If you've kept up with my Instagram stories, you have heard me talk about my journey and what I believe has led it to be a very easy and bearable experience. Yes, I am that woman who most other women hate because I got pregnant within two months of trying, have had no sickness at all, no crazy cravings, no mood swings, and I've had no aversions to any smells that inconvenience others in the office or make you want to put your significant other (SO) out on the porch. Yup, that's been my introduction to pregnancy. An easy, fun, and enjoyable time.
In no way do I think it's by chance or the luck or the draw. I believe it's because of the physical and mental prep that I did BEFORE conception. Here are 5 tips about my pregnancy journey that will either make you hate me or want to pick my brain and be besties.
1. Prepare.
If you have that itch to start a family or your (SO) has been dropping hints, start preparing your body for the biggest change of your life. What does that even mean? It means start eating right & get on a regular exercise routine. One of the main reasons moms get sick during pregnancy is because the body is cleaning itself out to make room to nourish baby. Would you rather eat clean and nourish your body or be sick and drained for months?
Personally, I picked the former. I bought a nice juicer and started juicing in the mornings to start my body off with nutrients rather than coffee. Don't get me wrong, I had my coffee! I just had it after the first consumption of my day was nutritious. As for food, I've always been conscientious of what I put in my body so it wasn't a huge shift for me.
Stay away from processed foods, sugar, and fried foods. Think natural. Greens and clean is what I keep in the forefront of my mind. Look at the ingredients of things. If you can't read it, don't buy it. Things like cream cheese, you can find much better options. Breads - make sure it doesn't have enriched flour. Most sauce and condiments have high fructose corn syrup- stay away from that. Take your phone with you and research. Fruits, veggies, eggs, chicken and the occasional red meats are good choices.
2. Know Your Body
The next step I took was to get my blood work done to find out what I was lacking and where I needed to improve and focus. Now, the blood tests I did were pretty extensive. They took 10 viles and I got back a full report about the status of my vitamins, nutrients, and hormones and how my cells were accepting them in my body.
Once I got the results back, I started making changes to my diet immediately.
3. Exercise
I've always been a super active person so exercising was, and is, a priority for me. Always ask your doctor first, but the rule of thumb is that you're okay to continue with your normal workouts. If you're planning your pregnancy, get on a schedule. If you didn't plan it, don't overdue it. Even though I've always been active, during my first trimester I noticed some bleeding after a strenuous workout. Make sure you listen to your body!
Exercising before conception will help you get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. So will breastfeeding & pumping! I'll cover that subject more later. on
4. Knowledge
Educate yourself. There is so much information out there that makes it hard to know what to believe. If you're anything like me, you probably downloaded a few apps and started reading articles. I have always known that I want to breastfeed from the start. I am also not naive to the fact that it can be a very challenging endeavor. My advice, talk to someone you trust! Lactation consultants are a great resource because they know a lot about nutrition, pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and postpartum. Plus, their information is evidence based.
Don't just read one article on Baby Center and call it a day. Read reputable outlets that are evidence based. Most importantly, listen to your body. You know much more than you think and your intuition is a strong tool that is at your fingertips. Use it.
5. Support
I joined a few local mom groups before I was expecting. I wanted to introduce myself and get an idea of the topics moms talk about and how they interact with one another. I also wanted to connect with others who have gone through what I'm about to and make friends who could understand what I'm going through. I kept my SO abreast of all the good articles I read and included him in all the decisions I wanted to make. He is super supportive already but I know that when baby comes, most duties will bounce back to me, naturally, and I want him to feel part of the process. Because let's face it, mama is going to need a break!
Those are my 5 tips! Prepare, Take Care and Share!
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