I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to have the best prenancy ever. I’ve thought of it ever since I gave birth to my last baby 3 years ago. The birth was the best ever, but the pregnancy was tough. In hindsight there were a lot of things I could have done to make it easier.
What does it mean to have the best pregnancy ever? To me, it means that I have energy and strength. That I eat right and exercise often. That I minimize the sugar I consume and maximize the fresh fruits and vegetables. That I stay emotionally strong and keep a positive attitude which includes embracing the changes that take place in my body. It also means that I have a normal weight gain (not 60-80 pounds like in past pregnancies) and that I have done all I can to insure a normal, easy delivery.
So here’s what I’m doing:
1. As soon as I find out I’m pregnant (hopefully around 4 weeks, this time 7 weeks–eek!) start putting dinners in the freezer. I am most nauseaus when I am tired which can make cooking dinner very difficult.
2. Plan my meals into 6 small ones eaten every 2-3 hours. When I’m pregnant I don’t feel hungry, but I will vomit if I go more than 3 hours without eating. Sometimtes that twinge is the first reminder I have that I’m hungry, so I try to watch the clock.
3. Be prepared to not feel great betweeen 6 and 12 weeks. Lighten my schedule if I can. Have paper plates and made ahead freezer meals on hand. Go to bed early and wake up a little later. Smile a lot, it helps. Take a nap with the toddler and give the older children quiet time.
4. Continue my exercise routine every day that I can. There’s no need to make big changes in technique until about 2o weeks when I should minimize the time on my back. Right now my favorite routine is a Mama wants her body back 20 minute interval workout plus a 10 minute mama wants her abs back workout. I have stopped jumping and follow the modified versions given for each exercise. I have prenatal videos waiting for me, but right now they aren’t very challenging.
5. When the thrift store had it’s half off the whole store on Labor Day, I bought several pairs of designer jeans and skirts (about $5 each) in a size bigger than usual. I can still wear them at 12 weeks and between 16 and 20 weeks, will cut them up and put a maternity waist in them using these instructions: http://blog.megannielsen.com/2009/09/diy-maternity-pants/ I have purchased real maternity jeans in the past, but they were very baggy and low in the crotch. I’m excited to have some maternity jeans that fit like real jeans!
blog.meganneilson.com
6. I made a Pregnancy calendar in Microsoft Publisher and wrote my starting weight on the day I found out I was pregnant and my ideal delivery weight on my due date. Then I wrote in the number of each week of my pregnancy and what I should weigh then. I allowed for a pound a week gain in my 3rd trimester, a pound every other week in the second trimester and 2-5 pounds the first trimeseter. I weigh daily (what works for me) and type it in on the calendar. I have a history of gaining way too much weight and having a 9 plus pound baby. This helps me keep tabs on my food choices and stay motivated to exercise.
7. I signed into www.babyfit.sparkpeople.com and keep track of my food choices there. They figure up my calories and nutrients for me so I can see how my choices add up at the end of the day. They also give me a place to record my prenatal vitamins and have lots of helpful exercise videos to watch online.
8. As my shirts feel tight and make me self-conscious, I’ve looked for non-maternity styles that will take me through most of my second trimester and be useful again after baby is born. There are several knit baby doll style tops that are in style now and give lots of room for my growing bump. I’ve ordered some of them online and checked the length measurements carefully. Anything longer than 25 inches should cover the bump for awhile without looking sloppy. Here are a couple of tops I ordered this weekend from Chadwicks during a half price promotion. (I’m very small busted so the neckline gathers don’t scare me, but probably not the best chioce for a well endowed mama.) These were a lot less expensive than buying maternity tops and I had a bigger style selection too.
9. I’m enjoying sleeping on my back for another 8 weeks at least. It’s the best posture to keep everything in alignment. I’m also working on my core and abs while I can. In the past I adopted maternity sleeping and exercise habits way too early and missed out on some healthful things that I could have been taking part in. I’ll keep tabs on a diastisis recti and make adjustments when I need too, but until then….
10. I’m planning my maternity wardrobe with future pieces in mind. In the past I had very few things to choose from for church or to wear to a wedding or funeral. That won’t be the case this time. I’m also thinking about what items made me feel the prettiest. A lot of pleats and gathers at my empire waist made people tell me I looked like I was about to explode (at only 25 weeks!). The next day I could wear something sleeker and be told I looked small for my week. The pregnancy where I gained the least weight, I stitched myself a dress for a wedding out of a darling quilting cotton. It was cream colored with green ivy lattice and roses printed on it. In the photos I look like an elephant at only 6 months pregnant. The lattic looked more like huge diamonds and the short flutter sleeves didn’t help at all. Lesson learned–choose drapey fabrics, darker colors, and carefully selected prints. This time I have a plum, rayon/lycra jersey knit that is deliciously soft waiting to be turned into a knotted front dress.
