Ask any mother and they’ll likely tell you that pregnancy is a beautiful and magical time… but it can be incredibly challenging, too! Your body and hormones are changing, there’s a lot of stress and uncertainty in your life, and mood swings are to be expected. Sometimes, you can burst into tears seemingly out of nowhere.

The reasons behind the tears can be quite confusing and amusing, as the women of the r/AskReddit community can attest. In a viral internet thread, they opened up about the ‘silliest’ things they cried about when pregnant. It’s a reminder for all moms-to-be that there’s nothing ‘shameful’ about crying and that you’re never alone.

#1

I saw a squirrel with short tail.

I forgot how to use my turn signal.

Image credits: Sinfulcinderella

#2

I bawled bc I felt guilty that I was feeding my dog the same dog food every day for most of his life.

Image credits: devyduck

#3

Couldn't open the fridge because the door kept hitting my pregnant belly so sat on the kitchen floor and cried for like 15 minutes.

Image credits: Royal_Confidence24

Mood swings, from crying and being irritable to anger and forgetfulness, are completely normal during pregnancy. A random thought or event might make you sob for a few minutes, and then you might get on with your day as though nothing happened. This is nothing unusual. It’s also nothing to be ‘ashamed’ of.

According to Psychiatrist Lucy Puryear, MD, at the beginning of your pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone skyrocket.

“The changes have big effects on your mood. You can be tearful one minute and happy the next,” she told ‘Parents.’

#4

I cried because I forgot to get my husband a father's day card from our cat.

Image credits: fkyeahcaricci

#5

Watching dogs play competitive frisbee. They jumped so high. They looked so happy. It was so beautiful.

Image credits: poustinia

#6

I cried every time the fancy feast commercial came on because that cat was just *so* fluffy.

Image credits: missmillierene

New York City-based family therapist Jennifer L. Hartstein, PhD, explains that pregnant women are more reactive to everything. “After your meltdown, you can get freaked out, thinking, 'What is wrong with me?' This will get you upset all over again. Just remember that it's normal, and try to laugh it off and move on,” she explains.

During their second trimester, many moms can feel much better and more balanced, both physically and emotionally. Their bodies begin adjusting to the hormonal changes, even as the amounts of estrogen and progesterone continue to increase. However, they might still do impulsive things like suddenly laugh out loud during a serious situation or smile widely for seemingly no reason.

#7

The sun was shining and I loved it on my face.

Image credits: Kiwi-Wildbumpkin

#8

Traffic lights changing to red and I wasn’t prepared for the event.

Image credits: PenultimateSprout

#9

A video where an otter was playing with a ball, and another otter came and stole it from him. Utterly DEVASTATED.

Image credits: muststayawaketonod

‘Healthline’ points out that for some moms, hormonal shifts can continue into their second and third trimesters. That means that some pregnant women have to contend with crying spells for longer.

Although you can’t control hormonal shifts, you can make it easier on yourself to handle them. Something that all pregnant moms should strive to do is to get plenty of sleep, consistently. At least 7 to 9 hours each night should help them handle all the additional stress in their life better.

Being physically active and gently exercising can also help with this. Meanwhile, it really does help to know that you’re not alone. You should never feel like reaching out to others is a sign of ‘weakness.’ Other pregnant women and moms will be happy to answer any questions you have and support you, whether by offering practical advice or simply being there for you emotionally.

#10

I ugly cried while reading a bedtime book to my toddler. The book that made me cry with snot and hyperventilating sobs was “the little engine that could” it prompted my toddler to take the book out of my hands and pat me on the back saying “It oday mommy, it oday”.

Image credits: raerae1991

#11

I saw a duck. In my defence, it was a mandarin duck and they’re gorgeous, but I still cried because I saw a duck.

Image credits: MrsCosmopilite

#12

I cried while watching women’s gymnastics in the Olympics, it was so moving to see those women working so hard and making strides in their goals ??.

Image credits: geminifire531

What is the silliest thing that made you cry when you were pregnant, dear Pandas? How did you support your partners when they were pregnant? What advice would you give new moms who feel overwhelmed with everything? If you’re feeling up to it, share your experiences and opinions in the comments!

#13

I accidentally bought battery-powered salt and pepper grinders, which I cried about in the first place, but then I had no batteries and we were on a curfew because of lockdown so I couldn't go back out and just buy batteries, so I cried even more.

Also technically not when I was pregnant but less than 24 hours after my baby was born I sobbed into my breakfast cereal because I couldn't feel my baby kicking anymore and I was sad that I wasn't pregnant (even though I wasn't sad I was pretty happy about it actually).

