SYMPTOMS OF THE HEAD
- Baby Brain –don’t know what the technical term is, but in the prego world one of the things you have to look forward to is turning into an airhead. I don’t care how intelligent, clever, booksmart you are – something happens to your brain and you find yourself the butt of every blonde joke. I’m not talking about forgetting what you discussed hours ago, but forgetting a minute later why you went upstairs or where you put your keys or why you got into your car. If you weren’t a list person before you will become one now. I live for post-its, paper and digital, my little journal and the task to do list on my gmail calendar.
- Hair – You’re probably hoping I mention how long and luscious my hair seems to be getting. All those lovely pre-natal vitamins nourishing my locks. Not quite. What really happens is that the cycle our hair goes through of losing a certain amount stops. Sounds good so far, I get to hold on to that hair I’m losing. Well that’s only ½ right. You only get to keep them during the pregnancy. After the baby is born, all the hair you’re supposed to have lost, you’ll lose all at once. Bye-bye thick hair, Hello bald spots. The upside, I still seem to be losing my hair, so I’m hoping that the change won’t be so drastic come October. Oh and the texture of your hair can change too. A few clients from my salon days had hair that went from straight to kinky, curly to straight, soft and manageable to dry and breakable. Okay this is just getting depressing, I’ll move on.
- Acne – I am thanking my lucky stars. Outside of a few little white heads here and there I haven’t had any. Surprising since from the age of 17 I used to get these ridiculous Mount Vesuvius-sized cysts. Unfortunately others haven’t been so lucky. All those hormones can take a toll and have been known to do its worst by 2nd trimester. Like many symptoms though they say they often go away after giving birth. I however wouldn’t be able to wait that long. Certain OTC topical meds are okay to use such as those with benzoyl peroxide, or low concentrations of salicylic acid but others – Accutate, topical retinoids like Retin-A or oral tetracycline are a big NO-NO. Make sure you talk to your doctor before you start using anything.
- Super Spidey Senses– the gift of flight or super-fast reflexes would have been my power of choice but instead many of you will notice your new power of SMELL. I have yet to figure out how to use my superwoman power to my advantage but instead all throughout 1sttrimester all it has done is cause nausea and morning sickness. A fellow mom-to-be told me of how the smell of her fridge made her sick. Quick resolution – stay out of the kitchen? Not far enough for her acute olfactory organ. While lying in bed she would feel the onset of nausea. Yelling down to her husband she would shout “Close the fridge door!” who had been innocently standing with the fridge open pondering a late night snack. Luckily, this power seems to diminish with the onset of 2nd trimester.
- Bleeding Gums/Gingevitis – we’ve all had a little bleeding while brushing our teeth, maybe brushed a little too hard or hadn’t flossed in a while. Well thanks to that wonderful hormone, progesterone, your gums are more sensitive to plaque and inflammation. The remedy for this, ironically is to brush and floss more. Any kind of infection is bad for you and therefore the baby, so preventing gingivitis or worse, periodontitis, is a must. The trick is to brush with a softer toothbrush (I switched over to a kid one) and more frequently, like between meals. Also don’t forget to tell your dentist you’re pregnant. I went in to get a cavity filled and mentioned right before going in that I was pregnant. Turns out that the local anesthetic typically used, Novacaine, can’t be used. They switched over to Lidocaine which is safe to use while pregnant.
