Pregnancy fatigue – not what I imagined
When I started, I thought I’d be the type who felt great during pregnancy. I pictured myself doing yoga and Pilates, glowing all the way through. Reality check? Nope.
“Spoiler alert: I was glowing… with exhaustion.”
I wouldn’t say it was the worst pregnancy in history. I wasn’t very nauseous—only when I got a little hungry. But I was exhausted. Slow. And all I wanted was to sleep, lie down, and scroll Instagram.
I basically became an expert at scrolling. A new skill unlocked during pregnancy.
It felt like there were no rails for me anymore, like I had lost my usual structure. And honestly, I think I’m addicted to dopamine.
I was woking up dreading the day ahead. Thankfully, in France we have a lot of health check-ups during pregnancy. They showed that I was low on iron. Once I started supplements, I felt a little relief—enough to function again—but it wasn’t a dramatic change. Those months still remained really, really difficult. After 6 p.m., I had no energy left at all.
Community support & shared stories
When I turned to forums, I scrolled and read and scrolled again (see? Expert at scrolling ). And it was comforting to know I wasn’t by myself.
But also… terrifying. The majority of women said postpartum was the worst part. Almost nobody said giving birth itself was the hardest.
“Worse? How could it get worse?”
Let’s face it, birth is short, chaotic, and at the end we get the greatest gift: our baby. That part, we can survive.
Only a minority of women said pregnancy was the toughest. So in a way, it reassured me—I wasn’t alone in what I felt.
Postpartum reality & recovery
Still, I was scared. I didn’t know what to expect from postpartum.
And then the day came. I won’t go into all the details—otherwise this post would turn into a book. Let’s just say it was both long and fast at the same time. After a C-section and about 24 hours of labor, I finally had my child in my arms. I was exhausted, but happy.
And then, the incredible thing happened: the very next day, I felt like my soul came back into my body.
“I came back, baby, I came back!”
After about eight months of suffering, I suddenly felt more like myself again.
Of course, I was still tired—we all are, mamas, because caring for a newborn is no joke. But there is an end to every story.
So if I had to sum it up? Pregnancy was the worst. The longest. The darkest stretch of the whole journey.
But I survived. We survived. Go take care of yourselves, mamas.