11. Pregnancy covers 3 seasons! The first 3 months, maternity clothes aren’t necessary, but larger ones might be which will come in handy after baby is born. I’m planning my wardrobe with layers in mind, so I can wear the same pieces when it’s warm and when it’s cold I can add a sweater or smart jacket. This will help too when we take our tropical cruise in January.
12. I’m saving for a pedicure, for the week before my due date. That’s when I can’t reach my feet. Last baby Dh’s work bought one for me, complete with foot massage and it was soooo wonderful that I plan to repeat it. And as vain as it sounds, having pretty feet really helped during labor.
13. I’m saving for cleaning help too, even if it’s just once or twice. Sometimes I need it for my emotional health during the 3rd trimeseter and emotional health of the mother is as essential to the baby as her physical health.
14. That’s all I can think of until I get to labor. I’ve done it lots of ways and my favorite is to go into labor slowly at home. With my water still in tact I can feel the contractions and make decisions on the position of the baby. Early labor shouldn’t hurt badly in the back and if it does baby needs to move. With my 5th baby I was able to feel strong back labor early indicating a posterior baby and I did exercises to encourage the baby to flip over. The rest of the labor went smoothly and no back pain! Once my water is broken, getting baby to flip over is nearly impossible. I also always pack a bath pillow in my hospital bag, when there’s no back labor, the water really makes normal labor bearable.
Also in my hospital bag are 2-4 pairs of depends style underwear. I put my postpartum pads in them and my jammies always stay clean. Now I can take my gorgeous nursing gowns with me to the hospital without fear of staining them.
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How would you have the best pregnancy ever? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Best pregnancy… well I have only had two, so I guess I don’t have too much! But the things that worked for me:
1) getting a body pillow. This was a great investment as it made things sooo much easier.
2) getting a vaporizor – I get stuffy and sinus infections starting in month 4, this was a real help for getting better sleep
3) get some extra bolster pillows for the last few weeks — my back hurt terribly with carrying a 10 pound baby and good small pillows to pack around me made me much more comfy
4) several soft folded waist jersey pants. You can probably make them, but I didn’t attempt that. I have black, dark blue (not navy), and red. The folded waist can come up over the bump, or fold down and I continue using them during nursing to cover the stomach and sides. With a regular top, they made non maternity clothes last until the last couple of weeks!
5) I deliberately got tops that are easy to nurse in — several from Australia where apparently they nurse a great deal more than in the US. Most of them are simply crossover front and I wear a bandeau of jersey. To nurse, simply pull aside the crossover, then lift the bandeau and you are well covered (essential with my husbands very conservative family where no one ever nursed!)
6) Consider banking a little money to get a full body massage. Towards the end of my pregnancies, getting a massage every two weeks right after my midwife appt helped keep me be calm and relaxed.
7) When people asked if they could help in the last few weeks, I let them! Primarily for casseroles and such, since we don’t have a good sized freezer. This was a god send for the first week after the birth as well.
8) I put two sets of sheets on every bed. That way. there was only real work involved every other time — the middle week I just pulled the top set off and threw it in the washer. ( I also did this for after the birth – easy clean up)
9) For after showers, I used a cut up and hemmed flannel sheet. I loved the feel against my itchy skin. It was a nice treat at the end of a long day.
Now, I did have homebirths which increased the whole relaxation thing for me. My family has a history of precipitous births and knowing that I didn’t have to race to the hospital to give birth in the waiting room, or on the way (as my siblings did!) was a real boon for me. Also, having been attacked in my 20s, having midwives that I knew didn’t do internal exams without real reason helped me stay calm for the whole thing.
Congrats on your pregnancy! If I get pregnant again I will definitely be working on eating better – while I didn’t gain that much weight, my little ones have been 9 1/2 and 10 pounds (no GD!), and large babies run in both of our families. Do wish me luck on that one as I am 42 so we don’t know if god has more babies in store for us or not. But I keep hoping! Though we keep an open mind, and maybe god’s plan is for us to adopt another one. Families are a wonderful blessing.
Wow, your post is great and very well thought out!
My only pregnancy tips are as follows:
1–Try your best to find clothes that make you feel pretty, which it seems like you are doing.
2–I would discourage focusing too much on weight gain. I was blessed with a very healthy twin pregnancy and gained a ton of weight. I know twins are different than a singleton, but it was soooo nice to be free of the burden of worrying about my weight. I think you are right to be conscientious, but your body needs healthy fats during pregnancy (real butter, whole fat dairy, etc.). Again, I enjoyed your post. I see nutrition and “fat” consumption very different than most Americans. I gained 70 pounds with my twins and have lost nearly every pound while consuming whole milk, lots of real butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and whole fat cheeses and yogurt. If I am blessed with another pregnancy, I will refer back to your post for tips. 🙂