Pregnancy Makes you Unreliable...and Other Reasons you Should Forgive the Pregnant Woman in your Life

I no longer make definitive commitments.

Of course, I have commitments. That's unavoidable. However, with the exception of a few things like doctors appointments, my commitments go something like this:

• "Sure, I'd love to have lunch with you! How about....noon-ish?"
• "Yeah, lets spend the day shopping. How about I meet you between 10:00 and 11:30?"
• "Breakfast? Better make it brunch. Or maybe an early lunch?"

I have found it is nearly impossible to get out of the house and get somewhere on time. Commitments in the morning? Forget about it. Unless my husband is home to physically make sure I'm functioning, I don't schedule anything before noon. Mornings are a crap shoot for this mama-to-be: some days I wake up with energy and ready to go, other mornings I wake up....and go back to bed. Some days it's fatigue. Other days it takes me an hour to decide on something to eat that will not make me sick. Seems the "wonderful" days of the second trimester--the days of energy I heard about but never really came to fruition--are coming to an end. Luckily I have very understanding family and friends who understand that when I say, "see you at 1:00!" I really mean 2:00, 2:30.

Does the pregnant lady in your life seem a little ditzy? Or (in my case) a little more ditzy than usual? That's because we lose all ability to multitask somewhere in the late second trimester. It's like I tell my husband: "I can make dinner, and be pregnant. I can walk down the stairs, and be pregnant. I can watch TV, and be pregnant." The actual act of being pregnant takes up nearly all of my brain power. If I attempt to do a third thing, it gets messy and results in situations like dirty dishes in the microwave or a chicken salad sandwich in the freezer.

And if the baby is kicking? All bets are off. I am completely distracted from whatever I am doing when I feel our little guy move. I'm a little obsessed with it. Trying to have a serious conversation with me when baby boy is bopping around is pointless. I know I get a dreamy look on my face and usually I giggle. So no, pregnant ladies aren't crazy. It's just a very distracting process when you're growing another person.

Lastly, forgive the pregnant ladies when they totally freak out. There is no rhyme or reason to hormonal surges. Although we're more sensitive and it won't take much provocation to make us cry hysterically or scream our heads off, the important thing to remember is--there doesn't have to be a reason. And it doesn't help that I can identify that I am feeling hormonal, except to warn my husband: "Honey, I'm feeling aggressive/insecure/anxious/weepy/overly excited and I don't know why". Some days, hours before he comes home from work, I'll send him a text message: "Early Warning System: Wife weepiness has been sighted in your area and is likely to get worse by mid-afternoon and evening". Some days I wake up and just want to control everything. Unfortunately, there isn't much in my life to exercise control over, so I usually end up micro-managing the cat, which never goes well for me. Kitty is immune to hormonal surges.

So take a page from my husband's book and be patient with your pregnant lady. Let her be late, let her be a little ditzy, let her be controlling. Because in few months, baby will make three, and then he'll be in charge--whether the kitty likes it or not.