Image credits: durkbot

#14

They stopped selling a certain chocolate bar 10 years ago but i wanted it now.

Image credits: Total_Ad_7977

#15

With my first kid I was young and broke. I was craving jalapeño poppers, and couldn’t afford them, so I was squirreling away change until I could buy a box. Finally got them, cooked them, set the cookie sheet on top of the stove for them to cool off and left the room. My dog got up on his hind legs and ate every single one of them. I just sat on the kitchen floor and cried for half an hour when I saw they were gone.

#16

We drove past a field with some fresh baby lambs and they were getting drizzled on. Absolutely inconsolable sobbing about how it wasn't fair that they can't be inside in the nice and warm.

Image credits: Mauhea

#17

I was on a flight reading a NatGeo magazine about dogs, and was overly distraught about how amazing they are, what a good boy my dog is, and how we don't deserve such pure souls.

Image credits: GorpQuest

#18

My husband suggested going out to breakfast, but I didn’t want to shower so I was trying to find a hat. We had just done tons of laundry so I was sitting on the floor, sobbing, while digging through all this laundry thinking somehow my hat got mixed in. My husband was like “heyyy maybe we should get a pregnancy test?” I snapped that I was just sad I couldn’t find my hat, anyways, the sad hat baby is 23 and my husband knows me better than I know myself.

#19

A bird’s nest fell out of a large bush in our yard from the wind. The eggs cracked. I ugly sobbed for way too long thinking of the mother bird coming back and her eggs being gone.

Image credits: seaturtlesunset

#20

My husband told me he was going to shave his moustache, which I hated.

As soon as he was like "well, today is the day! I'm gonna get rid of it" I got super weepy for the little creepy thing and begged him not to. I felt so guilty for not loving it.

Image credits: Mapleglitch

#21

I went to subway and said no, to having it toasted. It was one of the chicken sandwiches. She put the meat on cold. I told her, wait, I still want the meat to be heated up! So she takes the sandwich and puts the whole thing in the microwave. I stepped away from the counter and started bawling. My husband came to ask what was wrong and I sobbed about microwaved bread.

#22

Heard the song "Leader of the Pack" on oldies radio station. Had to pull over because I was sobbing. "He was their LEADER!! And he DIED!!".

Image credits: Theobroma1000

#23

My loving husband washed my favorite pajama pants. I got home before him and realized he’s done laundry before work. I pulled out every pair of pants in my drawer looking for something as comfortable but couldn’t find any. My husband came home to me sitting on the floor surrounded by all my pants absolutely bawling.

The pants were in the dryer and were done. He got them for me and apologized over and over.

#24

I saw a video online of a UPS truck pulling a FedEx truck out of a snowbank and I thought it was beautiful that they were working together. .

#25

My cat, Ellie.

I sobbed one night because she was spayed, and I wondered if she ever wanted children and was upset because we took away that option from her.

Hormones are WILD.

#26

Nothing.


I am 8.5 months and at around month 4 I woke up one morning for work and sat in the bathroom for ten minutes just sobbing. Nothing going on at all. Literally still in pjs. I couldn't do my make up till it passed lol. I was fully aware of how ridiculous it was but couldn't stop. Only time that has happened the whole pregnancy.

Image credits: rachface636

#27

A dog food commercial.

Opens with a teen girl calling a puppy to climb the stairs after her. "C'mon, Casey!"

Next shot, same girl, a little older, on the same stairs, saying, "C'mon, Casey!" being followed slowly, by an old, gray same breed dog.

#28

The cows were being rained on. I felt so bad for them thinking they hated it. Someone had to talk me off the ledge telling me they love the rain since they're standing in 90° heat all day. It was dumb and hilarious.

#29

Being in the middle of winter in December and not able to swim in a swimming pool. The belly weight hurt my joints and I cried imagining the relief that being in water would give but couldn’t have it…so. ?.

#30

I was hanging out with one of my friends from college a few years ago and was telling him a funny story about my cousin and I. Now the reason this story is funny has to do with the fact that I'm super white and my cousin is very Japanese. Anyway, as I'm wrapping the story up I hear a weird noise from behind me. His 5 month pregnant wife had been asleep on the chair but evidently had been awakened by the story. My friend asks his wife what's wrong and she bursts out in tears "it's just so beautiful how you and your cousin look so different but he's just family to you, that's just so great what an experience for you as children". She was just completely enchanted with my mixed race upbringing, it was really sweet if not a bit surreal in the moment.

#31

I cried because I cried. Also, I cried because I wanted fruit but didn't want to cut it because it irritated my skin.

#32

The Rescuers Down Under came on the Disney Channel, so I started sobbing because I wanted to watch it and I was watching it.

