Of course the following list should be taken with a grain of salt. This are just my opinions and things I picked up while pregnant/after delivering. Some are things I was happy I did, others are things I wish I would have done differently. I am in no way trying to impose these ideas on anyone, nor am I going to judge anyone for not agreeing with me or choosing a different route for themselves.
DO moisturize as frequently as possible during pregnancy. For the first half of my pregnancy, I kept a large jar of coconut oil in the shower with me. I used it all over after I was done soaping off. Rinse it off with water only and pat yourself dry. After that ran out, I used body butter on my belly at least every night before bed. I didn’t wind up with any stretch marks during my pregnancy (which could or could not be attributed to the moisturizing), but it’s important to moisturize anyways. Itching your dry, stretching skin with a big old belly only adds for a weirder picture.
DO invest in a few maternity-specific pieces. As soon as your clothes start to become uncomfortable, find a few maternity pieces you like and purchase them. I would recommend some for casual and some for work. Empire waist maxi dresses and maxi skirts that you can wear under your belly are wonderful, too, but a few pairs of pants/jeans and maternity tops will do wonders for your self-esteem. (Not to mention you won’t be stretching out your regular wardrobe.) I watched maternity sales at Old Navy for some time and finally bought a pair of denim shorts, capris, linen pants and 2 shirts when I could get them on sale. I also caught Pink Blush Maternity during an after-Christmas sale and bought a few tops there as well.
DON’T skip meals. Not like that’s possible anyways. I went from being a smoothie or granola-on-the-go type of girl when it came to breakfast to eating a huge bowl of cereal every morning. I quickly found out that cereal was the only thing I found to eat that wouldn’t make me sick after taking my prenatal vitamin. One morning I even had a huge bowl of yogurt, fruit and granola and I still got sick almost immediately after eating it – and it wasn’t morning sickness either. So to emphasize, make sure your meals (which you won’t skip) have something of substance.
DO your own research and DON’T take everything everyone is going to tell you to heart. Every single woman out there has their own opinion about pregnancy, raising babies, etc. Funny enough, people who haven’t even been pregnant or don’t have kids have their own opinions, too. (“My sister’s friend’s cousin’s wife did this when she was pregnant and this happened.”… Cool, shut up.) So take the time to do your own research about pregnancy recommendations – birthing options, diet restrictions, vaccinations, etc. For example, after what I consider to be extensive research considering the topic, I continued to drink coffee and occasionally soda during my pregnancy, keeping my daily caffeine intake under the recommended 200 mg of caffeine/day. I also had, on average, a glass of red wine every 2-3 weeks during my pregnancy, starting after my first trimester. I did plenty of research regarding wine consumption during pregnancy and you can have up to one glass per day, (assuming that you are still providing your body with the proper nutrition through regular meals and staying hydrated). One glass per day seemed a little too much for me, so I stuck to one a week (usually for special occasions), often skipping weeks in between.
DO work out during your pregnancy – in whatever way possible, whenever you have the energy. I went on short 10-15 minute walks a few times per day thanks to having a pup and living in a townhouse, but I wish I would have worked out more during my pregnancy. Working out during your pregnancy has also been proven, in most cases, to have a better bounce back rate for your pre-baby body and should help with mood swings.
DO work as long as you possibly can before the baby’s born – unless you’re fortunate enough to become a stay-at-home mom afterward – and DO have open communication with your higher-ups. This, of course, is pending there are no health issues and that your job is not labor intensive. Working as long as you can has many benefits including saving additional money that you won’t be making (or at least will be making less of) once you are on maternity leave; time tends to go by more quickly when you have something to do during the day/week; maintains some level of normalcy and gives you something to focus on that’s not “baby related”; and allows you to save up as much of the allowed maternity leave for when the baby is is actually here. In my experience, having open communication with your boss(es) is extremely beneficial. I was granted 8-10 weeks off for maternity leave. In the 3 days approaching McKenna’s arrival, I worked half days (partially because my dad was in town, but partially because of exhaustion as well). Fortunately, these half days were taken out of accrued vacation time that I hadn’t used yet. They were also generous enough to allow me to leave 1-2 hours early on occasion if I was feeling drained or exhausted (a luxury I did not take advantage of, but did use once or twice). Depending on your role and the type of company you work for, they will most likely want you to stay at work as long as possible – even if that involves you taking half days toward the end of your pregnancy or having to leave early some days.
DON’T approach your delivery with a close mind. It may help to think of it as the baby’s birth plan – not yours. I’ve said it from the beginning and I’ll re-emphasize it again now that I’ve been through it first hand: your baby will arrive however he/she pleases. If he/she decides to give you that natural birth you’ve always dreamed of, great! However, you have to be openminded to the fact that this may not happen. Go in with an open mind and the delivery process will go so much more smoothly than you ever would have imagined. Not to mention once that sweet little bundle is in your arms, you won’t care how they got there anyway.
DON’T make your delivery a negative experience. Cursing at your partner and telling him that it’s his fault is overdone and overrated. Not to mention we’ve all taken sex ed and know that’s not exactly the case, now is it? Takes two to tango, honey. So…
DO make your delivery the exciting, highly anticipated event that it is! Laugh, make jokes, whatever is distracting enough from the pain but can still allow you to focus on the push. Thinking Just one more push, Natalie, worked for me, too. I probably pushed around 100 times in 1 hour, at 10 seconds a push, and eventually, it really was just one more push, and she was here!
DO say yes to (almost) whatever the nurses want to offer you to help with the pain after a vaginal delivery. Most specifically antiseptics, ice packs and sits baths. It may seem impossible to do a sits bath when you’re still at the hospital (a lot of things seem impossible after giving birth to a human the size of a small watermelon), but trust me when I say this: “Do a sits bath the second you are offered one!” I could’ve done one the evening following McKenna’s arrival but the thought seemed too painful and so I waited until I got home. In hindsight, I should’ve done one immediately as the amount of liberation I felt afterward was incredible. It’s these little things that I give a lot of credit to during the healing process.
Our Little "Whoops!" 