I've been thinking about the differences between my 2 pregnancies, and since it wasn't my first rodeo this time with my son, I tried some new things and carried on with other healthy things, so here are my 9 tips for the 9 months for a healthy pregnancy.
1. LET YOURSELF RELAX. This time around I had to chase a 2 year old while I was feeling craptacular in the beginning. I think I took more naps while she napped than I did when she was a newborn. It's a whole other ballgame in the beginning when you have another little person to take care of. I had to learn to let go and sit my booty down and take a breather. I have no shame admitting that she maybe watched a lot of Bubble Guppies. I still would give this advice to first time moms, allow yourself to relax and take a break because motherhood is certainly a balance between taking care of your kiddos and yourself- learn to let go and relax when needed.
2. CHIROPRACTIC CARE. This was a game changer. I never went to the chiropractor with my first. My son was a 10 lb baby, actually 10 lb 4 ozs and I had lots of back and pelvic pain towards the end and it helped SOOOO much. A postnatal adjustment is GOLDEN as well. Growing a human being is hard, you need to take care of ourselves physically as well before and after they arrive with your whole body shifting!! I had a much faster delivery and faster recovery and I really feel like going to the chiropractor regularly, helped get baby boy and my body aligned and ready for delivery.
3. DRINK WATER. lots of it. I'm so guilty of not drinking water in general. Drinking lots of water can help with lots of pregnancy complaints- constipation, cramping, swelling, headaches- the list goes on and on. I would try to jazz it up with fruit or with sparkling water. I drank a ton of Pellegrino. Pellegrino also helped with my nausea in the beginning. I was lucky to not to have a ton of morning sickness but when I felt super icky in the beginning, I craved carbonation. What I really wanted was a Mexican Coke in a glass bottle.
4. ESSENTIAL OILS: I got the OK from my doctor to use essential oils as long as I was not ingesting them (ask your doctor on their stance on essential oils before using them) Not that they are a cure all, but I have found that it helps support our systems especially with nausea and energy! A good source for pregnancy and nursing essential oil info can be found here: http://essentialoilblogging.com/2014/07/16/pregnancy_safe_use_chart/
A good rule of thumb is to hold off from essential oils for the first trimester. A few of my favs, inhaling some ginger for morning sickness and diffusing citrus oils especially grapefruit at that 2 or 3 pm hour where I would be dragging and of course Lavender to relax me at night.
5. WHEN IN DOUBT, CALL THE DOCTOR- There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about lots of topics, so if you are having an issue or nervous about something instead of looking on online and seeing everything that could be going wrong, call your nurse or doctor. Look for reputable research like your doctor so you can be informed and make the best decisions for yourself. Whether or not it's taking Zofran (a drug used to prevent nausea which has been been claimed to cause birth defects), getting a vaccination while pregnant is a hot topic, setting up an induction (is it really necessary in certain situations). If you well informed about a topic during your pregnancy, you can make the best decisions for yourself. Another place where you can look information on pregnancy is at the Recall Center. You could type in the search field "pregnancy" and a bunch of different topics within pregnancy will pop up like the use of Zofran, other medications during pregnancy, and a hot topic of vaccinations while pregnant. I have found some interesting articles there, obviously you want to discuss with your doctor as well any concerns or problems to decide on the best plan of attack.
6. WALKING and YOGA- I know a lot of people can do cross fit and run while pregnant, but I'm not comfortable doing that when my belly starts getting big, plus walking and doing prenatal yoga is so therapeutic and relaxing to me, is great exercise and the yoga stretched\s and lengthens your body as it changes. I love me some yoga.
7. ACUPUNCTURE: I am not a big fan of needles but acupuncture has done wonders for my body, with relaxation, my circulation and swelling, all my systems in general . I even went for a postpartum appointment and that was an amazing combo with chiropractic care.
8. EATING WELL: I feel like this is a given, but eating lots of protein and fruits and vegetables will help. There is a lot of foods out there that can help with those pregnancy problems that I listed in #3 (drinking lots of water). Of course treat yourself and indulge every once in a while but I know those greasy fries never did me any favors when I was pregnant, even though they were delicious haha.
9. BREATHE! I remember worrying about everything the first time I was pregnant. Worrying and stress is not good on yourself and not good on yourself while housing that beautiful baby. Take a deep breath, put yo take a bath and breathe deeply. Everything is about to change in a great way. I was more calm this time around in general.
What else would you add to the list for a healthy pregnancy? I would love to hear.
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