Before we conceived, I knew that I wanted to do pregnancy completely different this time around.
The first time, my mental health wasn’t great, nor was my physical health (though I did eat healthily). I felt uncontrollably incapable of being creative, and then, of course, there were the body changes that come with pregnancy. All in all, the whole mix left me pretty unhappy. I rarely got really put together, and I stopped making youtube videos. All bad choices.
You can’t choose how where your pregnancy hormones will take you, or if you get swelling, or stretch marks, but you c a n make your own happiness a priority! In fact, I highly recommend it. I know—especially if you’re a first-time-mom—you may be feeling the pressure to completely focus on how you’re going to birth, and take care of a tiny human in the future. But making a point to really take care of myself has truly made all the difference for me—and it’s actually crazy how much better I’ve felt in this pregnancy than the last.
I know it’s ‘only my second time’, and there are more experty-experts, but here are my suggestions for a happy pregnancy:
1. Exercise with Regularity. I’ve got that down, and will be going into it in a future post. But, as a baseline, I decided I had to exercise a minimum of 3 times a week. I haven’t exercised more than 3 times a week this entire time (with the exception of 1 week). I have a tendency to set minimums, but feel a burning need to surpass them—but I’m being gentle with myself. 3 times. No need to try and outdo myself each week (/as the pregnancy progresses).
shoutout to my toddler for taking this pic!
2. Do Something that Fulfills You. Maybe that’s a project, skill or craft, or reading—for me, I need a creative outlet. Vlogs were too time-consuming with my parenting style, so I started this blog. Did I have to halt it for a month or so after finding out I was pregnant (and then everyone got sick intermittently)? Yes. But I’m back on it, and, honestly, it makes me so happy to work on. I’m a writer; I want to share my experience, and hopefully help others. Do what makes you happy. It makes a huge difference, trust me.
3. Wash your Face/Wear Good Clothes. When I was pregnant with Gwendolyn, I had to stop using proactiv; so I had pregnancy skin, and stopping-proactive-skin. Worst skin of my life. I didn’t have a backup routine, and then just kind of kept up with myself the minimum amount, as well as hardly really getting ‘put together’. Being new to the pregnancy scene, I also didn’t know where to shop for cute maternity clothes, so I didn’t really have any (and the nicer ones I did have weren’t really my style). How you look, and how your body feels you’re treating it matters. You deserve to get all the good feels, especially when pregnancy provides so many unpleasant ones.
4. There are Products for You! I had really terrible leg swelling after around 25 weeks the first time. I couldn’t just alternate between laying down and walking—they had to be above my heart. If I have swelling again, I’m getting compression socks! When I got bigger the first time, I only had my pelvic belt thing—but this time, I’m definitely going to be belly wrapping for support. I’ve also been using KT tape this pregnancy, and I really like it. You don’t need to ‘suffer though it’. You can suffer though other things. There are solutions to most of what ails you.
5. Spend Time with Your Friends. Maybe you don’t want to bore them with pregnancy talk, or you don’t have any super-close friends where you live, or you feel overwhelmed, so you think ‘relaxing’ at home exclusively is a good plan. Don’t isolate yourself. Find a local group (perhaps babywearing; church; neighbors; club members; coworkers) or start a group yourself. Once you have that baby, adult conversation will be the best thing ever. Forge those connections now. Here’s a handy suggestion for how to get started.
Please take care of yourself! Is there any other area that has made a significant difference for you that you feel others should make time for? I promise, you are an excellent investment, and you won’t regret taking care of yourself now!
