No one's gonna do it for you

5 Things I Didn't Know about Pregnancy:  My thoughts and advice for anyone who wants it

• At about 35 weeks, your ligaments might start to stretch as the baby descends further into your pelvis.  This, and not just overall pregnancy weight gain, is what often causes pregnant women to appear to waddle.  UNBELIEVABLE PAIN - not chub, it turns out - is the culprit!  My OB told me gently, "These are what they call the aches and pains of pregnancy."  Yeah, I'd kinda thought that after my award winning morning sickness, I would just avoid those.  I've skated along since trimester one.  But with 5 weeks to go, my luck is apparently running low...
• Having a baby, and having your family be excited about your having a baby, can be the #1 cause of overwhelming stress in your pregnancy.  And life.  Positive stress?  If I'm not being totally self-pitying, yes.  The fact that so many people are lined up and ready to love and spoil this little princess rotten is incredibly good fortune for her and for us.  But it doesn't mean it's always easy to navigate everyone else's opinions and expectations about your baby.  With the operative word being "your."
• No one really cuts you a break just because you're pregnant.  You still have to work.  Hard.  And cook and clean.  And walk the dog.  And attend to your church/community obligations.  And make and keep plans with friends and family no matter how exhausted you are or how swollen your cankles.  That being said, notice I said "no one cuts you a break."  That doesn't mean breaks can't be cut.  That means you're your only advocate, so speak up and assert your limits or spend the better part of ten months being disappointed by other people's lack of understanding about how hard it really truly is to bring another life into the world. 
• You will probably at some point be weirded out by your body, your baby, or both.  For example, when her limbs stick out and she moves beneath your skin like an alien.  Or when the doc checks your cervix and tells you that she can feel the baby's head with her fingers. 
• I don't have a 5th thing right now.  We had some family drama and were up late last night, and now have very busy rest-of-the-week through the weekend.  So if you couldn't tell from my first four thoughts, I'm tired, a little cranky, and in need of a break that I'm not assertive enough to take!!!!!