Taking Good Care in Pregnancy

While I’ve kept my pregnancy journey close to my heart to this point, now that our little guy is here, I wanted to share some things that helped me cultivate feelings of calm and peace throughout (even though there were plenty moments when I did not feel calm)! In case you missed it, I shared my preconception experience here. You’ll find that a lot of the habits I formed pre-conception remained a big part of how I supported myself in pregnancy.

Personally, feeling at ease requires a combination of centering myself and connecting with the present moment, along with doing what I can to help myself feel safe. For me, safety means feeling like I have accomplished the necessary things or that I am educated enough to know what I might expect during my pregnancy (even though we can never expect the unexpected)! Here are some ways I took care of my mind, body and spirit throughout pregnancy:

Pace Yourself With Education & With Your To-Do List

Knowledge is power and understanding what I could expect at each stage of pregnancy was very important to me. I did a bunch of reading about pregnancy symptoms before I even became pregnant, which ended up being really helpful because I experienced quite a bit of unpleasant nausea throughout my entire first trimester. While I wasn’t always physically up for reading during that time, I was obviously getting more and more curious about what was going on with my body, what I could do to best support myself in pregnancy and eventually how to best prepare for labor, which prompted me to order some more pregnancy books. That being said, it was helpful to really pace myself - I found there to be SO much information out there, which often felt overwhelming..

I felt a lot better once the second trimester came around. For me, it was a great time to take online labor courses, set up my baby registry, and create a joint to-do list with Doug about what we needed and wanted to accomplish before the baby was due to arrive. This list was not just about baby items, it included things like getting new blackout shades for our apartment, cancelling subscriptions that no longer served us, a reminder to install the car seat, etc. Having a solid to-do list for both Doug and I to lean back on was very helpful - we tackled little projects over time at our own pace. Once I made it to the third trimester, I really started to get educated on baby care and breastfeeding, but honestly I really wish I did more of both of these things! I also highly recommend working with a lactation consultant as early as possible after birth, and really being intentional about physically, mentally and emotionally preparing for birth.

One other piece of advice for anyone starting their education journey around pregnancy (a good friend warned me of this once I got pregnant and I did not listen) was to avoid the Google! Anything important you need to know can be found in a book or by calling your doctor. It is so tempting to google every symptom or every question, but often it led me down unnecessary rabbit holes and unintentionally heightened some of my anxious thoughts.

There are countless books available on the topics I just mentioned. Here were some of my favorites:

The Natural Pregnancy Book
Hypnobirthing

It wasn’t as “woo woo” as it sounds :)

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

It was empowering to read real-life birthing stories - I loved it!

The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Bible Care
The First 40 days

Nourish Yourself With Food

There might be an increased sense of “food freedom” that is synonymous with being pregnant, and food liberation can certainly be a fun part of pregnancy! The excitement around what kind of cravings you might have, maybe loosening the reins around what you allow yourself to eat, can be fun!

Personally, I was not prepared for the first trimester nausea and food aversions. It was highly uncomfortable and I would swing between feeling starved and repulsed by the thought of food. I had to quickly change my usual approach of three solid “balanced” meals a day to small snacks throughout the day just to make it through. I tried to prioritize snacks that had some fat or protein to help me feel more satiated, but I definitely had to give myself loads of grace in that first trimester. I did what I had to do, and I trusted that my habits would soon come back to me once I felt better. And sure enough, they did!

Before falling pregnant, I am proud to say that I had grown to really understand how to nourish my body properly through books, listening to podcasts and taking courses. The habits that I had around consuming enough protein, greens, fat and fiber aligned with what is recommended in pregnancy, so moving forward in my pregnancy there was not too much I had to adjust for. I did add in more cheese and carbs than usual, because a) they were comforting and delicious and b) I simply felt like it was what my body wanted, and I allowed that. I did not, however, increase my intake of sweets or fried foods/takeout, mostly because it was just not that appealing to me, nor did I have any cravings around sweet things (boring, I know).

Before falling pregnant, as mentioned in my preconception blog post, I took the Be Well By Kelly Fab 4 Pregnancy Course and I read Real Food For Fertility which were helpful as it gave me the framework to understand what types of foods and nutrients were critical to pregnancy and for the fetus. I had already incorporated some of these bits of wisdom during pre-conception, so again my diet did not change much for pregnancy. There are some pregnancy specific foods that you can prioritize during this time, such as eggs, fish and fermented foods, to name just a few! I also added some supplements to my daily routine. I took the following based on my bloodwork.

Iron
Zinc
Omega 3
Prenatal Vitamin
B12

Food anxiety was probably one of my biggest challenges during pregnancy. I felt this way because it felt like something I could control, and therefore, if I did something wrong and something bad happened, it would be my fault. Therapy was helpful for thoughts and feelings like this! Ultimately, I made decisions that would help me avoid any of that uncertainty, which helped reduce the frequency of those anxious thoughts. There were many times when I knew there was a certain dish or cheese that I could probably eat, but I just knew that even if I felt strongly like it was fine in the moment, if there was a chance I would feel anxious about it later, it wouldn’t be worth it. A nice meat thermometer will also be your best friend! It was important for me to feel as safe as I could when it came to cooking meat thoroughly and having a thermometer handy always made me feel better, so I didn’t have to keep guessing if the meat was cooked well enough 🙂. The more knowledge I had around which foods would be supportive during pregnancy, the more calm I felt. By the third trimester, I wish I had focused a little bit more on foods that would help me for labor and delivery, like raspberry leaf tea and dates!

