Things I didn't know about pregnancy

I read every book and website about pregnancy and some might say I was slightly obsessed. We decided to start trying for a baby following a trip to Europe, and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! The pregnancy industry is amazing and now I've had the baby I've found out how huge the parenting industry is too. So I guess that was the first thing I realised: It's a whole new world. I think you have to take the advice given by all the magazines, books and websites with a grain of salt. I went into this pregnancy with the attitude that less is best. I would try not to buy too much 'stuff'. The only problem is that baby stuff is so cute!

I also had no idea how many ailments/pains/discomforts happen to pregnant women, some of which I've listed below.

• Sore ankles. Who knew swollen ankles are actually painful. I certainly didn't realise I wasn't going to be able to walk properly. In fact, I had visions of me going for long walks every evening to get fit. In the end I struggled to walk a city block. I ended up driving and tramming everywhere. Even now, 7 months after my son was born, I still have sore ankles, particularly in the mornings when I first get out of bed.
• Sore hips. Some people have such bad hip pain, they have to be on crutches. Mine wasn't that bad, but it certainly didn't help being coupled with the ankle pain. I spent a lot of money seeing my osteopath in the last 4 months of pregnancy. 
• Morning sickness. I got lucky and was only feeling sick for about 6 weeks (week 5 to week 11). I never actually threw up, but constant nausea was no fun. My friends were chocolate obsession ice-cream (helped for about 5 minutes!) and earl grey tea with milk. My boyfriend would wake me from my post-work nap to feed me a bowl of vegies, then I'd go back to sleep after moaning about feeling ill. 
• Stretch marks. I didn't really understand what stretch marks were, but I obediently put on anti-stretch mark cream every day of my pregnancy. I was feeling smug until about 7 months, when they started. Scary, red, spider-web like lines coming out from my belly button. And they were painful and itchy. That was the start of the itching.
• Itching. It started with the stretch marks, and then my whole body was itchy to the point of pain. Ice packs were the only solution.
• Sore back/sleeping discomfort. Getting comfy in bed from about 4 months was impossible for me. My 'bump' was huge, and I ached all over. No pillows could help, but each night, I'd try putting cushions between my legs, under my back and under the bump. There wasn't much room for the cat or boyfriend.