I dreamt and dreamt of what it might be like to have my very own bump. I knew that the excitement and pride I would feel would by far outweigh any problems or complaints that I encountered along my pregnant way.

And it did! I loved being pregnant. I loved it so much that I did it again voluntarily within a few short years.

So I am not at all complaining about what it’s like to have a big pregnant belly sticking out in front of you. I miss it so much already, with a second baby not yet even a year old. I think I might like to be pregnant many, many times if things like having no money and living in a tiny little house weren’t an issue.

But I digress… The focus here is that although that baby bump is truly a glorious thing, a sight to behold, and a quite miraculous joy, it can also sort of get in the way.

Things you used to do without a thought or a pause can become… Let’s just say “hard” (or impossible, or extremely frustrating).

Social situations change. Options and opportunities in work and life shift.

Ask most moms, and they’ll tell you it was all well worth it – but here are 15 ways the baby bump can sabotage a mother-to-be.

15 Ruining Precious Moments

I’ve had a really frustrating day with my once upon a time very well-behaved toddler. And this one really hits close to home with me, and is one way my bump really and truly did sabotage me.

In the final months and weeks before we said goodbye to the times of just me and her – of her being the baby and me being mommy only to one little princess – my big ole belly made it so that I could barely even fit her on my lap. In those last nights of story time together before I’d inevitably be off cramming in work at night or helping or feeding the new baby instead, we couldn’t even snuggle during story time like we used to. I had to prop her up awkwardly on one knee.

And it didn’t stop there. I couldn’t lift her at various times during pregnancy, either, especially as that bump really grew – and once I had her up in my arms, my side didn’t have that nice curve that allows moms to so easily rest their babies on their hips anymore.

14 Professional Roadblock

If you look around a little bit, such as on pregnancy sites like The Bump, there will be women writing in seeking advice. It’s very often about a concern such as, “Is this discharge normal??” or “Is this cramping at this week of pregnancy okay?” or something of the like.

But there are also women out there facing the all too real realities of what it’s like to meander through life with that bump giving your pregnancy away to all who see you.

Basically, it’s completely obvious that you are soon to have a child – and like it or not, that means some potentially negative or limiting factors, as well as the happy ones it may be more fun to focus on.

Consider, for example, interviewing for a job.

Though surely employers aren’t technically allowed to discriminate against women because they are pregnant, what do you think the realities are? Are they likely to hire someone they know will need to take weeks or months (or forever) off in just a few months?

Women even try to hide their bumps to secure employment.

13 Interrupting… Intimacy

Pregnant women have needs, too. In fact, they sometimes report having more needs – or more intense needs – than ever during those glorious and strange 9-plus months (well, at least during some of those moths).

But the bump may sabotage them yet again – by making it physically impossible to get it on comfortably.

There are concerns about lying flat on your back – many doctors will recommend not resting in that position once the bump is big enough to put pressure on the major vein called the vena cava. So that one’s out.

It can be hard to balance, and your legs can get tired very quickly with all the extra weight that you’re carrying because of that glorious pregnant belly. I won’t get too graphic here, but basically this enforces some very real limitations, as well.

Even if you try to get creative, that bump may keep throwing up roadblocks.

12 Awkward Workout Action

At the beginning of pregnancy, you may have rather grand (okay, possibly not entirely realistic…) plans about continuing on with your workout routine just as you normally would. I’m not saying this is absolutely impossible, but I guess I am just saying that I bet readers out there who are already moms are nodding knowingly as they read through this one.

I’ll give you a specific example. I thought maybe I’d be able to keep running while I was pregnant. I googled around. There were plenty of women out there who did it. Some of them thought they got some second looks while they did it (but who gives a F about that).

My doctor talked things over with me. One main issue he wanted me to keep in mind was that if you have a joint or muscle injury (which it’s often easier to do while pregnant), you’re kind of F-ed because you can’t take ibuprofen (Advil) or some other painkillers…

Positions and routines can become impractical or impossible, as well.

