Top 10 Pregnancy Tips

On the eve of my baby’s due date, I can’t sleep. With the baby moving in my womb, the Braxton Hicks contractions occur spontaneously (often leaving me helpless, like a beetle on its back flailing its legs), and the enormous pressure on my pelvis that drives me to the bathroom only to expel a unimpressive thimble. filled with urine every 15 minutes … I ponder the following 10 best parenting tips and pregnancy resources I received.

Tip 1 for pregnancy:

Learn to Love Your Tummy: Strangers on the street exclaimed, “Wow! You’re big! It must be any day now,” when I was just four months pregnant. After months of experiencing a pang of panic every time I caught a glimpse of my reflection, I finally came to love my tummy in a pregnancy photoshoot my girlfriend gave me. The photographer was so supportive that I finally began to see myself how others did it: a beautiful pregnant woman.

Pregnancy tip 2:

Ask and Borrow Maternity Clothes – No matter how ugly and big some of the maternity pieces look, accept them all. You really don’t know how big it can get and how comfortable those hideous panels can be later on. Put away your pre-pregnancy clothes once your clothes have run out so you don’t constantly mourn the loss of your old wardrobe.

Pregnancy tip 3:

Forget Your Due Date: Did you know that only 4% of babies are born on their actual due date? Who knows! Once I discovered that it is perfectly normal for a baby to arrive at any time between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy, I set aside my due date and followed the Scout motto of “be prepared” (any time during that five-week period). weeks ).

Pregnancy tip 4:

Learn to enjoy your admiring audience: Yes, strangers will sometimes view your tummy as public property and give you a wealth of feedback and advice. My husband helped me start having fun with this new celebrity status. For example, after being annoyed by comments like, “It seems like it’s right for you at any time!” my husband suggested that I say things like, “Yes, anytime!” or even joking, “Can you believe I’m not going to wait another 8 months?” The fact is, most people mean well – this milestone in their life brings back fond memories.

Tip 5 for pregnancy:

Find a Health Professional You Like: The ups and downs of your pregnancy require special pregnancy support and resources. Find someone who welcomes your questions, alleviates your fears, and supports you in having the best pregnancy and delivery possible. For me, I found this support in my midwives who gave me a one-hour session and even made home visits. Also, once I found out my midwives’ statistics on caesarean sections, forceps use, and episiotomies, I was hooked! Other friends hired a doula (birthing consultant), or had a doctor they loved, and were delighted with the care they received.

Tip 6 for pregnancy:

Listen and learn to trust your body: surrender to my cravings (turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and chocolate ice cream), the need for more sleep (sometimes I would just sit down to rest and suddenly wake up two hours later! ) And being kind to myself was what got me through.

Also, reading parenting books like The Girlfriends Guide … (for humor and practicality), to fabulous hardcore midwifery books like Ina May’s Pregnancy Guide (my favorite) helped me learn to trust my body more. never. These books (another good one was Birthing From Within) helped dissolve a lot of my fears as I learned things like no matter how big your baby is, babies’ heads are almost the same size and are designed by nature to make trip. through the birth canal.

Tip 7 for pregnancy:

Find other pregnant women and hang out with them: My prenatal exercise class is a real blessing as a pregnancy resource. Not only am I getting in shape, but I found a sense of belonging, where I could really let my tummy hang out with the best of them. Every time I started to feel sorry for myself (like on an especially nauseous day), I would find another pregnant woman who was going through a more difficult situation (like kidney stones or painful hemorrhoids!), Or a real pastor in class He said something that lifted my spirits. . Also, by finding other pregnant women, I saved my non-pregnant friends the trouble of hearing me share every experience of my pregnancy, which probably saved some of my friends. 😉

Tip 8 for pregnancy:

Spend money only on baby things that will make a real difference to you and borrow or buy the rest secondhand – Babies don’t care about paint chips and decorations, they’re just near the milk fountain – you! The fact that each and every item is quickly removed helped put my priorities in order. So we splurged on the things that mattered to me: the stroller (since I’m a great walker), a safe car seat (for obvious reasons), and a seesaw / glider (I once realized I could be feeding up to twelve hours a day). day for the first six weeks).

The rest we borrow or buy second-hand, and we save a coin! By getting so many great deals on places like eBay and going to local ‘mom of multiples’ sales, I saved enough to save hours of extra cleaning and a special take out service for our son’s first three months of life.

Tip 9 for pregnancy:

‘Morning sickness’ can happen at any time !: Morning sickness can happen at any time of day, all day or not. Fortunately, not often, you can even make it to the second or third trimester like you did with me.

Tip 10 for pregnancy:

Everyone’s pregnancy experience is different, so take what’s helpful and ignore the rest: So many experiences and so many people giving advice. What I’ve observed is that pregnancy for the most part is the great equalizer – if you don’t get something at one end, you likely get something at the other. Fortunately, whatever our pregnancy experience, most of us end up with a little bundle of joy that makes the journey worthwhile.

I’m going to bed now to join my sleeping husband and my five pillows that support my generous tummy, my big boobs, and my tired head. As I go to sleep, I do so with gratitude in my heart, knowing that we will soon be welcoming a beautiful new addition to our little family. This is truly the greatest miracle of parenting.