feeling a tad overemotional/stressy

Hi all,

I'm a first time Mum and am 29 weeks pregnant tomorrow. In the last two weeks I have become very emotional and I have an extremely short temper. The littlest things set me off in tears and I have very little patience for anything. Little things stress me out (such as a pile of washing needing to be folded) and I found myself yesterday in tears at the thought of another 5 days of work before I have another day off. This morning was even worse, I had a bad night sleep and I cannot face the thought that I have another 6 weeks of work to go. It just seems too hard to juggle all the housework and the demands of work at the moment. Unfortunately I cannot afford to finish work earlier than 35 weeks.

I dearly love being pregnant other than my emotional state and I cannot wait for bubs to arrive. I hate the thought that I am not coping with being pregnant.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else feels this way. I was expecting to feel like this at 35 weeks or so but not this early on. I am worried about my ability to cope when the baby arrives, if this is what I am like when I still have 11 weeks of pregnancy to go.

Don't feel bad, hon, from what I gather feeling like that is a totally normal part of being pregnant. You've got so much extra going on in your life (and your body!) that feeling a bit overwhelmed makes perfect sense.

Just take one day at a time - things will look up soon, and although it feels like ages now, you'll be able to ditch work eventually. Do what you can, and try to look after yourself, give yourself lots of treats and rewards for the brilliant job you're doing.

I wouldn't stress about your ability to cope once Bubs arrives, I bet you'll do brilliantly. (I also understand it's pretty usual to feel at a complete loss there too - I sure do! - but I figure that if you're doing your best and love your baby, you can't go too far wrong). You'll do great.

With my #4 baby I had similar. I was working 30 hrs/wk and absolutely exhausted. I had also expected that around 35 weeks but not sooner, so it was an unpleasant surprise! I was only going to do me and baby harm by pushing myself so for the last four weeks I took Wednesday afternoons off as sick leave to go home and sleep. Made a huge difference to the end of the week and work was really good about it too.

thanks ladies, I appreciate your input and its nice to know I am not the only one feeling this way.

I am feeling much better now that Monday is out of the way!! I think I will talk to my boss about maybe taking a few days off here and there to help me through the next few weeks.

Hopes, as you said I guess we need to realise that whats going on in our lives is huge and only natural to be a bit overwhelming at times. And thanks for saying you think I'll be great Hope you and your little man are doing okay.

Gosh that sounds so familiar, and I'm only 22 weeks! Had a complete anxiety attack/meltdown last week as I was functioning on empty with a toddler that wasn't sleeping and working 4 days a week. We've since sorted out the toddler and I also took a couple of afternoons off to catch up on sleep while she was in daycare, and its made the world of difference. I also highly recommend Rescue Remedy for those really anxious times, its safe for pregnancy and really takes the edge off if things get too much!

If you have some sick leave to use up, and a LMC who will, perhaps see if she can reduce your hours. My job was quite an intense, stressful one and I dropped down to 32 hours a week about 28 weeks (I think). My lovely midwife gave me a medical certificate and was really encouraging, which was great when I was feeling guilty

I took today off to sort my head. Ended up frustrating myself with trying to make myself feel different. My Mum came over and we had a good chat, she made me realise that its normal to feel what I do at the moment but most importantly that I am putting too much expectation on myself of how I should feel. She advised to just go with how I do feel at any given moment and realise I can't change it, and stop trying to feel the way I think I should be feeling. Great advice, feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders actually

Soon2BMama, sorry to hear you are going through the same thing. Its not much fun is it!! My advice is to DEFINITELY take a day off and as soon as possible. I have felt so much better since taking last Thursday off.

Also if you are feeling overwhelmed with things you want or have to do before the birth, write it all down and assign timeframes. I did that last Thursday and feel heaps better having a plan, and if baby comes early, well the plan will go out the window - but we'll deal with it then!

My boss also agreed to me working from home one day a week which I am doing effective today! It makes a huge difference just having a little sleep in, not having to bother with traffic and not having to put up with stupid people at work (at least when they call your mobile you can roll your eyes at them which is so much better than trying to keep a neutral face). So if your job would allow you to do that, I'm sure that would help too.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and I hope you feel better soon