It’s great to form an appropriate fitness plan with your doc and stick to it – but that big bump may mean at least once that plans needs to change.

11 Forced To Ditch Dignity

It’s probably not every pregnant woman’s dream to, well, wet herself, but if you ask around or look around the Internet any amount of time, you’ll very likely hear many tales of women doing just that.

And so another way that the bump might really get ya when you least expect is to make you accidentally pee.

Sorry to say.

For some, it’s just a random little trickle every now and then.

For others, it’s a loss of control when they laugh, cough, or sneeze.

I recently wrote this other article about Whisper confessions from pregnant ladies who had bathroom accidents, and there were just sooo many out there about the pressure of the bump just putting so much strain on the bladder and the muscles that support it that gals wet themselves all sorts of places: at work, in bed, and out on the town.

10 Behind The Wheel

Have you noticed that pregnant ladies with rather large bumps (once they are pretty far along in the pregnancy) can tend to move kind of slower than usual?

It can just be a little more difficult to move around. Things like standing up from sitting (especially from the floor), getting in and out of the car, and even getting out of bed in the morning can just make you pause and sort of struggle for a minute. There can be new aches and pains, and the last thing you want to do is pull something and undergo labor with some sort of muscle or joint injury.

But alas, sometimes the bump makes it even harder to get through the daily tasks of the day – by making it hard to even fit in behind the steering wheel.

I’m officially – after two pregnancies so far – in the habit of having my husband drive whenever he’s around.

Then sometimes once you’re in, you can’t lean far enough to grab the door and close it because the bump is yet again in the way.

9 Wardrobe Woes

Some of us think we can get by with wearing the existing empire waist dresses, stretchy tank tops, and leggings in our closets – and then we realize that we were wrong.

We need, most often, to invest in at least a few pieces of maternity wear – but the good news is that there is some incredibly fashionable and flattering stuff out there now, and that a lot of it doubles up as a nursing wardrobe! There are tops that pull aside or down, hidden peekaboo access to the breasts, clip-down functions, and more.

That’s why it’s so frustrating when the bump sabotages you yet again and makes it almost inevitable that you will spill food (read: chocolate) on a good amount of all those brand-new, pretty maternity clothes (that you’d hoped to at least continue using for nursing or even subsequent pregnancies… heck, at least for consignment or resale!).

It sounds ridiculous, but truly, whether you’re at the dinner table or lounging on the couch, it just sticks out so far by the end that it simply tends to catch more of whatever might fall on its way to your hungry mouth – and collect stains.

8 Man Repellant

This one is for a unique set of ladies, but they are out there, to be sure, and so I include it just for them.

I take my inspiration from a little show called Friends. You may have heard of it? (You’ll notice that yes, I tend to reference it A LOT because I’ve never been a big TV watcher but have watched this one through many, many times, because it’s so very ’90s and so very awesome.)

See, Rachel is pregnant with Ross’s baby, but she’s single, and even before she has a visible bump, she finds it impossible to date. Once the dude finds out she’s about to have a kid, he goes running.

And women in real life encounter this roadblock, too, when the bump sabotages their dating life, making it impossible to see anyone looking for a real relationship. The guys they do date even end up being in it for weird and fetish-y reasons sometimes.

Yuck. (And good luck!)

7 The Heck With Hygiene

It’s hard to imagine when you are first showing that the bump will very soon grow so big that you can’t even see or sometimes get to your own feet – but it quite often does happen.

You want to feel and look your best – or at least not have nails so long and pointy that the cut your husband as you toss and turn in bed at night.

But your bump may sabotage you yet again by making it completely awkward or even impossible for you to do things like lean down and wash your feet in the shower, much less reach your own toenails in order to trim, file, or paint them.

Even if you are not normally the type to spring for a professional pedicure, now may be the (necessary) time.

Some gals even try to train their husbands to help out with their feet grooming in those final months. You do what you have to do!

6 Blocking The V View

Unfortunately, the feet aren’t the only thing you’ll say sayonara to once that bump grows quite large in the third trimester.

