Am I overdoing things?

[Bella0831]

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice from you all. I’m 31+5 weeks with my first pregnancy and everyone around me keeps telling me I’m “overdoing things” and making me feel incredibly guilty, like I’m putting other things above my baby. I work in events, commute up to London every day from around 7.30am to 7pm (although as of this week I’ve requested to work from home a bit more as I’m getting bigger and bulkier!), am currently moving house and just generally I’ve always had a busy lifestyle - I barely sit still at the weekends due to friends weddings, family birthdays etc. Everyone around me is seemingly quite horrified at how much I’m taking on and although I am starting to feel tired at this point, I feel fine in myself. But now, because of all the comments made I feel like I’m being a terrible person and I seem to have generated this huge fear I’m going to hurt my baby. Am I being too sensitive?

You’re grand
Millions of pregnant women do hard physical work and their babies come to no harm
Stop telling people what you do is probably the easiest thing

Crack on with things while you can, your body changes a lot during third trimester so you might feel a bit less able soon but everyone is different!

Just listen to your body not people around you

Not at all! I worked right up until the birth. Unfortunately this is just the start of idiots throwing in their opinion with no regard as to how it might make you feel. It’s great to keep busy and moving if that’s what makes you happy. I tried to do as much as I could before the birth.

Your body will tell you when it needs to rest. My first pregnancy that was going on hikes and camping at months pregnant. My second that was sitting on the couch the majority of the time from about 32 weeks!

God, I found this beyond irritating when I was pregnant - all these people seemed to forget I was an adult female who knew my body and limits! I was merrily hanging wallpaper and decorating when I was measuring 42 weeks pregnant (twins, I still had months to go!) but everyone was treating me like I was a complete idiot.

You’re fine, listen to your body. Unfortunately, as pp said, this is just the beginning of idiots giving you their opinion!

I read that if you are used to being active when not pregnant then there is no issue when pregnant.

with both my pregnancies i worked full time shift work along soley walking/looking after 3 large breed dogs. walking them over moor land for miles etc. yip i got all the same comments about doing too much etc.

but i could manage and i was careful so didnt see the harm.

just ignore them OP and continue as long as you feel comfortable

i wish you well for the rest of ur pregnancy :-)

I rode my horse (and others) until I was 28 weeks pregnant.
The midwife said as long as I was doing what I always did and not taking up riding whilst heavily pregnant, then it was all good.
Carry on with what you're happy doing, nod and smile at those who feel the need to comment.

I could literally have taken on the world in the third trimester - up until week 39. After that, I just wanted to sleep and eat.

God I've just remembered DH coming home when I was standing on the windowsills cleaning our huge tenement windows, at 38 weeks. He did put his foot down about that

You're absolutely fine. Crack on. I cannot bear the way pregnant women are infantilised in this country when other women are out doing manual labour, walking miles for water, scavenging on rubbish tips...

God yes, and it’s driving me batty. I’m 33+1, working full time and still riding my horse most days (I’m lucky, she’s safe and I’m not huge). Cleaning the house and sorting the garden like a mad thing, but everyone I speak to (though in all honesty, it’s predominantly the men in my life) keep telling me to ‘be careful’ and ‘slow down’. It frustrates the shit out of me.

As a PP said, you know your body and you will know when to slow down. Don’t get me wrong, I have days where I do very little but then I have spurts of energy whereby I feel fine to crack on, so that’s exactly what I am doing. I have just got to the point now where I lie to the likes of my Dad and tell him I’ve been resting all day as I will have steam pouring out of my ears if I’m told to slow down anymore.

Thanks everyone for your messages - I’m feeling much better about things so thank you!