Mood swings & other weird feelings during pregnancy

My parents would often tell me I was very moody; Meee Moodyy?  If you are angry you show anger, when happy you laugh, when sad you cry are normal emotional responses, aren’t they? Maybe they meant dramatic, it never made sense to me. The same mother didn’t call me moody even once when I was pregnant, apparently it is normal that your mood changes 1500 times a day with or without provocation during pregnancy. Ok, not that many times literally, but you get my drift. Mood swings are in loads when pregnancy hormones wreak havoc on your mind and body.

As a first time mom I expected anxiety, but it would be so overwhelming that I would cry. In the morning if I would feel euphoric, by mid-morning I would feel like the world was falling apart. In the afternoon I would plateau and later super irritated about the smallest of things. Thankfully I had major mood swings during the first trimester only that didn’t result in any major meltdowns.

The one thing that helped me I believe is accepting that I was pregnant. I know, when you are throwing up all over the place your belly ballooning out of control, it’s very hard to ignore the fact that you are pregnant. But, knowing you are pregnant and accepting it and the changes it brings are two totally different things.

Here’s how it helped, so all night I would have to get up to use the restroom because somehow mother’s to be, have enormous amounts of pee! Yes, I know that rhymed!!! At the beginning I would get irritated, that would snowball into difficulty falling back asleep, resulting in bad mood, and as a result I would turn into a ball of anxiety and anger with the slightest provocation.

My husband, who is a physician, sat me down when I had cried, laughed, cursed, and refused to talk to anyone, all in a span of 7 hours. He said he understands that the hormones had a play in my behavior, but I needed to think of the baby. The frequent fluctuations in mood resulted in blood pressure change, which might adversely affect the baby. I had to be cautious.

That made me think, slowly but surely I accepted. I wouldn’t run after a bus I missed anymore because it was cool to miss the bus, but not alright to run and I wouldn’t be angry about it. I slowed down, I didn’t mind that cloths didn’t fit, I loved eggs and the only thing I couldn’t have because I would get sick even looking at an egg- that was understandable.  I was basically controlling my triggers for anger and anxiety. I also meditated and did some light breathing to calm myself, I stopped being mad for waking up to pee a million times. If I couldn’t sleep I would just listen to music (which was the case for most of third trimester anyways).

Today I can totally see how that helped when Lil’ Om’s face lights up and he starts to clap every time ‘Tune Mari Entry Yaar’ starts to play. Besides my questionable taste in music, it proves that they hear and feel everything when babies are in the womb. That thought alone helped control most of it, because it’s not possible to control all of it.

I know of friends who had to seek medical help for severe mood issues because sometimes things are just out of control, too severe for scented candles and meditation, it made for an easier pregnancy for them. They were able to enjoy the ride, which to me is the whole point anyways. Everyone controls their mood swings during pregnancy in their own way, I feel doing whatever rocks your boat is key to a pleasant experience.