Razra the thing I found most frustrating about being pregnant first time around was the "Oh you just wait til...
... you are 9 months pregnant, THEN you will know what uncomfortable is!"
... the baby arrives, THEN you will know what tired is"
... you're actually in labour, THEN you will want pain relief"
etc etc etc blah blah blah
It annoyed me so much! And as for the tiredness one, it's a load of rubbish as yes, babies wake up for feeds during the night but I found I got much more sleep and was much more rested once Holly was here than I did when I was pregnant!! Between the getting up for a wee, SPD, Braxton Hicks, restless legs, leg cramps, hot weather... the list goes on... I hardly got any sleep whilst pregnant so it was a relief when she was born!!
I've not actually been too bad at night so far, well not as bad as last time anyway. Maybe that's because I'm more used to broken sleep through having Holly? I am still up a couple of times for a wee and a couple of times due to not being comfy through SPD, but I seem to be getting lots more sleep than last pregnancy. I guess I am not working at the mo as well, so I can nap during the day, whereas I was working last time so that makes a big difference.
As for maternity leave, I start mine in a week! I have been off sick for the last 10 weeks though with SPD, so it's not really anything different for me lol It feels weird that I will be starting mat leave so early, but it doesn't matter as I'm not going back anyway. It's a nice relief that I don't have to think about work again! I think come December when my SMP runs out I will probably just get a Saturday job. I tried being a working Mum and I didn't like it, I want to be at home to look after my babies!!