While gals may find themselves valuing keeping things neat and tidy in the pubic region, either just because that’s how they roll or to feel prepared and confident for medical exams and of course also the birth, they may also find it impossible to see what they’re doing down there or even to reach comfortably to do things like shave or wax themselves.

Sorry to get a bit graphic, but it’s true.

Now we know that some gals do shell out the big bucks for professional laser or waxing treatments at salons and spas, but a good number of today’s women also take grooming into their own capable hands – until they just plain can’t.

5 They’re Gone Forever

You’re tired. You’re running behind. You’re in a hurry. You’re feeling a bit off-balance and clumsy. You drop your keys. Sigh.

You don’t yet have a toddler or young child with you to be your “little helper” and pick them up for you, and you consider just leaving them there forever. Who needs to do things like drive a car and get in and out of a home and office anyway? You may be so tired and that bump may be making it so hard for you to bend over and pick up anything that you’re really just over it.

I dropped my keys for the second time of the day while arriving at my old office one morning as 40 weeks neared, and when my coworker (who had recently had a pregnant wife) sprang out of his desk to grab them for me, I swear I think I almost kissed him I was so grateful.

4 Getting Tipsy

You’re feeling so maternal and protective. Everything you’ve put into your body – or not – for the better part of the last year, all the exercise routines you’ve followed… It’s all been for the sake of keeping your little bundle safe and healthy.

So why in the world does that massive baby bump make it so that you feel like you might tip right over and hurt yourself? Why are you always bumping it on doorframes and bonking it against the car when you try to get in or out?

Because that’s just the way it is sometimes. The rate of growth in the second and third trimesters, especially, is so astounding and very noticeable. A mom may not even feel like she really has time to adjust to her new mass and shape, leaving her feeling tipsy, clumsy, and quite frankly like she’d rather just sit still for a while.

In other words, it can feel like your proprioception is out of whack.

3 Sleep Thief

“Get your rest while you can!” “Sleep is so important.” “Everything will seem so much better after a good night’s sleep.”

Do these phrases sound familiar?

The problem is that as the end of pregnancy nears, that big ole bump can seem to sort of work against you, making it impossible to get comfortable and catch a few winks or a handful of Z’s.

If you can’t get any sleep because of how large that beautiful baby bump has grown, you’re certainly not alone.

I’ve heard of women just giving up on bed entirely and trying to sleep in recliners.

And all you can think about is the impending labor – and how you’d really, really like to avoid going into the whole thing while already exhausted.

Women buy pregnancy support pillows, use a whole stack of regular pillows, and more just to try to get the rest they desperately need.

2 Bye-Bye, Peace & Quiet

At first, it might be fun – for a certain personality type. Once the bump is visible and noticeable, everyone on the street, and in the grocery store, and at the office, wants to talk about the pregnancy all the time.

And for an excited expectant mom, that can be really fun! Until it’s not.

Not everyone experiences this, but for some, having to constantly receive attention, discussion, and speculation about pregnancy and birth gets old if not overwhelming.

“Yes,” they feel like saying, “I am ‘very’ pregnant. Congratulations to you on having eyes.”

Saying hello to a showing bump can mean saying goodbye to peace and quite, sayonara to being able to leave the house or sit at the café without strangers asking you a million questions and giving you unsolicited advice – and telling horrifying stories about births, hospitals, and babies.

1 A Pupil’s Problems

Sure, a cliché picture may come up in our minds of a pregnant woman. She’s lounging at home or shopping at the grocery store. Her husband is off at work. Or maybe she’s tying up loose ends at the office as she prepares to go on maternity leave.

But look around on the Internet a little bit (or look around at the people in your own community), and you’ll see that sometimes pregnant people are still very young or even still students.

They may even be in high school still – or say even finishing up their graduate studies. And there are many things about being in school and simultaneously being pregnant that are probably not exactly easy. And then the bump gets so big that they can’t even fit in a normal desk anymore. Talk about sabotage!

Sources: TheBump.com