Now that I am officially past the half way mark of this pregnancy, I thought I would take a moment to document the things I did not expect, and gather your thoughts on what might still be in store for me.

• My migraines have disappeared. I have had at least one migraine a month since I was a small child; however amazingly, I haven’t had a single migraine during my pregnancy so far.
• My skin has become “sensitive”. I can no longer use some of the same skin care products/routines that I have religiously used for years. For example, I have always had my eyebrows waxed until a waxing early in my pregnancy led to half of my eyelid coming off, leaving me with scabs that lasted for over a week.
• My taste buds have changed. I crave hot sauce – the hotter the better and I can’t seem to get enough of it no matter how much heartburn is likely to follow.
• I REALLY dislike being sick while pregnant. Okay call me a wimp, but I recently had the worst cold/flu ever due to the fact I wasn’t able to max out on all the wonderful over-the-counter drugs that I have traditionally used in the past.
• I really like my baby belly. I find it incredibly liberating not to have to walk around sucking in my stomach all day. I was also not expecting to like looking pregnant but I honestly think my self image is healthier now than it has probably been my whole adult life.

What things surprised you about your pregnancy? Any ideas on what else I should expect during the last half of my pregnancy?

Note:  Originally posted on Walmart’s Baby Buzz Blog on 4/6/2009.

About Kelly Tirman

Kelly Tirman is Natural Connector, Crowdsourcer, Curator and Change Management Professional specializing in Social Business. She currently works as an Enterprise Social Business Strategist for Wells Fargo however in her “free-time” Kelly blogs on several topics including Urban Living, Raising Multilingual Children, Organic Beauty and Social Commerce. She happily resides in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+

During the beginning of my pregnancy, I experienced grueling morning sickness and at moments, I began to second-guess myself. What am I doing? Am I maternal enough to be a good mother? If I am struggling this much now, how am I going to handle the sleepless nights and midnight feedings?

I am sure I will continue to experience ups and downs during my pregnancy; however, I’ve recently experienced several things that have boosted my confidence and made me completely grateful for this amazing opportunity to be a mother.

I recently found out I’m having a girl. I would have been equally happy with a boy but for some reason knowing it’s a girl has taken this pregnancy to another level.

Another thing that has helped me connect is the somewhat strange and surreal feeling of her moving around inside me. I have also begun talking to her, which probably makes me look slightly insane. I have no idea if she can hear me or not but I love her and I want her to know.

Not only is my connection to my daughter growing but also it is amazing how pregnancy can bring a couple even closer. This past weekend my husband bought an heirloom tomato just to show me the present size of our baby growing inside me. At that moment, I think I fell in love with him all over again. He is going to be an awesome dad.

Note: Originally posted on Walmart’s Baby Buzz Blog on 3/16/2009.

About Kelly Tirman

Kelly Tirman is Natural Connector, Crowdsourcer, Curator and Change Management Professional specializing in Social Business. She currently works as an Enterprise Social Business Strategist for Wells Fargo however in her “free-time” Kelly blogs on several topics including Urban Living, Raising Multilingual Children, Organic Beauty and Social Commerce. She happily resides in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+