Five More Things No One Tells You About Being Pregnant

No matter how much you planned and hoped, actually being pregnant may come as a bit of a surprise. Sure, you've heard friends complain about morning sickness. You've day-dreamed about feeling your baby kick and proudly showing off your bump. No matter how prepared you are to become a parent, a few things about being pregnant will still come as a surprise.

Here are five more things that no one tells you about being pregnant (including most of the pregnancy books and magazines).

1. People will want to touch you. Complete strangers will walk up to you and feel your baby bump. For some unknown reason, people seem to think that being pregnant makes your body public property. Yes, friends and family will probably want to feel the baby kick, and you may even invite them to. I'm talking about people that are either just acquaintances or total strangers. I mean when you're minding your own business, picking out bananas or pasta in the grocery store, and some other shopper comes up, pats your stomach without warning, and then tries to make it acceptable by asking when you're due. The best solution that I've found is just to back up out of their reach.

2. You will develop an obsessive need to know how your baby is developing. This is why pregnancy is such big business. There are thousands of pregnancy books and magazines that you can buy. I recommend getting good free information from websites like ivillage.

3. Your bump will not grow gradually. Most of the time you will go from hardly showing at all to having a noticeable bump almost overnight. This is normal. Expect to get bigger suddenly. Yes, you will steadily get bigger, but it often happens a lot at a time.

4. Your tummy is not the only thing that's going to get bigger. Your pregnant bump will, of course, be the most obvious change in your appearance. Be aware, though, that your breasts will get bigger as well-usually by several cup sizes. They will also change in appearance. This is your body's way of preparing to breastfeed.