Pregnancy = Weird
Crazy Dreams and Nightmares
Having more intense/colorful/strange dreams is a common pregnancy symptom. It's thought that the extreme hormone fluctuations that women experience during pregnancy (the ones that make your emotions go more than a little wild) can affect the quality of dreams as well. Lucky us.
Extra Snot/Mucus
Pregnancy hormones can cause inflammation in nasal passages, causing you to make more mucus, resulting in congestion. This phenomenon is known as Rhinitis of pregnancy and nearly 30% of women experience it during pregnancy. The good news is, it should go away within the first couple of weeks postpartum, but it can definitely make pregnancy uncomfortable. Being congested on top of already not being able to get a good breath due to having a baby in your ribs, isn't the most fun ever.
Nose Bleeds
Along with the extra snot and mucus during pregnancy, the expansion of the blood vessels in your nose combined with an increased blood supply puts extra pressure on those blood vessels which often results in more bloody noses for pregnant women. Can we just catch a break here?!
Dark and Enlarged Areolas
During pregnancy there are a ton of breast changes happening. They obviously get larger (nipples too!), but one thing many women don't realize is that the darkening and enlargement of the areolas is part of the process. Basically it's nature's way of turning your breasts into giant, high contrast, bullseyes so your fuzzy-visioned baby can find your nipples to nurse more easily.
Changes in Hair Growth
Many women know about the changes in the growth of the hair on their heads. The increase in estrogen during pregnancy tends to result in shiny, healthy hair for many mamas-to-be. But, it's not only the hair on a woman's head that undergoes changes. Often women will notice a change in the growth rate of their body hair as well. Some women will begin growing hair like a chia pet and others may end up with the magical pregnancy symptom of having their body hair actually stop growing. With everything else going on during pregnancy, it's nice when you get a symptom or two that actually turns out to be a perk!
Wild Fluctuations in Body Temperature
Sudden changes in body temperature are an annoying, but totally normal, pregnancy symptom that many women experience. It's like a preview of what the hot flashes of menopause may feel like. Oh joy.
