3 Unexpected Pregnancy Symptoms I Actually Loved
Pregnancy has so many different symptoms. Though I didn’t look forward to the nausea, swollen feet and ankles and heartburn, there were some symptoms I (surprisingly!) loved.
Thicker nails and hair
My nails and hair couldn’t have been any thicker, shinier and healthier when I was expecting! I felt like I was a walking Pantene ad while rocking a baby bump. The fact that my hair and nails never failed me during my entire pregnancy (and even throughout my nursing stage once my son had arrived) was a bonus! I’d like to think it was totally natural and had nothing to do with my prenatal vitamins, but let’s be honest, once I ditched those prenatal vitamins after baby arrived, my supermodel-campaign hair and nails also ditched me. At least I have tons of selfies to prove what my hair can look like!
Constant naps
I loved the necessity of napping. There was no better way for me to catch up on the lost sleep from my middle-of-the-night discomforts than by catching a quick snooze on the couch. Plus, the extra snuggles from my dog didn’t hurt, either.
My voice
Maybe not so much my overall voice—but definitely my laugh! It turned into the most brilliant chuckle during my pregnancy. The way my laugh changed was very unexpected but welcomed! I found that I not only laughed more because of my chuckle, but I really did find that my new-found deep and sometimes gut-wrenching laughter added an entirely new dimension to my workout routine! Plus, I realized that my laughter was infectious. I felt like while I was pregnant I was always slightly aloof. It saved me from stressing the small stuff and I was able to train my mind to stay focused on what really mattered.
Pregnancy is the most beautiful time to be a woman. Throughout both of my pregnancies, there were probably more than a million times where I just stopped and stood in awe of my babies as they moved inside of me. My connection to nature also gave me a newfound appreciation for life—one that I’d never really stopped to take the time to notice before. And though there are so many lovely ways to sum up pregnancy, I’ve yet to find the right way to describe how I felt when I found out a little life was growing inside me.
Paula Miranda is a blogger, model, actress and entrepreneur raising a toddler and teenage daughter with the love of her life. You can follow her on Instagram at @paulaisms.
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