Nashville, Tennessee Maternity Photographer | Dealing with Pregnancy | Terrell Maternity Session

Dealing with Pregnancy

While pregnancy is one of the most amazing things our body can do, it also has it’s own list of annoying and uncomfortable issues.

Many times we feel guilty just thinking negative thoughts about such a wonderful thing, much less voicing them.

You are tired. Scratch that - exhausted.

You are hungry ALLLL the time… but you only want certain foods and if you can’t find them, HANGER (hungry anger) is quick to follow.

You are super emotional. Maybe you were never a cryer before, but you’ve found yourself boo-hooing at the end of a rom-com or going from happiness to rage in 2.5 seconds.

The truth is, there are SOOOO many things changing outwardly that we forget how all of this affects us inwardly.

The American Pregnancy Association tells us that, “during pregnancy, women experience an increase in the production of hormones, such as progesterone and estrogen, depending on how far along they are in their pregnancy. This increase in hormones can have an impact on your emotions and your brain’s ability to monitor those emotions.”

There you have it. You are literally experiencing chemical shifts in your brain constantly.

Before I had my first child, I would run everyone out of our house keeping it so cold. I was always hot and I couldn’t even come close to sleeping if it wasn’t igloo weather in my bedroom. Fast forward to those postpartum days and I was FREEZING. Everywhere. My family would give me such a hard time for sitting in our living room to watch a movie with sweatpants, hoodie, fuzzy socks, two blankets and if it was REALLY cold, a beanie on my head. I kid you not.

My youngest just started kindergarten and about three months ago, my family noticed a shift. I was no longer dressed as if I were braving the arctic wilderness AND I had started freezing them out again.

Wow! FIVE years later and my hormones are finally returning to my baseline.

If we can see these affects in such a physical way, imagine the havoc that it wreaks on our brains.

So what do we do with this bit of information???

First and foremost, I think it’s incredible validation just discovering this about our bodies. No wonder we feel like we do! Now we can tell all of that guilt where to go…

Next, self-care is extremely important. We are becoming a mama - a totally different person and our primary concern is the new little life growing inside of us. But we can’t neglect the superwoman that is making all of this growing happen. Rest. Go to bed EARLY because those middle of the night pee breaks really jack with our REM cycle.

Be sure to keep healthy snacks handy to knock out those hunger pains (finding foods with high protein will keep you fuller longer if you are on the go a lot) and don’t forget to Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.

Treat yourself. Indulge in a prenatal massage at your favorite spa. Take care of your body with light exercise and help that sciatic pain with stretching or yoga.

Don’t leave out your mental health. This is an ever-changing time for you and your spouse. Talk regularly to someone you can trust about all of the chaos. If you aren’t comfortable spilling it all to a close friend or relative, seek out a therapist. Your OB, Midwife or Doula is likely to have some great resources in their pocket.

Lastly,

don’t forget that you. are. awesome.

Seriously, you are carrying out God’s work and creating another generation to put more good into this world.

YOU are going to be an amazing mother.

Go easy on yourself and know that you are soooo loved.