10 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Pregnancy

10 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Pregnancy

When I was pregnant the first time, I would catch my husband staring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. The first few weeks after we confirmed we were pregnant, there was this look of awe and a kind of hesitancy as he stared at me, especially my stomach region.

I don’t know what was going through his mind at these times, but I could bet topmost on his mind was a little confusion as he struggled to take in all the changes happening so fast.

It also didn’t help that my mood used to change with the speed of light; I would go from happy and playful one minute to moody the next, especially during the first trimester.

Being pregnant is such a beautiful thing for the expectant parents

At least most of the time.

But for a lot of these mothers, that’s all the beauty there is to this journey.

Pregnancy is hard; very hard. It takes a toll on us women and there are some things we wish our men knew about it so they understand it better and know how best to manage the situation with us.

If you are first-time-to-be parents here are ten facts that can help you both stay on the same wavelength as you navigate this pregnancy journey together:

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Here are Ten Things We Wish Our Men Knew About Pregnancy

Reality is Often Different from the Movies

In the movies, you see a pregnant woman who is a dynamite; not a single streak of tiredness from carrying that life inside of her. She wakes up looking sexy, goes about her chores with the energy of three men, and finally gets begged to retire from all the work different (so maybe this is stretching it a bit, but you get the picture).

The real picture is sometimes far different. Sometimes we wake up strong and can take up the world like we usually do, but a lot of the time, we are tired and cranky for no reason.

You want to let your husband know beforehand that your moods will be a roller coaster and your energy levels fluctuate without reasons or warnings.

Related: 9 Hilarious Pregnancy Myths You Should Totally Disregard

We Don’t Want Sex All the Time

Especially during the first trimester. At this time our hormones are all over the place and we don’t understand our bodies.

We appreciate your support as you are by our sides while we retch our hearts out, but as you try to console us bent over the toilet bowl, please try to control your wandering hands from finding their way all over.

Every Pregnant Woman is Different

No two pregnancies are the same, even for the same woman and some women will be sicker than others. Please try to understand our own unique blend of symptoms and try not to compare us to the pregnant woman next door who appears stronger.

We Are Tired All The Time

We fear you might start seeing us as lazy. It must be a drastic change to see a once super hardworking woman do nothing all the time, but we need you to understand that we are always tired all the time, even when we do absolutely nothing.

Related: 8 Fun Facts About Morning Sickness

We May Cry for No Reason

We love you and appreciate that we are in this together, which is why we want you to understand why we cry over even the littlest things. It’s our hormones; they are at their most active and so many that they may cause us to act in unusual ways.

For my first pregnancy, I had hyperemesis eight months of the journey, and the only thing that kept me sane from all that nausea, vomiting, and weakness were the few pregnancy cravings I allowed myself to indulge in.

One time, being too weak to move long distances, I asked my husband to help me get my particular craving at the time: a secret reciped barbeque from a local deli a few blocks from the house. The dude left and came back thirty minutes later with some ripe pears.

Pears? Pears?!

Silently, I tried to find the similarities between both foods that could have led to the slip and as though reading my mind, he let on pear was a lot more healthy in pregnancy.

Yea, I let out all the frustration and pain I was in at the time through a single scream.

Our Appetite Has Increased Tremendously

We eat all the time now, but really, it is not us, it’s the baby who wants more food. We need you to understand this so the next time you see us gobbling down that big bowl of ice cream after the big bowl of soup we just took, you don’t look so alarmed. Blame your baby, please.

If We Can’t Get Enough, We Will Take Yours Too

We need a lot of food and we “have” to have it now or it feels like we’re going crazy. So if we can’t get enough, we will take yours. So, please bear with us. It’s only for a while, and all for a good cause.

We Get Insecure about Our Looks

We have gotten bigger and we feel less pretty all this time. We need you to help keep our confidence up by telling us we are still beautiful. We will believe you when you say it because you are the one person we want to look beautiful for the most. So if you say we are beautiful with our protruding bellies and swollen feet, then believe we truly are.

We Don’t Want Our Own Food Most of the Time

And this isn’t us trying to be wasteful. So don’t get alarmed if you see us ordering in with the pantry full and the air filled with the aroma of food we just prepared.

We are put off by our own foods and need something a lot different.

Read Also: 16 Things to Know When Expecting Your First Baby

We Are Scared of Labour Pain

Any woman who’s had at least a child knows labour can be painful and overwhelming. Even if this is your first time, you must have seen enough videos and other information types to know how much of an ordeal labour and birthing can be.

We need you to be there for us; to allay our fears when this fear rears and assures us it will all be for a good cause.

We know this, but need to hear it now often.

Send this to every man who has a pregnant woman in his life so they have a good laugh.