Pregnancy | Things I have enjoyed about being pregnant

Pregnancy is not all doom and gloom - to be quite honest I feel as though I may have got off pretty lightly when it comes to symptoms. There have so far been no major aches, pains, trips to the hospital and no odd cravings at 2am which has really been a blessing, though my affinity for ice cream recently could be put down to pregnancy, or the nicer weather, who knows?

Today in light of my relatively good fortune I wanted to share some of the little things I have  really enjoyed about being pregnant because some of these things I don't feel are spoken about enough. When we were trying for a baby I read a tonne of pregnancy blogs and watched hundreds of You Tube videos revolving around the pregnancy experience, signs and symptoms and essentially what I could be in for and I'll be honest, most of those posts were damn scary! But it doesn't have to be, at least it doesn't have to be all of the time, so here are my top 5 things I have so far enjoyed about being pregnant.

That glow though 

I never in a million years expected that the 'pregnancy glow' would be real. I had images of nine months of having, dull, dry skin and feeling quite miserable with my appearance simply because of morning sickness (which I had convinced myself I'd have forever - I didn't by the way!) After my first trimester I had a surge in hormones that helped clear up my skin and give me a nice, healthy glow which I have never had before. My skin has quite literally never been better, it feels more plump, hydrated and glowy - long may it continue!

Hair envy
Not only has my skin taken a turn for the better but my hair has too. Gone are the days of rubbing oils, lotions and potions on to my scalp to encourage hair growth, I can't seem to get it to stop! While Nick now says living with me is much akin to living with a werewolf I'm just so happy that it's growing that I don't mind a bit of shedding...or, more accurately plunging the shower drain on a weekly basis - grim, but worth it.

Comfy clothes all day everydayMaternity clothes really aren't that bad. With stores like Topshop, New Look, ASOS and Boohoo killing it with their range of flattering maternity clothes I haven't found getting clothes I like to be a struggle and seriously though - where have maternity jeans been all of my life?! I don't think I'll ever give up my comfy stretchy paneled clothes now - pregnancy or no pregnancy it's comfy clothes all the way.

Kicks and fluttersThough I didn't start feeling my baby until much later than others due to my anterior placenta cushioning her every move, when I did it was pretty special. It's an odd and surreal feeling of course considering the only movement I'd been used to in there previously would be a dodgy burger, but it's nice to know she's in there communicating thorough her movements to let me know she's doing just fine.

Closer as a couple
Most women say they feel quite isolated from their partners during pregnancy, I understand why, it is of course the woman who goes through the carrying of the baby, the lifestyle changes and of course the physical changes and it can be tough. But I feel as though since being pregnant Nick and I are closer than ever, from spending time talking about important future decisions to the more fun aspects like baby clothes and nursery shopping I feel as though we're more in sync than ever as a result.

So you see ladies and gents? It's not all doom and gloom. Of course I'm not by any means saying pregnancy is a breeze and it can definitely be difficult at times (when you have to say goodbye to your fave outfit for example!) but it doesn't have to be scary.

Thank you so much for having a read of yet another pregnancy post I'll be back with my second trimester update pretty soon and I may share some of the things I haven't enjoyed quite so much about pregnancy if you're interested in reading that too. Until then though you can catch me on the usual channels, Twitter, Instagram and Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x