Pregnancy is about birth, the birth of your baby and the mother in you. Pregnancy comes with a lot of hormones, cravings, calories and discomforts. Apart from these obvious changes, your financial arrangements, work schedules etc get muddled up too. Whoever said pregnancy was only physical. Pregnancy is equally mentally exhausting with all the sudden wave of emotions that hit you.
It brings a change to your lifestyle and may even alter a few of your moral beliefs. Children can do that to you. You need to process that you’ll be a parent now. Talking to family and friends or reading parenting books can help you get through this change smoothly. But don’t forget that you can’t be prepared for everything. Pregnancy means expecting the unexpected. Physical health problems like high blood pressure or mental health problems can affect you during pregnancy. While there is not much for you to do over your physical health, you can diminish your psychological issues by talking about your feelings.
Relationships
The nine months of gestation brings about a lot of changes in your relationships too. Especially if it’s your first pregnancy. Some couples cope with the changes while a few others might have some difficulties. It is common for couples to argue during pregnancy and this doesn’t mean they aren’t waiting for their baby. These small bickerings can be about something as silly as the color of the wall in your baby’s future room. You may also endure some tough times that call for a lot of thinking about the future and how to cope up.
Irrespective of what you’re fighting about, it just makes you stronger as a family, considering you’re no more just a couple. These silly small fights bring you two closer and make you understand things better. Although, warning — most of your fights may be due to your ever unstable mood swings.
Talking To Family And Friends
Pregnancy is another sweet reason to bring your near and dear ones closer. It is a reminder of relations and birth. While it is a special time for you and your partner, your parents, siblings, and friends are as excited as you are about the little one. Your family can be a great deal of support and help you in many ways while you make it through the transition from being a woman to a mother.
But sometimes, your family may tend to overpower your decisions or thoughts. If you begin to feel this way, sit down and talk to your family about how you feel and make them understand a few decisions are upto you and your partner alone. When you’re pregnant, you almost become public property. Everyone from the lady waiting behind you at Walmart to the dog walker who sees you catching your breath takes immense pleasure in giving you some sort of advice. Sometimes, you may even encounter a snob who criticizes your bump size or how you look fat.
Not everything others tell you is good. You know best about your pregnancy, so if someone criticizes your pregnancy, just ignore them. Unless your raging hormones give you other ideas.
If You’re Alone In It
It is a blessing to share your pregnancy with your partner. And it sucks just as much when you don’t get the comfort of nagging your partner in the night for tacos. If you’re pregnant and on your own, it will be a difficult ride but you need to share your feelings and talk to someone. Talk to your friends, neighbors or your doctor. It is important to share what you’re experiencing in your pregnancy as it helps to diagnose any medical conditions early and also keeps you in a better headspace.
Take someone along when you go on your monthly check-ups. Just because you’re a single parent doesn’t mean you’ve to do it all alone. Seek the help of your good friend, sister or mom.
Plan Ahead
You can never be ready to be a parent but you can always plan ahead to avoid the bumpiest ride. Think about your finance, resources, work and anything else that might be affected by your pregnancy.
