Pregnancy Mindset: Expect the Unexpected and Embrace the Journey

In this episode of The Pulling Curls Podcast, host Hilary Erickson dives into the topic of pregnancy mindset. She shares three tips for adopting a positive mindset during pregnancy, including expecting it to be hard, acknowledging that pregnancy is a long journey, and keeping expectations low for oneself and others.

Hilary also highlights the importance of cherishing the joyful moments of pregnancy, as well as previews upcoming episodes on parenting and labor mindsets. Stay tuned for more helpful tips and insights on future episodes of the podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe, review, and share to support the show’s growth.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This episode is sponsored by my pregnancy email series:

Get me prepared!

We keep spam just in our pantry ~ Cancel at any time!

Timestamps:

00:02:56 Expect delivery two weeks after due date. Have low expectations for yourself.
00:04:40 Keep expectations low for pregnancy and parenting.

Keypoints:

1. Introduction to mindset month on the Pulling Curls Podcast
2. Highlighting the complexity of pregnancy mindset
3. Tip #1: Expect pregnancy to be hard, managing expectations
4. Personal experience with pregnancy and how it can vary
5. Tip #2: Recognizing that pregnancy is a long journey, not just the due date
6. Discussing the common misconception of being almost done at 36 weeks
7. Reflecting on personal experience of going past due date
8. Encouraging mindset of being pleasantly surprised when labor happens close to due date
9. Tip #3: Keeping expectations low for oneself, partner, and others
10. Recap of the episode and teaser for upcoming episodes on parenting and labor mindset

Producer: Drew Erickson

Transcript

[00:00:00.540] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 211, we are starting a mindset month around Pulling Curls. We’re talking about pregnancy mindset, so let’s untangle it.

[00:00:13.950] – Hilary Erickson

Hi, I’m Hilary, a serial overcomplicator. I’m also a nurse, mom to three, and the curly head behind Pulling Curls and The Pregnancy Nurse. This podcast aims to help us stop overcomplicating things and remember how much easier it is to keep things simple. Let’s smooth out those snarls with pregnancy and parenting untangled, the Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:00:40.740] – Hilary Erickson

This episode of The Pulling Curls Podcast is sponsored by my pregnancy newsletter. Did you know that I can email you every week, even two weeks if you’re close to your due date, about everything pregnancy, all the things you need to know, just like a buddy in your inbox? You can find it on most posts at Pulling Curls or look in the show notes, and I’ll have a link for it there.

[00:01:00.940] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, so the pregnancy mindset is super complicated. Am I right? You are growing a human in your body. For a lot of you, you’ve never done it before. Even if you have done it before, you’re older, this baby is different, your body is different, and so you’re just dealing with all of those different things. Today I wanted to give you three tips for your pregnancy mindset that I think are really going to help you out.

[00:01:22.090] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, tip number one is that you should expect pregnancy to be hard. I mean, on social media, I see some people maybe taking it to an extreme, but I know for a long time people were just like, Pregnancy is amazing. I feel such a special glow, or I feel great.

[00:01:38.720] – Hilary Erickson

And that is true. I felt amazing on my first pregnancy. I felt pretty much completely fine. I had aches and pains, but I was like, I’m going to surrogate. This thing is easy. I got pregnant four years later, and then I got pregnant five years later, and my body was just tired. I want to tell you that you need to expect it to be hard, like pioneer hard.

[00:02:01.820] – Hilary Erickson

Like, This is not going to be fun. I’m going to struggle. These are things you should talk with your partner that you’re just expecting it to be hard. Now, of course, this is hard because I also want you to feel like you have this mindset that pregnancy is going to be super easy, but also you should expect it to be hard because I think if you’re looking for how hard it’s going to be, then it’s going to make it even harder. But if you’re also expecting it to just be unicorns and rainbows, then that isn’t going to do you any favors either. Pregnancy is going to be hard. Just expect it and have the mindset for it.

[00:02:32.730] – Hilary Erickson

Tip number two is that pregnancy is going to be long. I see so many people looking at the due date. That is the turn in date. That’s the end of finals. Pregnancy is done on my due date. So many people go over. Then also as you get towards the end of the pregnancy, you and your mind… I see all these people that are like, Oh, I’m almost done. I’m 36 weeks. I’m like, That is a whole month left of being a pioneer like we talked about in the first mindset. You still have quite a lot of time, plus or minus two weeks. You could go over your due date. I went over my due date every single time.

[00:03:07.390] – Hilary Erickson

I really had tried to have the mindset that I was going to be due… I would have the baby by two weeks after my due date. I think if you go in, you might just be pleasantly surprised when you go into labor close to your due date. You’ll be like, Oh, I’m so glad I went in early versus two weeks after my due date. Now, hardly anybody makes it to two weeks past their due date. But if you just have the mindset, I think when they tell people who are running to think they’re running past whatever the finish line is, you want to think that too.

[00:03:37.500] – Hilary Erickson

You’re going to make it way past the finish line of your due date. So just plan on it being long and then just be pleasantly surprised when it’s not. Number three, and you’re going to find this throughout the mindset month, is to have your expectations low. Have your expectations low of yourself and what you’re going to be able to accomplish with your body. A lot of people think, Oh, I’m going to get all this stuff done. Then they get 30 minutes into a project and they’re just like, I am dead. I can’t move. I’m done.

[00:04:09.400] – Hilary Erickson

I would encourage you to keep expectations low of yourself, keep expectations low of your partner so that if they rise to the occasion, it’s just a pleasant surprise.Keep expectations of the people around you, your boss, keep all of that expectations low because I think a lot of people may be suffered for infertility and they have all these high expectations about how magical pregnancy is going to be for them and their body and how everyone’s just going to appreciate them and all the work that they’re doing for their pregnancy. That may not be the case.

[00:04:40.390] – Hilary Erickson

That is my third tip, is to keep expectations low for yourself, for others, your body, life. Those are my three pregnancy mindset tips. I think it’s real easy to get caught up in the movie picture of pregnancy and what it’s going to be like and how much your partner loves you and how great you’re going to feel when that baby moves.

[00:05:01.690] – Hilary Erickson

There are going to be moments of that. I would 100% tell you to savor the moments where you’re like, Oh, there’s the baby moving, and your partner feels the baby move, or your kids feel the baby move. Remember those moments because there’s going to be other moments that you will not want to remember. Those are my pregnancy mindset tips.

[00:05:17.190] – Hilary Erickson

Stay tuned because next week we are talking about the parenting mindset. Then the week after that, I have my friend Tina coming on and we are going to talk about labor mindset, so stay tuned. There’s going to be lots of great tips, great tips if you’re pregnant. Honestly, these tips are great for anybody. I think trying to get my mind in the right place always serves me well. So stay tuned.

[00:05:37.920] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks for joining us on the Pulling Curls Podcast today. If you liked today’s episode, please consider reviewing, sharing, subscribing. It really helps our podcast grow. Thank you.

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