12 Things Every Grown-Ass Woman Does When She's Pregnant

Announcing a pregnancy can be such an exciting time for a woman, but it's also something that's deeply personal and, honestly, scary. Most women like to wait until they are in their second trimester, just in case complications were to arise, but others like to shout the news as soon as they get a positive pregnancy test. Both ways are fine, but it should be up to the person that's actually pregnant as to when and how that announcement is made.

With my first, only a few people knew that I was pregnant before someone in my family decided to take it upon themselves to announce it via Facebook, so any creative plans I had were tossed aside after that. With my second, I didn't make an announcement until I was almost 20 weeks along, probably out of spite.

I actually remember people telling me while I was trying to make plans for my maternity leave at work, "Oh, don't worry about that. It'll all work out!" Let me just say right now that that is horrible advice. Of course you need to plan! Thankfully, this is advice that I kindly ignored, otherwise we might not have been able to pay our bills while I took time off of work.

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but there isn't some money fairy that comes and sprinkles income on top of your bills while you're on maternity leave. I mean, there isn't even guaranteed paid maternity leave in the U.S. so unless you've got a money tree in your back yard or your income isn't needed, you're going to need to make plans, and whether or not you want to return to work should ultimately be up to you (if it makes sense financially, of course).

It seems like everyone has something to say about what you should and should not eat during your pregnancy. Yes, a healthy diet is obviously recommended but an occasional taco isn't going to cause your baby to have poor SAT scores. Your pregnancy diet is something that you should discuss with your doctor, not your random acquaintance that likes to show up at parties and blurt out random facts in order to make themselves seem more intelligent.

If you can still wear your regular jeans until the day you deliver, that's great, but please don't beat yourself up if you can't. Exercise your right to wear leggings as pants every day if that's what you want to do. Don't compare your pregnancy body to the person who claims she wore her size 2's during her entire pregnancy. Maybe some people can do that, but I can assure you that not many can and hopping into a pair of leggings 11 weeks into your pregnancy is nothing to be ashamed of.

Also, maternity jeans are amazing these days. I haven't been pregnant in 16 months and I can fit into most of my normal jeans, but I still wear my maternity jeans on occasion. They're just so darn cozy!

Pregnancy is wonderful, of course, but it's also pretty damn stressful and exhausting and overwhelming. If you're ever feeling inundated with the trials and tribulations of procreation, it's okay to take a step back and take care of yourself. There will never be a more appropriate time to be selfish than when you're pregnant, so if you want to indulge in a spa day or a prenatal massage, go for it! Get a facial or a manicure or treat yourself to lots of relaxing, stress-free days because, before too long, it's going to be slightly more difficult to get away for a massage.

The way in which you decide to deliver your baby is, you guessed it, up to you. If you want to deliver your baby in a hospital and use an epidural, do that. If you want to try a home birth and use the services of a midwife or doula, do that. If you want to be surrounded by your entire family and all of your sorority sisters, that's fine, but if you want your delivery to be an intimate experience between you and your partner, you will need to set some ground rules as to who is and isn't allowed into the birthing premises. However you want to give birth is up to you.

Erratic emotions are par for the pregnancy course. Hormones are relentless bitches and you have no control over how they make you feel, therefor, you should never apologize for crying during the Subaru commercial. End of story.

Baby showers are wonderful because they often provide new moms with some of the basic necessities needed for their baby. But that doesn't mean that a mom shouldn't be able to indulge in the baby section of her choosing, on her own, too. Buying things for your baby can be so exciting and picturing them in that adorable outfit you bought them will make the aches and pains of pregnancy disappear. If you want to do your own personal shopping for your baby, by all means, please do! Don't let someone else tell you that you shouldn't be spending money on your own baby. You will get a lot at your baby shower, yes, but you're a mom now and moms have an inherent need to buy things for their babies.

You're going to want to do a lot during your pregnancy and for a while that won't be an issue, but there will come a time when your walk will turn into a waddle and walking 12 feet will feel more like walking 12 miles. When that time comes, don't be afraid to ask for help. No one ever wants to need help, but sometimes needing assistance is inevitable. Take advantage of the kindness of others and take all the help you can get while it's still readily available.

Pregnancy naps are the best naps.

Nesting is a very real phenomenon. Getting your life completely together and clutter-free before your baby arrives will make your postpartum life run so much smoother. Knowing exactly where everything is when you need it will save you lots of gray hairs, because babies are kind of impatient and if they don't get what they want when they want it, they're probably going to make you want to cry too.

While in my own nesting phase, I took it upon myself to rearrange every room in the house (with the muscle of my husband), paint walls, clean out our basement, organize all important documents, and reorganize our kitchen. I was a maniac, but it worked out in our favor once our son was born.

Take advantage of all the "me time" you can get before your baby gets here. Becoming a mother is amazing, but it also marks the end of an era that was founded on your needs only. Once your baby arrives, your needs are going to come secondary more often than not, but it's important that you remember how to love yourself too. Self care is so important once you become a mother. When you spend the majority of your time nurturing an all-consuming human, you're eventually going to reach the point of exhaustion. At that point, it's vital to remember that you need care, too. Practicing the act of taking care of yourself before you have your baby, will hopefully help you to remember to take care of yourself too after you have your baby.