#33

Dude, I was toward the end of my last trimester and I got pulled over because I took a turn too harshly or something. I don't remember. The moment the cop walked to my window, I immediately burst out crying. I was waving my arms trying to cool myself down. Shouting "I just wanted to go get my husband from boot camp" and this poor young officer backed up with his hands in the air and tried to very calmly say "it's okay. I'm going to let you go" but because I was crying and hysterical I could not hear him and I just got worse and worse until another officer showed up (I think he just happened to be passing by when this was happening) and she came to my window and was like "It's okay. He's not going to even give you a citation of any kind. Just be on your way. Just breathe." Lmao.

#34

The Tim Hortons drive through gave me 2 sour cream glazed donuts when I asked for 2 sour cream glazed timbits..I cried most of the way home lol.

#35

We won a contest at work and were treated to lunch by a rep. As a group, we picked a somewhat more upscale place and we all picked an entree. It was a place I’d been to a few times before and couldn’t WAIT for their veal piccata. All week I was talking about this chicken piccata to my coworkers, to my husband, and to literally anyone who would listen. I was SO EXCITED.

On the day of the lunch we placed our order and the rep went to pick it up and bring it to our branch. She unpacked all of the meals and wrote our names on them. Typically I would’ve had the first lunch, but I was busy with a customer and ended up with the last lunch. The rep thought that veal looked like hamburger (it absolutely does NOT) and mislabeled my meal. When it came time for me to eat lunch I excitedly went to get my veal piccata… only to find there was one meal left and it definitely wasn’t mine. The veal had been swapped with the VEGETARIAN meal, which had brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have cared, but… 1) I had been CRAVING lemon and all things tart and 2) those specific vegetables had been triggering my morning sickness since Day 1. Worse still, the coworker who had been given my meal took two bites, realized it was meat, and THREW IT OUT.

I cried so hard my manager went back to the restaurant and bought a second veal piccata with her own money.

#36

I’m currently 36 weeks pregnant with twins.

This morning, my husband asked me if I wanted eggs for breakfast. I said yes, so he made me eggs. By the time they were ready, I didn’t want them. I’ve been crying about this all day.

#37

The beef chunks in the beef stew that I ordered weren't mathematically perfect cubes.

#38

My husband said we shouldn’t adopt a kitten and I then had a full on melt down over the number of homeless cats in our country.

#39

I cried because I couldn’t fart because of the baby blocking my intestine.

#40

No one told me that my in-laws fish was pregnant.

#41

I saw a video of a mother squirrel's journey through pregnancy and raising her young. At one point she was just laying on her back with a huge belly. I felt such a connection with her. She was so brave.

#42

My wife had a pickle that wasn't pickle enough. Fun times.

#43

Milk. I literally cried over spilled milk. It was the last of it for the cereal I was craving, and it was 2 am, and I turned around to a noise (dog got up to see what I was doing) with the open container in my hand and dropped it and it spilled and I sobbed giant heaving sobs that my husband got up, put pants on and went to the 7-11 and got milk. At 2 am.

#44

The slushie machine at Dairy Queen was busted. AGAIN.

#45

The shampoo not tasting how it smelt.

#46

My husband wouldn’t let me buy cheese cake. It was devastating at the time. Of course we laugh about it now.

#47

Elephants have best friends.

#48

My sister in law had a good cry over spork pretending to be spoons and forks “because they are f*****g liars” and was not being sarcastic. She was legit mad. It was part of a Taco Bell order.

#49

I was hungry and my friend made me a pb&j and I couldnt eat it because it smelled like bananas so I cried ?.

#50

I cried more after the baby was born and I was totally sleep deprived. For no reason at all. Freaked my husband out completely. Life is SO much better with sleep.

#51

I really wanted a frozen pizza during my first pregnancy. I was 14 pounds under my starting weight and couldn’t keep anything down. I was in the tub one night when my husband offered to make me one. He had a particularly long day at work so it was kind of him to offer. As I was sitting there, I realized that he would probably cut it into squares like I normally do. Only the idea of pizza in the shape of a square made me really nauseated. A triangle slice sounded fine though. I didn’t want to seem nit-picky since he was already doing me a favor. He brought it to me in triangles! I cried because I was so grateful that he cut a dang pizza into normal slices instead of squares.

#52

I craved oranges with our oldest, but I didn’t like peeling them because it made my hands feel weird/dry. I opened the fridge one day and there were a bunch of peeled oranges in there…

My husband stayed up the night before peeling them and when I saw them I cried because it was so sweet, but also because I knew it wasn’t enough to last me all day while he was at work.

