***You can catch up on the Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me? series here.***
Moody? Emotional? Temperamental? Ugly? Who, ME?!
I love being pregnant. My body blessedly handles it very well. I don’t gain a ton of weight, I pretty much carry my babies as a basketball all in front, and I’ll admit it… the positive attention and excuse to take it easy (read: daily naps!) is nice. I adore the feeling of a life moving inside of me. Love it, love it, love it.
Explain to me, then, the out-of-nowhere complete meltdown over nothing that left me blubbering in front of my husband and children last weekend!
It wasn’t pretty, people. I was done being tired, done with the sciatic discomfort, done with the lower back aches. I was scared that this baby may be coming sooner rather than later ~ I’m so not ready! ~ and that I’d be facing back labor again. I was overwhelmed with my self-imposed mental to-do list and my children’s simple neediness. Epic Hormonal Meltdown
Gratefully I snapped out of it and chose swimming over grumping it out. The water felt great, the kids were happy, the baby was buoyant and off of my hips. 
Whew!
Pregnancy hormones are very real indeed! While I blame them for the occasional meltdown, they are also responsible for my fast growing, strong fingernails and my thick, healthy head of hair. Just as all women face different effects of regular monthly hormones, we’ll react to pregnancy hormones in a variety of physical, mental, and emotional ways.
Just a few hours ago, I asked on my Facebook Page “Pregnancy hormones… the good, the bad, the ugly. Writing a post. Any input?” It’s fascinating to me to read what others go through and how they handle it.
The Good
- The Nesting Instinct ~ I’m just now starting to get there with this one. I’m sure my house would appreciate it!
- Relaxin ~ These hormones serve a purpose! Without relaxin, ain’t no way that big ‘ol baby head is fittin’ through there to be born.
- The Glow ~ Some women truly do feel their best when pregnant!
The Bad
- Mood Swings ~ Sometimes you just never know what to expect.
- Cravings, sensitivities (for me it’s smell), etc.
- Physical discomfort (relaxin, again)
The Ugly
- See Epic Hormonal Meltdown above
- Bursting into tears at the slightest (even imagined) thing.
- Happy tears, sad tears, just because tears. Tears, tears, tears!
Pregnancy hormones certainly can’t be avoided, and I truly wouldn’t want them to “go away” since they serve a high purpose and are preparing my body to give birth! There are, however, a few things that *might* make them settle down a bit.
- Eat well. A diet high in protein, rich in fruits and veggies
- Drink lots of water to stave off headaches. Being well-hydrated during pregnancy is so very beneficial.
- Get plenty of exercise. Yes, you’re entitled to rest, but I promise you’ll feel better if you take good care of your body!
- Treat yourself to some dark chocolate. Lots of good stuff in there.
- Enjoy a warm bath and a good book. Warm water is all sorts of comforting for a pregnant body.
- Rest when you can and cry when you want to. Sometimes just the “release” of the tears makes everything better. No shame in that!
How do pregnancy hormones most affect you? What do you do to tame the beast?
Truth? I don’t remember being overly emotional or hormonal during my pregnancies. Now… after I give birth? That’s a whole ‘nother story.
I’ll just sit there, holding my baby, and SOBBING. Happy tears! But sobbing. I have no control over it. I always feel a little crazy for a couple weeks.
I did that with our second. My mom was getting worried… but I didn’t really have any symptoms of PPD, just couldn’t. stop. the. tears.
I know I’ve said this at least 3 times but I love this series so much. It brings back so many memories.
One of the craziest pregnancy hormone things for me, was crazy weird dreams. Soon after I found out I have having twins, I dreamed I was riding in the back of the car with my friend driving, I suddenly went into labor and delivered a perfect baby boy, then it came to me that I was going to have another baby, and I asked me friend to hurry and drive us to the hospital, but before we got there I delivered a full grown dachshund dog, it was the freakiest dream I’ve ever had! Talk about anxiety dream, ha ha.
Ha! THAT’S a pregnancy dream for the books! I’ve had some crazy ones, too… hate the ones where I wake up and still can’t get them out of my head and then can’t go back to sleep. So strange!
This is really a great post, Amy.
I love how your blog has turned into a pregnancy blog (almost!) for a while — and that you’re not afraid to share about where you are… right now.
Thanks! I worry that my non-pregnant regular readers will tire of this series, but a girl’s gotta write what’s on her heart…
When I was pregnant, with my son, I was *so* emotional – all the time! My poor husband, couldn’t catch a break. And, it lasted all the way through the pregnancy.
Good points.
Although, in a heartbeat I’d trade the strong nails and thick hair during pregnancy if it meant I wouldn’t have to lose the hair post partum! My son is almost 5 months and I still have to vacuum hair off my bathroom rug almost daily! It’s ev.ery.where! Argh.
Oh yes. The shedding. Ick.
Ugh! The tears!! I was never a crier before but now the tears fall for everything. It was really hard to even become comfortable with crying for no reason in front of my husband. But if I don’t everything in my body seems to tense up and that just makes things worse – even if they are happy tears!
You’ve got to love pregnancy hormones…one minute everything’s fine, the next you’re a blubbering mess for no apparent reason! I can’t watch emotional TV shows when I’m pregnant as I seem to weep uncontrollably and my kids and husband wonder what is going on! And pride is another one that causes me to well up – it can be a story that makes me feel this big gush of emotion that comes out without warning (and so do the tissues)…all quite funny to the males in the house who cannot, for the life of them, work out just what is going on with me!