How to Cope with Pregnancy Mood Swings

So many people worry and wonder how to Cope with Pregnancy Mood Swings

Pregnancy can be a confusing and challenging part of life. Everyone seems to have the physical aspects of it all covered- the body changes, the diets and the prep for childbirth, but there’s very little spoken about the psychological changes that happen during this period. If you’re expecting, you might probably be experiencing mood swings, and sometimes, they may even be out of your control.

Here’s helping you tackle all of that better. Read on to discover how to cope with pregnancy mood swings in a healthier way.

Eat Right

Don’t underestimate the power of a healthy diet when it comes to influencing your mood swings. Talk to your doctor about the diet changes you need to make as a part of your pregnancy, and make sure you eat more of foods that make you healthy and provide you with energy. Also, incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine- brisk walking and light stretching exercises work well too! Here are some recommendations from the NHS about eating well during your pregnancy and what foods you should also avoid in their article Have a healthy diet in pregnancy

Food always in impacts my mood pregnant or not..good food can make you feel great and unhealthy food ( no matter how appealing) can make you feel sluggish and lethargic. It is so worth it to eat well..no matter what cravings you may get for endless sticky toffee fudge cake with custard ( or was that just me!)

Open Up

Bottling up your emotions is never a good idea- whether you’re pregnant or not. If you’re feeling irritable and cranky, instead of hiding it, open up about it with your close ones and your family. Talking about your feelings and emotions is always a good way to ‘release’ them, and you’ll feel loads better after you do it. Your partner may have their own worries too and by you talking your through it will give them permission to do the same and you will be able to reassure one another. If this doesn’t really work and you simply make each other more anxious – you may be the best confiding in someone a little more removed from the situation.

You can always have long phone calls if you BF is far away or you could always pour all your feelings out by email or letter. I found journalling my emotions during my pregnancy to be really cathartic and just so interesting to look back on later too.

Indulge in Self Care to help you cope with pregnancy mood swings

Self-care is an absolute must when it comes to pregnancy. You might be tempted to overextend yourself and take up more than you can do when it comes to work commitments or anything else, and that’s only going to make you more fatigued, which directly leads you to the road of ‘bad mood.’ Learn to say no to things you can’t do, and avoid overpressurizing yourself at all costs. Pregnancy should be the time when you focus on yourself and your health. As you go along, learning to cope with your pregnancy mood swings you will get more practised at self-care and you will no longer see it as selfish or self-indulgent but instead, you will see it as a necessity. Actually when you think about it taking care of you is all about taking care of your little baby too

 

 

Make Sleep a Priority

During pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, you’ll be tired and lethargic all the time, no matter what you do, and this can often, get on your nerves, leading to irritability. Try to get as much rest as you can during this period, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Make your bedtime a no-interruption zone and make optimum rest a priority during pregnancy. It can be difficult to sleep when you are pregnant, you may be hot and uncomfortable and you may need to wee a lot. If you miss out on your nightly sleep remember there is no shame in having a daytime nap if you need one. After all your body is very busy growing a little baby, it is absolutely no wonder that you are tired. Sleeping well is a great way How to Cope with Pregnancy Mood Swings

 

Be Patient

Last but not least, be a little easy on yourself. Be patient- you won’t wake up the next day feeling all cheerful and happy just like that. Take one day at a time and know that you might not be feeling great at the moment, but this feeling isn’t going to last forever. Give yourself time and remember that you’re not alone in this- millions of women around the world are sharing the same experience as you are, and if it helps, you can always connect with them and learn from each other. Personally, I found this massively helped from Facebook groups to face to face antenatal groups being alongside other women going through this shared experience were such a boost to me.

Over to you

I hope you have found my post on How to Cope with Pregnancy Mood Swings useful, As always I would love to hear from you about your experience of this and how you coped. Personally, I  seemed to swing between excitement and fear with a little bit of anxious also thrown in there.

It seems very natural to me that at one of the most significant times of your life you are going to have these MASSIVE feelings even before your hormones are thrown into the mix! Let me know how it was for you in the comments below.

More pregnancy posts

I have written quite a lot about pregnancy here at Baby Budgeting here are some more of my posts that I think you will enjoy.

10 tips on walking whilst pregnant

The best baby budgeting tips I was ever given

Baby Budgeting – the essentials guide (a guest post by Katy Kicker)

Free baby stuff and how to get it

Your guide to planning the ultimate babymoon