#53

My husband toasting an everything flavored bagel while I was sleeping. I had forbidden him from making those, but he (sincerely) thought since I was already asleep it would be ok. The smell woke me, and I instantly threw up. I had been struggling with insomnia, and was exhausted from the constant puking. I was so mad at him I sobbed/yelled for half an hour.

#54

I have a good one! I was very pregnant, living far from home, my mom sent me a box of my favorite See's candy (she special ordered my favorite type so it was a whole box of one type). I lived in an area where you can't get them outside of Christmas. I'm trying to be good so I only eat 1 or 2 a day. I will also note, my husband is a candy fiend and I will hide my candy, because he will eat all of it in one sitting. Well one day I go to eat my candy and the box is gone. I'm really hormonal and craving this stupid candy. I look in the pantry and it's nowhere to be found. I start yelling at my husband and accuse him of eating my candy. He tells me he hasn't and I decided he was lying and start to ugly cry because he doesn't care about me and ate my precious. I had a whole freak out and he is just in disbelief which I took as snark. I'm mad all day, and night, like couldn't be in the same room mad. The next day I go to grab a big pot to cook myself something and what do you know. There's my box of candy... I have no recollection of hiding it with the cookware. Yes, I had to go apologize to him for being so awful but not before I treated myself to 2 candies.

#55

I was so hungry that I couldn't move, so I was trapped on my bed ten steps from the kitchen.

#56

I cried because I felt like I was a failure for eating enchiladas instead of "feeding my baby something healthier." lolol

On a second note, I once cried happy tears because the mole (Mexican food, not the animal) I was eating was really good and I was moved that the chef had put so much heart into the food he was serving.

So I guess I just have big feelings about Mexican food when I'm hormonal?

#57

I cried because i ate a whole box of crackers and had none left. later, the same day, i cried because i wanted blueberry pie, and my husband stopped me from driving to the store in a snowstorm at 1045p.m while i was 8 months pregnant.... i had eaten an entire pint of blueberries prior to this meltdown.

#58

My Uber got stuck in traffic. It was like the tenth time that day I had cried. I had just flown home from a work trip, and my ankles were so swollen, and I was so, so, tired. I just desperately wanted to be home. And then we just hit a wall of traffic. So I cried about that (my poor Uber driver!), and then became absolutely inconsolable when I saw the wreck that caused the slowdown. I couldn’t breathe, I was crying so hard. I really felt for that Uber driver. Poor guy just kept handing me tissues and telling me he was going to get me home safe.

#59

I saw an ad about a lost kitten, and cried for 2 hours about how scared it must have been.

Never in my life again have I ever experienced the hormones I experienced during my first pregnancy.

#60

3 times:

1. Before I knew I was pregnant, I ran over a turtle while driving in the UP. I turned to my husband and said “please tell me that wasn’t a turtle,” and he just made a face, and I cried for more than 30 minutes.

2. Right after I found out I was pregnant we went to a MLB game and it happened to be bark at the park night! There were cute puppies for adoption and I said I wanted one and husband said no, so I cried. Then he said we could make it work and get one and I cried AGAIN because I knew it would be irresponsible.

3. Right before my son was born I was getting excited about a brownie + ice cream for dessert but my husband had eaten the last brownie, so I cried. He immediately went to the store to buy more but they didn’t have the kind we normally get so he bought every kind of brownie he could find LOL.

I’m a lucky gal!

#61

I stood in front of the window of a Japanese restaurant watching people eat. I was crying as if I had just lost someone dear to me, but in reality all I wanted was to eat sashimi. Poor people. I was just standing there, nose almost touching the glass, crying at strangers eating. Ffs.

#62

Not while I was pregnant but right after we got home from the hospital my little chihuahua who has been my baby before I ever had a human baby seemed sad and was shivering and I had to have my husband hold our human baby so I could love on him and let him know he will always be my baby too. I was bawling my eyes out. Poor guy, I still feel bad because I can’t hold him as much as before and he used to be so spoiled in that way.

#63

The movie Dumbo. Particularly the scene when the mom is stuck in the cage and is reaching through the bars to rock her baby and sing him a lullaby. The best part is I didn't even watch it, I just randomly remembered the scene and started sobbing and cried every single time I thought about it the entire pregnancy.

#64

Because the pack of baby tomatoes i had just bought had mold on them. Partner goes to the store to get a new pack because I was so upset. Comes home and THOSE ALSO HAD MOLD, so that really sent me over the edge lmao.

#65

That I was eating pancakes with syrup and I hate syrup but I had to have them and I was really upset about it.

