Hormones

Ahhh hormones. Where to begin with these blessed things…

Hormones can and will be responsible for tears and tantrums throughout your pregnancy. It sounds so cliché when you talk about pregnant hormonal women. ‘Oh don’t upset the pregnant woman, just agree with her... Don’t say anything to set her off, just smile and nod’. Some people make us out to be the devil reincarnate. I always used to think this was a bit far fetched and unfair. The truth is, you never really understand it until you’ve experienced it (and sometimes devil reincarnate is actually closer to the truth then we’d care to admit). It can be quite unnerving and quite distressing. You could find yourself thinking there’s something seriously wrong with you. You could start questioning your own sanity and wondering if you need psychiatric help. You don’t. You’re pregnant. You’re going to be irrational and moody and teary. You have about 20 million new and crazy things going on inside of you, and this includes a mammoth wave of hormones that take over you like a plague.  

When you’re used to being a calm level headed woman, suddenly having little to no control over your emotions is really hard. You might find that you get really cranky at yourself for being so irrational. I don’t know how many times I’ve tried to talk myself out of being so upset because Woolworths didn’t have the right brand of caramel fudge, or the Voice was on too late for me to stay awake to watch. But sadly no amount of stern words has helped me..It really is insane how upset and sometimes really cranky you’ll find yourself getting over the most trivial things. It is at this point I would like to apologise to partners and husbands of pregnant women everywhere. We really do love you immensely and no, the volume of your footsteps really isn’t that loud and the fact you left a dirty dish in the sink really doesn’t mean we want your head on a platter, despite the fact that our over reactions may state otherwise.

While I’m on the subject of apologies, I would also like to apologise to my entire local traffic population. I’m fairly sure I’ve called every single one of you some foul name under my breath (well really loudly if I’m completely honest) while I’ve been driving behind you, in front of you or in your general vicinity. I’m so glad that babies don’t come out talking because I’m fairly sure my daughter’s first words would be profanity of some sort merely from being in the car with me on the way home from work… Oopsie.

Now I’m not normally a big crier. I hate crying & I especially hate doing it in front of other people. So unfortunately for me I’m now finding myself either crying or at least tearing up regularly and mostly around lots of people! I was almost in a fit of tears at the Sydney Star City Casino last week because the only thing I could stomach for dinner was hot chips when there was so many other yummy foods around. And don’t even think about watching a movie that has the potential to be sad, has birth scenes or babies or even puppies in it. Tears will be flying everywhere. You have been warned. In saying that, never underestimate the power of a good deep breath. Sometimes it can be the difference between keeping it together and losing your perfectly applied mascara all the way down your face. Although sometimes no amount of breathing will stop those tears from coming and sometimes, you just need to let them out to feel better. You might even find yourself on the other side of a snivelling teary episode wondering what the hell your problem is. I’ve asked myself that question so many times it’s ridiculous. I never seem to have an answer either.

Unfortunately there’s no quick fix for all these insane emotional ups & downs. Normally I would suggest wine, however in our situations, probably not the best idea. So, I’ve replaced wine with chocolate. And ice cream. It might not make you feel better but while you’re shovelling that 15^th scoop of ice cream in your mouth & enjoying the caramel/chocolate/vanilla/pickle flavours, I can guarantee you won’t be crying. So if you ask me, that’s a win. So, chocolate & ice cream for everyone!