There are a lot of bad side effects of being pregnant. It’s extremely uncomfortable, you feel like a whale, constantly being asked to pee in a cup, people touching your belly without asking… The list goes on.
But there are some good things that happen while you’re pregnant, too.
There are women that say they hated being pregnant, and that’s fine. My BFF was one of them.
There are women that LOVED being pregnant. That’s great!
I was sort of in the middle. I had a love/hate relationship with pregnancy.
Here are 10 things that I miss about being pregnant.

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1. The feeling of the baby moving
Sure, you can just hold your baby and feel her move now that she’s here, but there’s just something special about feeling a baby move inside of you.
You only get about 6 months of this feeling in your whole life if you only have one child.
It’s the first contact you had with your child. And it was exciting to be the only one to connect in this way with your baby.
For the first few weeks of baby moving, it’s so subtle that you can’t feel it from the outside. While I was excited when B and other people could feel her moving, I loved being her only connection.
It’s extra special when you poke the baby, and the baby pokes you back.
2. Always having your baby with me
When I’m at work or when Toot is sleeping in her room, I miss her. (Obviously) But I also miss having her with me at all times like when I was pregnant.
It was nice that she was just right there in my lap while I was processing payroll or doing paperwork.
Now that she’s a toddler I also miss having her right there with me on the couch kind of like cuddling.
She’s very active now and always wants down. I was able to cuddle with her as a baby in her boppy lounger.
Mr. Meowgi wouldn’t cuddle with me after she was born unfortunately. He loved to cuddle with me when I was pregnant.

3. Carrying baby hands-free
This is probably the thing I miss the most.
Yes, you can get a moby wrap or a carrier. But it’s not totally hands-free like lugging around a pregnant belly.
I also miss getting in the car with the baby without having to strap her into a car seat.
4. Special treatment
Now, I know this sounds totally selfish, but I miss things like people offering me their seat.
And people used to offer me food all the time, especially cake! I ate so much cake when I was pregnant.
There are special parking spaces for pregnant women at some stores around my town. You can only use the “new parents” spot for so long. I don’t think having an 18-month-old qualifies as being a new parent.
5. My OB
Ok, so you may not miss your OB if he or she was awful, but mine was fantastic as was her staff!
I really got to know them after seeing them about 50 times in the span of 9 months.
They even got mad at me for not bringing Toot to my 3-week follow-up appointment.
After my 6-week follow-up, I didn’t have to go back until a year later. That was quite an adjustment after going into her office every week for a few months.
My OB was very sweet and she even did my c-section in heels because she’s a badass.
6. Nesting
My favorite thing about nesting was sorting her clothes and getting her room ready.
You do get to relive nesting every once in a while when your child is getting to a new milestone. After Toot turned a year old, we sorted through all of her bigger clothes and rearranged her room a bit so she could play in it.
Then we made some more changes when she transitioned into a toddler bed and we’ll make even more when she gets a big girl bed.

7. Quiet time alone
Once you have a baby, there is no more quiet.
I miss being quietly alone with Toot when I was pregnant.
She was still there, but there was no crying, no whining, no songs from The Wiggles playing. It was bliss.
8. People giving me gifts left and right
I had four baby showers. FOUR. I really only asked for two since our family is so big. One for my family and one for B’s family.
But then my friends wanted to throw one, and my mom’s side of the family did their own.
Everyone is always so excited and gives you lots of cute clothes and gifts.
You might get a few presents after birth but when your baby is a month old, the presents stop until Christmas or their first birthday.
We didn’t ask for gifts at our Sip and See baby party but we got a few anyway.
This also sounds totally selfish, but it’s so nice and helpful to receive useful gifts for the baby because everything baby is SUPER EXPENSIVE.
Even just having the baby is ridiculously expensive. Our medical bills for Toot’s birth before insurance added up to $25,000. And she was a normal C-section birth.
Now that I’ve had a baby, I’m super excited about giving baby shower gifts! I love giving the most useful gifts.
There were 5 things I couldn’t live without during Toot’s first year, so I will usually gift one of those.
9. The anticipation
There is nothing more exciting than the anticipation of meeting your child.
From the moment you find out you’re pregnant, you start to daydream about who that baby will be.
Boy or girl? What will they look like? What will they think is funny? What will they want to be with they’re older?
Being pregnant is all about anticipation!

