Crazy Conversations // Pregnancy Edition // Post no.2

I've heard this a few too many times lately and need to voice this.

Cool. So what am I supposed to do with that? I DO have time now, so would you prefer it if I just sat on my arse and binge watched Netflix?

Or should I be using the time to sleep more, because I'm doing a lot of that too. And from what I understand, I also won't have that luxury the second time around.

Or maybe I should spend the time learning about pregnancy and birth? Oh wait I do that too (Its my job). I do A LOT of this precisely because I know that next time I won't have as much time.

Or maybe I should just work more? Would that be a better use of my time? Oh wait, I won't have time for that either, and will have to juggle my career with a child. Besides, most people think I "workout all the time" or at least everyday. Not true. 3-4 times a week for 30-60 minutes. I don't usually do less than that because it makes me feel GOOD and I genuinely feel like dog shit when I don't do it. And my husband yells at me to go to the gym because I'm a grumpy bitch. (He's not wrong). I absolutely hope that it's something I will prioritize throughout my life, and I know women and men who do just that, small babies and all. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be totally overwhelmed. Maybe I just won't WANT to, maybe my priorities will change. But I still don't see why I should do less of it now to somehow "prepare" for what's to come. (Should I also set an alarm for every 2 hours in the night?) At the risk of crossing the line from observation to criticism, MOST of the people who say this to me have never really done much exercise themselves. I can see why they would think it's a huge task to get to the gym. I'm sympathetic to that, but still feel like it's an unhelpful thing to say. It's my hobby (besides being something we should all do for our health) and they would never dream of saying something like that to someone who had a different hobby, like painting. We preggo women are acutely aware that this is likely to be our reality as we head into motherhood, and don't need reminding, or fear-mongering or negativity of any sort. Let us work it out and see what we manage.