a few things I've been missing the most these last few months...

1. Laying on My Back

In the last few weeks you might have been hearing me say the first three things I'm going to do after I give birth is have a glass of wine, eat some sushi, and take a nap on my back. Because I'm dead serious, I miss laying on my back so much. I've never been a side sleeper (I'm actually a stomach sleeper!), but I really love just lounging on my back on the couch to watch TV or take a cat nap. So if you don't know this already but after about 20 weeks in to your pregnancy, you're not supposed to lay on your back because the weight of the baby and placenta can push on a main artery that returns blood to your heart, which then results in your blood pressure dropping and the baby not getting enough blood/oxygen. Scary stuff, but your body warns you before you even reach that point with the baby. I start to be really short on breath or dizzy if I'm not propped up enough. So in order to avoid this discomfort I just always lay on my side now. Well my hips are really starting to get extremely sore and I just toss and turn all night long from side to side to try to find some relief. You might also remember me mentioning how I've been having some awful left side rib pain in my Bump Date post and when that is acting up I'm restricted to just my right side. I crave just rolling onto my back so badly, you guys! Soon though...soon :)

2. Hugging My Hubby

Or really anyone! I can't properly hug people these days and yes, I'm a hugger. Especially this time of year when you're seeing family and friends who you haven't seen in awhile! My bump is so big now that I have to do this awkward butt out hug and it just feels so impersonal. Not being able to hug Caleb though makes me the saddest. I truly long for our first embrace once I'm sans bump...feeling that love and warmth from your hubby is one of lifes simplest pleasures.

3. Taking a Hot Shower

I know taking hot showers is never really the best thing to do for your hair or skin but I just love them so much! Especially on a cold Chicago winters day. Hopping in the hot shower in the morning when it's chilly out or at night to wind down from a long day is just something so wonderful to me. So if you're not pregnant or didn't know about this you have to be careful about water temperature all throughout pregnancy. You can't have it too hot or too steamy to the point where it raises your body temperature too much. If your body temperature goes up too high it can harm the baby. So for the last 6 months I've been having to stick with just warm showers and baths.

4. Fresh Goods

Being pregnant all summer and fall was tough for many reasons but one random one was not being able to get a lot of fresh goods from the farmers market. I'm talking juices, ciders, stuff of that sort. I absolutely love freshly squeezed orange juice and lemonade or grabbing a stemming hot cup of cider in the fall on a brisk morning. I have no problem grabbing the store bought stuff but there is just something so lovely about fresh goods that are from the source. The reason you can't have this stuff while you're pregnant is because you're suppose to stay clear of anything unpasteurized. Thankfully in the US, most cheese is pasteurized but there was times where I had to say no because I couldn't confirm or was specifically told it was unpasteurized, so those were some really really sad times.

5. Walking Up Stairs

I haven't been able to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling sick or light headed since about week 8. It's awful, especially because we have a two story house with a basement. If I'm doing laundry in our basement I literally have to climb the flight to the first floor, take a 5 minute break, and then climb the next flight to the second floor and take another break before I can do anything upstairs. I get so out of breath that I either feel nauseous or like I'm going to pass out. It's also so annoying to have to wait for an elevator or find an escalator to just go up one floor when I'm out in public. Plus I've always used stairs as an extra form of exercise! I'm that person that climbs the stairs in the mall or in a parking garage just to get some extra steps in, so I can't wait to be able to breath properly again and get my stamina back up to do this simple daily thing!

All so simple and random, right?! What are some things you miss most while being pregnant? I'd love to hear, so please leave me a comment below!