As Predicted: The Pregnant Emotional Breakdown

I texted a pregnant friend of mine the other day, predicting an upcoming pregnant emotional breakdown. I’d been feeling so emotionally stable and hadn’t had any hormone-driven crying sessions since those tear-jerking commercials at the Olympics back in February. So I knew a storm was brewing, and I was totally right.

We recently did some bedroom juggling to prepare for baby 3, which included getting a set of twin beds for the older two kiddos. We set the toddler bed up in my 2-year-old’s room with the plan of moving him into one of the twin beds and converting his room into the baby’s room after his/her arrival. My son had also been showing an interest in climbing out of his crib, so we figured it was as good a time as any to make the switch.

There is never a good time to switch a child to a bed he or she can escape. NEVER.

The first few nights it was cute: What would Owen do now that he discovered he had the freedom to escape? Oh, that’s so cute, he’s shuffling his diapered butt into the bathroom as we’re getting ready for bed!

And then it turns into NOT CUTE AT ALL when he wakes up at 5 a.m. and refuses to go back to bed. Or when he decides that it’s way more fun to skip the nap and instead go into the closet and take every piece of outgrown clothing out of the bins. And it’s especially not funny when a 5 a.m. wake-up day coincides with a no-nap day. Because, cue emotional breakdowns for mama and kiddo alike.

When my 3-year-old is the emotionally stable one, we’ve got problems.

This happened Friday, and Owen was a disaster from sun-up to sundown. His typical 5-minute meltdowns lasted all day. Everything was a battle. Every diaper change, every time I wouldn’t let him fry his brain with an iPad. Even preventing him from scalding his hand on the stove led to all out kicking and screaming fits because why wasn’t I letting him touch the fire on the stove? I was epically exhausted, which is when I sent my husband an SOS text asking that he come home to save me. Unfortunately, he had his own work dilemma he was dealing with so he was able to get home early, but not early enough. When he arrived, I headed to the bedroom for my millionth or so fit of tears for the day and to just get some quiet.

I then went to bed at 9 p.m. My husband offered up a free Saturday for me — he got up with the kids, took them to the gym, and let me do whatever I wanted. I enjoyed a little peace, a phone call with Jenn, and got a little work done. Amazing what a good sleep and a little me time can do for your sanity.

It hasn’t helped that I’ve been dealing with a sore throat that’s three weeks old and won’t go away. Heading to an ENT this week because, what’s another doctor’s visit at this point in pregnancy? Hopefully we’ll be able to get to the bottom of it so I can get some relief — I’m predicting it’s heartburn related.

I’m sure it won’t be the last emotional “cleanse” I’ll have. There’s a long summer ahead, with puffy feet and heat in my future. But at least I know the sun’ll come out tomorrow — after a really good night’s sleep!

Had any really fun pregnancy meltdowns yourself? —Erin