Wow. What a lot of different experiences here! I'll just throw in my two pence too!
My pregnancy lasted about four months... WHAAAAT?!?! You may be asking. Well, I didn't know I was pregnant for the first five months... I was throwing up, no periods and the whole thing, but I was convinced that this was happening for another reason entirely and I blamed it all on stress. (I had just been booted out of my PhD program, and told to rewrite for a lesser degree, so in the course of two months I watched four years of my life slip away into meaningless toil. Ergo, why I felt like utter crap all the time.) I had been to the doctors' at least once a month for those five months (including an endocrinologist) and none of them guessed I might be pregnant. Now, I didn't either, but still... gods love the NHS!
So other than reflux/morning sickness, I felt okay until I hit six months. Then the weight started to pile on, no matter what I did, and the tiredness settled in and wouldn't shift. But my son liked to shift.... hoo boy! He kicked for England on a regular basis, and it didn't help that the World Cup was on at the time... that was my only craving: watch football. I was horrified! (I despise sports!)
On top of all this, I had to move from Scotland to England, help to redecorate our new house, move into said house, organize an entire wedding, including a bespoke wedding dress (tricky for sizing!!!), and plan for the baby's appearance. Plus I suffer from hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) which is almost as tricky during pregnancy as diabetes - so I had to have specialist appointments for the last months.
Hot summer months, extremely large belly (people kept asking if I was having twins!) and absolutely horrible polyester maternity clothes from Mothercare (who you would THINK would know better than that!!!) did not leave me a happy woman. And the kid decided to be overdue by two weeks (at least!)... when he finally showed up, it was after five hours of "non-productive labour" and an emergency c-section.
I was terrified of the spinal anesthesia, but I'm glad I did that - because I got to see my son open his eyes for the very first time, and wow! What a deep, rich ocean blue they were! And the love.... Swept away!
I hated being pregnant - and I only met women who loved being pregnant, and most of those had about seven kids! I couldn't do it again, ever. I love being Connor's mom, but I only ever want to be his mom.
Hey Marlespo, I hope you're enjoying this! And NY_2_uk - it's not all that bad, so don't be too afraid. I personally would recommend c-section - all the birth and none of the pain! (Feels like someone's rummaging in your tummy for groceries!) But it sucks for trying to get your body back into some sort of shape - my stomach muscles weren't taut and wondrous to begin with, but now... bleah! One must wait for the muscles to regrow and the nerves to reconnect, and a well-informed friend of mine tells me this can take up to two years!
Not happy... Ah well! The boy is getting me into shape at least.
Now, a follow-up question to everybody: what was/is your sex-life like after kids?
Morgana