By: Alicia McPhillips

Being pregnant is such an amazing time in life. You’ll be full of questions, joys, doubts and everything in between. With everything that is happening to your body, you are bound to have millions of questions. You do your research, ask your doctors, ask other mothers; but there will still be unanswered questions. People can tell you what to expect when in labor, or once the baby is here-but what about what to expect before all of that? I have gathered my top 10 things people don’t tell you when you are pregnant in hope this will answer some questions!

1. Your hips will hurt beyond your wildest dreams. You may not notice it until you are in your 6^th or 7^th month, but believe me-it will come.
2. After sitting down (which is already hard), it will be even harder to get up.
3. Morning sickness doesn’t just happen in the morning. It is there morning, noon and night.
4. You will surprise yourself at how much food you can put away. You can go from being nauseous one minute to eating a full 7-course meal.
5. You will have to pee every hour on the hour. It doesn’t matter if you just sat down, if you are sitting at a red light, or if you just fell asleep. When you have to go YOU HAVE TO GO.
6. You hair will grow to be the most luscious locks you ever had. Enjoy it while it lasts because after the baby-you will lose so much hair you could make a wig.
7. The heartburn is NO JOKE.
8. You will get to a point where every article of clothing you own will feel like a boa-constrictor and you will want nothing to do with it. Leggings and a sports bra will be your best friend.
9. Eat something before you take your prenatal vitamin.
10. Sleeping will be almost impossible, no matter how many pillows you have.

These are just some of the standout things I learned while I was pregnant. Of course this doesn’t answer all the questions one may have-it doesn’t even scratch the surface! It is such a learning experience that in the end brings you more joy than you could even imagine!