1. PREGNANCY BRAIN IS REAL

Due to this condition, you may, hypothetically speaking, get lost in a parking garage and be unable to find your car. Spoiler alert: it’s because you’re looking in the completely wrong parking garage. It’s 95 degrees outside, you didn’t pack water, and you have to ask kind ladies to drive you around to find your car. I wouldn’t know, of course, because this has never happened to me. (Ok maybe it was me.) Your brain has been hijacked, so always pack a water bottle and pray for guardian angels.

2. YOU WILL WEEP OVER RANDOM THINGS

You’ll find yourself crying every time you hear “Tin Man,” from the band America and you have absolutely no idea why. What is that song even about? All you know is that it reminds you of sunsets, sadness, and that time in 2013 when you heard that young busker lady at the Granville Farmers Market in Vancouver BC playing ‘70s band covers. SOBBING.

3. PREGNANCY IS BOTH MAGICAL AND KIND OF GROSS

One minute you will feel like a glowing goddess of life and everything maternal, and the next minute you’ll be at Red Robin and look down and your belly bump is covered in ketchup you accidently spilled on yourself. Then your husband will unexpectedly make you laugh and you pee yourself just a … tiny … bit. You’ll feel magical and messy from one moment to the next.

4. DON’T FIGHT THE CRAVINGS

Your body’s intuition will astound you. You will be strolling the grocery aisles and see a can of smoked oysters and your brain will scream at you to immediately purchase them. You will have to go home and eat the whole can in one sitting (with crackers and cheese at least, you’re not a monster). It turns out oysters are really high in iron, magnesium, and omega 3! So your body might actually know what’s up.

5. PEOPLE ARE NICER TO YOU

People will smile at you when you’re out in public and you’ll be weirded out until you realize they’re staring at your belly. Ok, it’s still a little weird to stare at someone’s abdomen. Especially when you’re walking down the beach and the cops patrolling the boardwalk just start smiling at you … did I break the law? Are they going to arrest me Oh no, they’re probably just parents too and think it’s sweet that a pregnant lady is exercising (I wasn’t just walking to get donuts, obviously).

6. EVERYTHING CHANGES, BUT THE BEST PARTS OF YOU STAY THE SAME

Even as your body completely transforms and your mama heart grows bigger than you ever thought possible, you’re still the same person. You’re still funny, kind, smart, and scared about the future. You just need to nap more, map out all available bathrooms everywhere you go, and chug water like you’re a camel in the Sahara Desert.