Each month for the rest of the year, I’m going to be sharing about my personal journey of becoming a mama! I’ll share tips, pictures, links and my personal experiences about pregnancy, labor and delivery, recovery, newborn routines, sleep, and learning how to balance it all(hint: I don’t).
In this post, I’ve put together a list of 23 tips for pregnancy!
Read on for Part 1 in the Motherhood Series: The Pregnancy Journey.
- Take photos – even if you don’t publicly share them, it’s amazing to how your body changes to care for that
sweet growing baby! - Take all advice with a grain of salt (or like, a cup – people are over zealous with advice when you’re pregnant!).
- Record special moments via photos (We use Google photos), apps (I used Ovia) or in a Journal. I found that if I didn’t record those special “growing” moments I forgot very quickly. #pregnancybrain
- Exercise if your doctor okays it! Even just getting out to walk counts! You need strong muscles to carry that baby belly and for labor!
- Add yoga to your day if your doctor okays it! There are so many great, safe prenantal yoga programs to choose from – even if you’re a beginner. Even just taking time to practice your breathing prepares you for labor and calms you.
- Don’t google too much. You know what I mean. 😉 Self diagnosing can lead to alot of unnecessary fear! I used BabyCenter, Kelly Mom (especially if you’re planning to breastfeed!), and The Bump. The Ovia app, What to Expect When You’re Expecting , and Parents.com are good resources as well!
- Don’t be afraid to call your doctor and ask questions!
- Think about projects and tasks that you want to get done, and make lists of what you need. If you’re having a particularly energetic day – you’ll be totally prepared to tackle some tasks!
- Let yourself RELAX and REST.
- Be productive on your energetic days and don’t beat yourself up on your lazy days!
- Soak up all the attention and the love.
- Ask for help and give specific tasks to people who ask if they can help you.
- Make freezer meals so that you don’t have to think about food after baby arrives (and in the last few weeks before baby arrives!)
- Communicate with your spouse about expectations, preferences, what your thoughts are on different labor and delivery options, parenting, etc.
- Involve that baby’s Daddy in as much as you can of the pregnancy journey! Give them specific ways they can help you and talk to them about the things you feel as your baby grows!
- Register! We used Amazon and Target, which both have bonus items/freebies for creating a registry! Amazon even has a thank you list that keeps track of who purchases each item to make your life that much easier. Check out my list of Newborn Essentials here.
- Purchase a set of thank you cards and keep them somewhere central in your home. As gifts come, you’ll be able to write and mail the thank you immediately. No forgetting who sent what!
- Check out my Pregnancy Essentials here (I couldn’t sleep without my pillow!).
- DON’T eat too much. Cravings are a real thing, but don’t let them up your weight gain! Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you have an all access pass to eating anything and everything. As someone who gained way too much her first pregnancy, my advice is to talk to your doctor to get an idea of the healthy amount of calories you should be consuming.
- DON’T let other people’s opinions, preferences, and experiences get to you. It’s your pregnancy, your baby and your family.
- DON’T go out and buy too much. People will give you things, buy you things and throw you showers where you will get more baby things!
- DON’T be afraid to say what you need or want.
- DON’T forget to enjoy each stage – even the hard parts of being pregnant. Each moment is bringing you closer to your sweet baby.
[…] If you missed Part 1, go read my list of 23 tips for pregnancy! […]