An Honest Chat About Pregnancy & Trying To Be Superwoman

So let’s have an honest chat about pregnancy and carrying on with daily life as “normal”. I get the funny feeling this could be a controversial topic (most things are on the internet now days), but it’s something that has played on my mind for the past week.

Since I have found out I’m pregnant, I have tried to carry on with my life and daily activities as normal. I would like to clarify that I use that term very freely and by normal I mean what’s “normal” for me. I’ve traipsed up and down the stairs with the hoover, I’ve lifted heavy things, I’ve run around like a headless chicken trying to get bits and pieces done amongst many other things because in my head – I’m pregnant and not ill.

Now some people will completely agree with that and others will think I am mad. To be honest I am now on the fence a little bit. Last weekend we went to Dyrham Park for the day (I’ve popped all the photos here and here if you fancy a little nose). We were up and out bright early and wandering around the grounds by 10am. I felt great being out in the fresh air and getting some gentle exercise and I could not recommend it enough. Once we were done we decided to head back to the car using the scenic route (my bright idea) and it started with a steep set of steps that seemed to be absolutely massive. Of course, I went powering up them like I was some sort of Olympic athlete and by the time I got to the top I was very out of breath and had funny pulling and twinges in muscles I didn’t even know I had in my tummy. Ryan asked if I wanted to stop or slow down, but me being… well, prideful (for lack of a better word) said no let’s carry on going – I’m fine.

I then started telling him how sometimes I forget I’m pregnant until I do something like that and I can actually feel the physical effects of it. Don’t get me wrong it was by no means extensive exercise or something I shouldn’t have attempted in the first place, but I probably just powered on a little bit too quickly (or as I normally would if I wasn’t pregnant). As we wandered back to the car I thought about why on earth I expect my body to carry on as “normal”.  Nothing is normal for my body at the moment. Yes, what is happening is completely natural and what my body is designed to do, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need time to adjust, rest and prepare itself while I grow a baby.

So, this weekend I decided it’s time to stop trying to be superwoman!

I am by no means saying that if you find out your pregnant you should sit and do nothing for 9 months, because I honestly believe that doing “normal” things, getting gentle exercise and doing things I enjoy is all part of why I feel so much better in my second trimester. However, it’s important to listen to your body, not to ignore those twinges or bouts of tiredness and give your body exactly what it needs. Yes there are jobs that need doing, floors that need hoovering and food shopping that needs to be bought, but will it really matter if you sit down and do them in half an hour or maybe be even the next day? Probably not. So why do we feel this pressure to try and carry on being superwoman; achieving the 10,000 things on our to do list each day, yet feeling like crap at the end of it?

If you have been in this situation before or you might be one day, then hopefully you are fit and healthy and your pregnancy has been going well. But just remember that you want to keep it that way and not jeopardise that at all for anything – least of all something as ridiculous as the hoovering. There are no prizes for being superwoman, just as there should be no judgement if you need an afternoon nap or just to sit down for 10 minutes. Your body is doing an amazing thing, but it’s also working bloody hard to do so! So, listen to it and do everything you can to help it along the way!

What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear from you, so please leave me a comment below!