Tiredness and fatigue during pregnancy
The hormonal changes sweeping through your body can result in extreme tiredness at the beginning and end of your pregnancy (feeling sick and looking after any other children you made earlier doesn't help) but it doesn't harm you or your baby.
"I was totally shattered in the early months, though being sick every day didn't help. I think all you can do is go with the flow and let your body tell you what it wants. When I started doing that things became a lot easier." Peanuts1
Your body's working overtime in the first trimester of pregnancy but normal life also has to go on. If this involves work, childcare etc, it can all get a bit much.
"I am 12 weeks pregnant and still so tired," says a mum. "My doctor signed me off last week because I am, literally, falling asleep on the job. It is also making me feel overwhelmed and tearful."
Plus, if you haven't yet shared your news with nearest and dearest/ don't look pregnant to non-nearest and dearest, you're not going to get the sort of sympathy you'll get when you're knackered in the last trimester.
One Mumsnetter's survival guide
Things I found helped were:
- Muesli in the morning (combine 1/2-cup rolled oats with milk or fruit juice the night before and put it in the fridge) - eat with fresh fruit, sultanas etc
- Exercise after breakfast, even when you're feeling very tired, just a short walk to the park or something
- Take a short sleep at lunchtime (or whenever your toddler sleeps) but only around 40 minutes
- See if you can find a pregnancy yoga class in your area - I found gentle yoga helped quite a bit with tiredness. Lorien
One Mumsnetter says: "Whilst pregnant, let people look after you. Enjoy every minute of the attention because as soon as bundle arrives, the limelight's off."
What you eat can affect your energy levels:
"I recommend eating lots of fruit and slow-releasing carbohydrates like pasta and rice. Chocolate is good for energy but the effect doesn't last long." Tillysmummy
And although you may not feel like it, a bit of regular, gentle exercise can also help.
If your nights are being broken by getting up to pee, then make up for it by napping when you can in the day. And make sure you get what one Mumsnetter calls 'back-to-front-lie-ins', ie early nights.
"If you have an older child and can afford it, now might be the time to get some help." Batey
Stretch marks | Weight gain | Morning sickness | Constipation | Swollen ankles and fingers | Hyperemesis | High blood pressure and pre-eclampsia | Cholestasis | Symphysis pubis dysfunction | Vaginal bleeding | Gestational diabetes