I’ve been really lucky in the fact that I have no morning sickness at all, not even one little wave of nausea. After seeing one of my good friends being so very ill during both of her pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum I feel I have had a very lucky escape. I don’t know if these things run in the family but the fact that neither my Mum nor my sisters had any morning sickness either does seem to have worked in my favour.

Hanger

I haven’t felt different physically at all which has made the whole pregnancy seem a little surreal so far as I look and feel exactly the same as before. However, the recent surge in my pregnancy hormones seem to have manifested themselves in massive mood swings. I have to admit, I have long been one of those people – you know, the ones who get really grumpy and moody when they are hungry? Modern-day terminology classifies “us” as having “hanger” (“hunger” plus “anger”). I may also have been prone to moodiness from tiredness over the years too – so my family and (un)fortunate college hall mates assure me. So maybe I had the predisposition to become one of the typical hormonal pregnant ladies you see satirised in American sitcoms.

Being totally unreasonable

I can honestly say I didn’t realise how bad I was being. In my mind my husband was just being extra annoying and testing my patience where in reality every little thing was irritating me for no reason. My tolerance had plummeted to zero (not that it was particularly high before). In my mushy preggo brain that had cells replaced with hormones he was (normal, sane person versions in the brackets):

• asking too many questions when I got home from work (showing a genuine interest in my day);
• eating too loudly (quietly enjoying his lovingly homemade meal);
• being totally inconsiderate (getting himself a drink from the kitchen);
• saying I was getting fat (asking how my bump was getting on);
• ruining my favourite TV shows (making conversation whilst the TV was on);
• making the house a pigsty (not putting his clothes away the second he got undressed).

And so on. Oh dear, seeing everything listed out on the page makes me feel even more embarrassed by how trying I was being. Unfortunately my sudden, tempestuous moods were causing lots of little arguments as he tried to point out how unreasonable I was being. Cue me blindly denying it and accusing him of being extremely inconsiderate – “I’m pregnant you know!” I’d hear myself shouting.

Don’t panic about hormonal episodes

If the above sounds familiar please don’t panic like I did. Your relationship isn’t crumbling and falling apart. And getting a little upset and having an argument doesn’t harm your baby* (don’t Google it, it’ll only make your unreasonable panic worse!). It is most likely the delightful result of your hormones wreaking havoc with your emotions.

It’s an obvious point really but when I realised how I’d been behaving and how it would have been less than delightful to be around I did apologise to my husband. A lot. I think it’s really important not to let anything like that fester and make you feel anything but really excited that you will have a baby in a few moths’ time. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask a select friend or family member about it, as soon as I asked my younger sister her logical, understanding words made me feel much better.

Do seek help if you need it

*Of course, if you are feeling down and upset all of the time do speak to your midwife just to make sure it isn’t a more serious problem like prenatal depression.