10. Telling people that I’m pregnant
One of my favorite things was telling someone, especially someone close, that I was pregnant.
We came up with fun ideas of how to announce to our parents, our extended family, and to Facebook! The reactions were all amazing.
What do you miss (or think you’ll miss) about being pregnant?
Let me know in the comments below!
Brandi says
The feeling of the baby moving is the best!
Roshunda says
Awe inspiring miss 95% of those things too lol! Great post.
Lisa | The Merry Momma says
I’m one of those women that loves being pregnant! It’s such a special time. And,like you said, there’s no crying!! Oh, the crying. I would take the third trimester over the “fourth” any day.
The thing I miss the most is the connection with my husband. I know this isn’t true of a lot of couples, but my husband and I always develop a deeper bond when I’m pregnant. He gets really sweet and protective, and I get extra sentimental and affectionate. It’s really a special time for us.
I love that you appreciate all the lovely little things about pregnancy, even though it can also be really difficult. I enjoyed reading your list. ?
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thanks so much!! Glad you enjoyed it! ?
Bernadette of Mom+Carrot says
I enjoyed your article. I miss the feeling of having my daughter inside me, always safe and protected. I remember crying during the first month after my daughter was born just because I missed having her inside me. The world never felt so big and dangerous as it did that first month when I realized I could not protect my daughter as completely as when she was inside me.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yes exactly! I wish I could absorb her back into my body to be safe sometimes.
Kelly | Novelist says
It might be part of #4, but I think your favorite part was not having to deal with the kitty litter 😉
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
I forgot about that! But yes. That’s 100% true.
Jaclyn Bree says
I also liked and disliked being pregnant. And I’m pregnant again so I’m being reminded of all of it! Overall, I like being pregnant. I love feeling baby move (even when the jabs are a bit sharp!). I miss taking a bath with baby but not having to hold her! Taking a bath is one of the few ways to really relieve the back ache but once baby is born, it’s not so relaxing anymore! And now since I’m pregnant AND had a toddler, I still don’t get my relaxing baths! Although once I hit about 35 weeks I will have to insist that Hubby watch Doll while I enjoy some nice quiet and private bathing time. It will surely be the very last chance I get to pamper myself for a loooooong time.
Alexandria says
AAAAAAAnd now I have baby fever like crazy! Thanks!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
lol don’t tell hubby it’s my fault!
Emily Cathrine says
I agree with all of these! Though my pregnancy was a tough one (ended up on bed rest after 24 weeks) I loved the feeling of my little man wiggling around! It is a wonder that women are able to remember the wonderful things of pregnancy over the tough and down right painful things! If we didn’t then we would all stop at 1! Thank you for this post!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
You always hear horror stories and how bad all the symptoms are but you have to remember the good parts too!
Olivia says
During my post-birth emotional roller coaster, I came home and sobbed when I realized I wouldn’t be seeing my midwives apart from one check-in at 6 weeks. I LOVED them all and missed (and still miss) them dearly and felt very suddenly cut off from them once I left the hospital.
I had a medication-free labor and though I truly felt like I might die at times, I actually miss being in labor.. I can’t believe I’m saying that now! The anticipation that came with each dilation check, knowing that I would only be done once my daughter arrived, it was all incredible!
Love this list, I agree with it all!
Mica says
My youngest was my last baby so I often think back to what I miss about pregnancy. It wasn’t comfortable – it was SO hard for me to be comfortable with both babies, but it was always worth it. I still do have some fond pregnancy moments – feeling baby move, especially in the early days is just such an incredible feeling. 🙂 So blessed to have had that.
Gen says
I’m pregnant with my first child and I’ve been feeling so nervous about it, but I came across this article and it made me smile. Thank you <3
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Glad I could help! Enjoy your pregnancy and congrats!
Liz - Distract Me Now Please says
I think I’ll miss the movements and the quiet time, definitely! Although I am looking forward to being able to sometimes not being the one to carry the baby…
#thelistlinky
Liz x
Distract Me Now Please
Elena at Latina Wife and Mom Life says
This is the first post I have ever read about someone missing pregnancy. It shocked me because I have been on the opposite boat. In fact, I just wrote a post called: “Surprise 3rd Pregnancy-My Fears and Other Thoughts”. 2 months ago I found out I was pregnant (currently have 2 under 2), and I was genuinely thrilled, yet shocked and terrified at the same time! I do agree with some of these here, but others I dread going through all over again! Overall this is a wonderful thing for me and I can’t wait to see where this ‘Mom of 3 under 3’ journey leads me!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
My bff hated being pregnant! I also have a post about the 15 things I do NOT miss about being pregnant. Lol the bad things outweigh the good things ?