#66

I ordered a pizza and when it arrived, it looked like a bite was taken out of it so I rang back and cried down the phone to the poor guy saying I was heavily pregnant and asked for a new pizza. New pizza arrived with no bite mark but still quite upset ? still upset about it to this day.

#67

When I was 36 weeks pregnant during late summer in Phoenix, Arizona I cried thinking about all the pregnant women in the world who didn’t have 24-7 access to ice cream.

#68

I was looking forward to making nice crispy sage and brown butter gnocchi. But the gnocchi wasn’t searing well, so it was going to be soft instead of crispy. I collapsed dramatically onto our stairs and had a full on breakdown.

Luckily my husband rescued it and I had my crispy gnocchi in the end!

#69

A baby armadillo toddling along beside the road. I saw it as we were driving home (2 lane road through housing, no traffic at all). Armadillos are my favorite land animal ever and I'd never seen a living one in person so I whipped my car off into the grass on my side so I could flip a u-turn, only to put it right back into the grass on the other side of the road. I then jumped out and waddled my enormously pregnant a*s after this baby armadillo, making kissy noises and going "here baby here baby!" The baby did not, in fact, here baby, and beat a very hasty retreat into the woods to escape the obviously crazy pregnant lady. I burst into tears because 1) it was just too cute and 2) it didn't let me live out my Disney Princess Dreams™️. I look back at the car and my husband is in the passenger seat, laughing so hard that tears are running down his face and he's almost turning blue because he can't breathe. He later declared that that was the moment he truly knew I was the woman for him- my carefully hidden inner Florida Woman popped out for a moment and he was just delighted.


I'm still mad I don't have a pet armadillo.

#70

The theme song to a kid's TV show where the mom dinosaur adopts an egg that was a different kind of dinosaur. I just WEPT about how they are all a family now and it's so beautiful.

I think a diaper commercial also got me.

#71

My ramen tasted fishy. I started crying at the mall. ??? I was upset because I was so excited that we finally had a fresh ramen place, and I had to throw it away and was sad I couldn’t have sushi either. To be fair I was prescribed 6 estrogen pills a day (infertility treatment) so literally everything made me cry plus a 3 inch long needle in my a*s for the entire pregnancy made me have quite the pity party. ? .

#72

That I wouldn't be able to love my baby as much as my dog.

#73

Having to pee so frequently. Had to use the restroom 10 minutes after I had already gone and broke down crying in a Mexican restaurant parking lot lol.

#74

My husband said “I didn’t think you’d like a shirt like that” just casually. I started crying “you think I like wearing these clothes?!”.

#75

I wept because there was the tiniest bit of moisture on the plate when my husband put my burrito on it, resulting in a slightly moist spot on the tortilla. Went from starving to gagging. He still brings it up 15 years later.

#76

That my Tesco delivery didn’t have the raspberry sorbet which was the only thing I wanted. They brought bloody Christmas cake icecream instead ? I hate fruitcake.

#77

When my husband brought home Wendy's instead of McDonald's.

#78

The pillows on the bed were too flat.

#79

CGI dinosaurs.

I have never been one that cries at movies, *ever,* until I watched Jurassic World when I was about 7 months pregnant. The dinosaurs standing at the end of the pier as the last people left with the coast line being engulfed in smoke had me bawling my eyes out. I am very thankful I was watching this at home on the couch, alone.

#80

A group of old men playing instruments.

#81

I accidentally stole an 8 oz bag of shredded cheese from the store. I was probably 8 months pregnant and had my toddler in the front part of the cart. When I went to put him in the car seat, I realized that he had been sitting on the bag of cheese. I knew I should have gone in and paid for it, but I was too tired to get him out of his car seat, go into the store, wait in line, explain my theft, walk back to the car and rebuckle him into his carseat.

Logically, I knew that it wasn't a big deal, but I was so tired that I couldn't control my emotions. Part of me was hoping that I'd get arrested and get a break for a few days while I was in jail for my role as the Cheddar Bandit. That baby is now 18 years old, so my fugitive status is now a part of my identity.

#82

Not being able to drink my morning coffee because I'd instantly puke the second it reached my lips. Coffee was the highlight of my morning, until it wasn't.

I still couldn't drink it up to 6 months after.

#83

I was put on an early mat leave by a week or two. I went to my manager after my appointment and cried & cried in her office because I love my job and wanted so badly to work the until my leave (she laughed) - But my doctor threatened to have me hospitalized if I showed up at work...I sobbed to my husband about it for hours too.

#84

There was too much cheese in the middle of my burrito and not enough at the end :( .

#85

Someone took "my" parking spot at Kohl's.

#86

I cried with happiness relief tears because the Krispy Kreme had the donuts I wanted in stock.