Welcome to the world of pregnancy where you realize the world has lied to you. You have been told about the pregnancy glow, the joys of pro-creating, and been shown 700 cute pictures of over-joyed pregnant women. Well……I’m here to talk to you about the good, the bad, and the ugly with a really strong focus on the ugly since it really has been left in the dark. We will focus on several subjects ranging from hormones to genetic testing to the ailments used for the fun side effects that come along with pregnancy while you are not allowed to take any of the medications that you are used to turning to.
This month’s topic is HORMONES!! That’s right. You know what I’m talking about…..the whole reason you went from being a rational, calm, sweet person to a fire-breathing dragon over-night. These so-called necessary hormones are enough to drive you to drink or at least wanting to drink heavily while prego which, by this time you know, is discouraged. These hormones have a name: Papp-A and hCG. We will get into Papp-A later but hCG is really the one that messes with your mental state. hCG is the explanation for a lot of what is happening to your mind and body right now! Literally, whenever you find yourself googling your newest symptom there will somehow be a link to that symptom and hCG. Nauseous? hCG. Constipated? hCG. Crying for no reason? hCG. In all seriousness, these hormonal changes do a number on you.
Now, if you are pregnant and you feel like everyone around you has lost their mind or that you are ultra-sensitive to people’s unwelcome comments, I’m here to inform you that this is perfectly normal. My best way to describe the effect of these hormonal changes is that you now have lost your courteous filter. This is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it’s a blessing. We spend most of our lives trying to avoid drama or not wanting to hurt people’s feelings or tip-toeing around how to put someone in their place. That is a great way to live your life until people start messing with you while you are pregnant.
If you are like me then you are normally pretty good at ignoring most of the life’s obnoxious petty incidents or things that really don’t have a huge impact on your life but when you become pregnant and your hormones are raging, you suddenly don’t have time or PATIENCE for any of it. People feel the need to share parenting tips, comment on name choices that you already decided on and didn’t ask for opinions on them, and of course they NEED to comment on your abundance or lack of weight gain. It’s really difficult to not let people get to you at this time and people will amaze you during your pregnancy. People will say things to you like “It’s about time” if they feel you’ve been married too long to not have a baby yet or if you do get pregnant right after you got married, someone will be dying to make a scandal of your pregnancy. It’s as if these people have no life and live to comment on your life decisions.
Somehow the world thinks that you are seeking its approval when in all reality you are just going about your own prego life not bothering a soul. Here are some great tips or comebacks in order to keep you calm and out of jail:
– Preface things with “We aren’t really sharing too much information because we don’t want unsolicited or unwanted opinions.” Now if they still say something obnoxious then you have carte blanche to tell them that they are a total ignoramus since you did warn them! This may feel awkward at first but I promise you it will fit into your repertoire in no time.
– Interrupt people before they get into their prego or labor horror stories and say: “I would really prefer to only hear positive experiences. Thanks.”
– Work on calming your own nerves with whatever works for you. Some great options are: pre-natal yoga, meditation, and journaling
– Don’t allow people that trigger your anxiety or heighten your stress levels around you. Avoid toxic or even just plain annoying people all together. Do NOT think it is mean. You need to worry about yourself and your little peanut right now.
– If you are like me and you like to read about things at 10:00 p.m. at night just to set yourself into a frenzy or panic, set limits to what you read and when you can do the reading. I’m officially cut off from any labor reading after 5:00 p.m. (Sad but true)
– When you do realize that you may have been a bit too harsh to your loved ones, acknowledge it. An apology will go a long way. To help explain this to your significant other, buy them a pregnancy explanation book. ‘Dude you are going to be a Dad’ is a good choice if you haven’t already purchased one. It’s good for them to know what you are going through and in this case what it might do to your mood or mental state.
Do not feel guilty for being hormonal. Understand what causes it and avoid anything that makes you aggravated, aggressive, annoyed or upset. You have enough to worry about! Mood swings are perfectly normal and going from a perfectly normal prego to “I will kill you if you give me another side-eye” enraged is just part of the fun in this journey we call pregnancy.
This month’s topic is HORMONES!! That’s right. You know what I’m talking about…..the whole reason you went from being a rational, calm, sweet person to a fire-breathing dragon over-night. These so-called necessary hormones are enough to drive you to drink or at least wanting to drink heavily while prego which, by this time you know, is discouraged. These hormones have a name: Papp-A and hCG. We will get into Papp-A later but hCG is really the one that messes with your mental state. hCG is the explanation for a lot of what is happening to your mind and body right now! Literally, whenever you find yourself googling your newest symptom there will somehow be a link to that symptom and hCG. Nauseous? hCG. Constipated? hCG. Crying for no reason? hCG. In all seriousness, these hormonal changes do a number on you.
Now, if you are pregnant and you feel like everyone around you has lost their mind or that you are ultra-sensitive to people’s unwelcome comments, I’m here to inform you that this is perfectly normal. My best way to describe the effect of these hormonal changes is that you now have lost your courteous filter. This is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it’s a blessing. We spend most of our lives trying to avoid drama or not wanting to hurt people’s feelings or tip-toeing around how to put someone in their place. That is a great way to live your life until people start messing with you while you are pregnant.
If you are like me then you are normally pretty good at ignoring most of the life’s obnoxious petty incidents or things that really don’t have a huge impact on your life but when you become pregnant and your hormones are raging, you suddenly don’t have time or PATIENCE for any of it. People feel the need to share parenting tips, comment on name choices that you already decided on and didn’t ask for opinions on them, and of course they NEED to comment on your abundance or lack of weight gain. It’s really difficult to not let people get to you at this time and people will amaze you during your pregnancy. People will say things to you like “It’s about time” if they feel you’ve been married too long to not have a baby yet or if you do get pregnant right after you got married, someone will be dying to make a scandal of your pregnancy. It’s as if these people have no life and live to comment on your life decisions.
Somehow the world thinks that you are seeking its approval when in all reality you are just going about your own prego life not bothering a soul. Here are some great tips or comebacks in order to keep you calm and out of jail:
– Preface things with “We aren’t really sharing too much information because we don’t want unsolicited or unwanted opinions.” Now if they still say something obnoxious then you have carte blanche to tell them that they are a total ignoramus since you did warn them! This may feel awkward at first but I promise you it will fit into your repertoire in no time.
– Interrupt people before they get into their prego or labor horror stories and say: “I would really prefer to only hear positive experiences. Thanks.”
– Work on calming your own nerves with whatever works for you. Some great options are: pre-natal yoga, meditation, and journaling
– Don’t allow people that trigger your anxiety or heighten your stress levels around you. Avoid toxic or even just plain annoying people all together. Do NOT think it is mean. You need to worry about yourself and your little peanut right now.
– If you are like me and you like to read about things at 10:00 p.m. at night just to set yourself into a frenzy or panic, set limits to what you read and when you can do the reading. I’m officially cut off from any labor reading after 5:00 p.m. (Sad but true)
– When you do realize that you may have been a bit too harsh to your loved ones, acknowledge it. An apology will go a long way. To help explain this to your significant other, buy them a pregnancy explanation book. ‘Dude you are going to be a Dad’ is a good choice if you haven’t already purchased one. It’s good for them to know what you are going through and in this case what it might do to your mood or mental state.
Do not feel guilty for being hormonal. Understand what causes it and avoid anything that makes you aggravated, aggressive, annoyed or upset. You have enough to worry about! Mood swings are perfectly normal and going from a perfectly normal prego to “I will kill you if you give me another side-eye” enraged is just part of the fun in this journey we call pregnancy.