I’m elated to say that I’m 22 weeks pregnant. Getting to this point was a hard road and I am so thankful to be this far along. 

I read some articles before getting to this point that explained some things to expect during pregnancy, but there were DEFINITELY some gaps. I wanted to share a few things that I learned so far in my pregnancy. This is in NO way me complaining. However, I wanted to share some very real things that have happened that I had no idea about! 

1.You WILL pee. Even though you haven’t had a baby yet. 

I was always under the impression that I had to push a baby out to start peeing myself. Well, apparently you don’t have to actually have the baby yet to start peeing your pants. The baby sits on your bladder, and a hard cough or sneeze does the trick most days. 

2. Round ligament pain is VERY real. 

I didn’t know anything about round ligament pain until one day I felt a very sharp pain that took my breath away on my right side. I was terrified having had multiple miscarriages. Turns out your round ligaments are connected to your uterus and as that grows they stretchhhh to their limits. The pain will go away but I wish I knew what was happening before I panicked! 

3. Relaxin kicks in pretty quickly. 

One day I felt totally normal during my workouts. The next day I was about to bench press and suddenly couldn’t tighten my core to steady the barbell due to a sudden surge in relaxin: the hormone that helps relax your body and loosens muscles and joints to adjust to your growing baby. I thought this would be a slow process but it kicked in pretty quickly in the end of the 1st trimester. 

4. Your sense of smell becomes a lot stronger. 

I have coached at a gym for over 5 years. Normally smells don’t bother me. But about a month ago I became unable to tolerate certain people’s B.O. I always equate B.O. and sweat to a coach like blood is to a doctor: totally normal. We don’t react. Suddenly, I’m gagging at people’s sweaty stench. 

5. Eating candy or having sugary drinks can make your baby kick. 

I’ve been treating myself to some candy at night before bed. It makes my baby go WILD with kicking. Turns out, that’s pretty common. Sugary drinks like juice or candy can have the baby partying in there. If you’re worried the baby isn’t kicking, drink some juice!   

Everyone’s pregnancy is different, but knowing some of these things would have made me feel a little less crazy.