Ultimately, food can be an empowering and fun part of your pregnancy experience if you have the knowledge and can take action around potential nausea, morning sickness and your own food fears. Give yourself grace mama, you’re doing great!!

Set Realistic Workout Goals & Body Love

Your body will change…a lot! I remember even in those first few weeks feeling so bloated. Coupled with working full time, I was exhausted in that first trimester. I leaned on my sustainable workout mindset, which is to “grab the low hanging fruit,” meaning something is better than nothing. I often had big plans to rip a 30 minute peloton workout plus a yoga flow. If that ended up looking like 20 minutes on the bike and just five minutes of stretching after, I took it as a huge win. Or even if it ended up just being a walk in the park after work, also a win.

Working out and movement during pregnancy was definitely a way that I connected back to center and felt like I had some control over my changing body. Movement was a means to keep my body healthy and to keep my mind in a good place. I do wish I had done more research about pregnancy-specific workout programs and tested some things out pre-conception, but I was lucky to ultimately land on Evlo’s pregnancy track - the low-impact strength was a positive experience. I did not work out every day or even every week, but I kept a level of consistency that I felt good with. It was also important to me that I exercised mindfully because I did have fears about moving my body in the wrong way or over-exerting myself. This looked like being worried about working out on my belly in the first few weeks or on my back as my pregnancy progressed. This also looked like fear around going “too hard” especially when doing cardio and getting my heart rate up. As the months went by, I slowly learned to build trust with myself and found what felt like a good sweet spot.

Towards the end of pregnancy, movement also changed because I was physically getting pretty big! Walking was key, of course, with some light resistance exercises here and there. I do wish I was more consistent with stretching and prenatal yoga, though. I never fully landed on a good resource for prenatal yoga, and I am hopeful to one day get certified in prenatal yoga and create flows to share with all of you! There are some great free flows on youtube that you can try!

I really focused on sending loving thoughts to my changing body (it was still hard) because a) what a gift it was to grow and hold space for this beautiful Soul, b) whenever I observe someone else in pregnancy, I notice their beauty, and c) it is all temporary. Dressing for pregnancy was also something that I wasn’t totally prepared for! One thing that helped was signing up for Nuuly, a clothing subscription, so that I felt like I could wear some new clothes that fit, but it wasn’t a huge financial burden to overhaul my wardrobe. I also tried to be mindful of the products I was using on my body. I looked for more natural skincare products, makeup, sunscreen, and nail polish. While I keep it simple and generally don’t use a lot of produces, here are a few I used and loved:

Your body will change during pregnancy and your experience will be different from mine. Remember to do your best to take care of yourself in a way that feels sustainable and give your body love - it’s doing amazing things!

Tend to Your Nervous System & Connect to Your Baby

The fears that came up during pregnancy were so confronting. Anything from worrying about the next blood test to wondering if I ate something that would make me or the baby sick - it seemed endless. I realized that I had to tend to my nervous system more than ever. I really started to lean into my mindfulness practice through meditation, mindful walks and journaling. The more I carved out time to simply just be with myself (in nature is the best), the more at ease I felt. And while pregnancy podcasts and all the education is so helpful, there were times when I needed a break from all the noise. And, I desired to connect with the spirit of my baby and wanted to start to build a connection, and that is something that I would do during these more mindful moments. Here is a link to a spotify playlist of some birthing meditations that I would listen to on walks. These healing frequencies are also great to get your chakras balanced.

Another thing to consider is how to best create space in your schedule for these moments to slow down. Is there something you could take off your plate? What events can you say “no” to? What are your energy levels and what is realistic for you? Your baby and body will be so grateful that you started to create boundaries and space to take good care of yourself. While tending to my nervous system was important throughout pregnancy, it was most helpful during the third trimester. I was glad I took action during the first and second trimester to clear some things off my plate so that I would have this time to tend to my mind, body and spirit.

Invest Your Money & Accept Help

In my previous blog post about pre-conception, I mentioned massage, acupuncture, therapy, and distant reiki healing. These are all things I continued to invest in and get help with during pregnancy. By the second trimester, I treated myself to a prenatal massage about once a month! Definitely so worth it as your body is changing so much and your sleep positions might change. For me, some soothing touch goes such a long way.

I also started to seek out a doula for support during my pregnancy. Having a doula support did wonders for my anxiety. She helped provide suggestions for books, online courses and really anything and everything to help prepare me for labor and delivery. It was so helpful to be able to text her whenever I had a worry. And she would answer any and all of the ‘silly questions’ I had. It was also helpful to talk through what my labor plan or preferences were with her. Of course, things didn’t go as planned! But it was helpful to know what options were available for me at the hospital, choices I had that I probably wouldn’t have known otherwise, and other little tips and tricks.

Set Yourself Up for Postpartum & Have Grace

Every pregnancy is different. You will face different challenges and you may have different fears than I did. You might feel great in your first trimester, or you may not. Pregnancy is an incredible blessing. It is a journey outside of your comfort zone! What helped me most was simply starting to connect to feelings of love - love for myself, love for my baby, and with that love I eventually learned to trust the process and give myself more grace.

The energy build up in pregnancy felt big for me - in a good way! I was physically getting bigger and it was exciting. It was hard to imagine what life would look like on the other side. The other side is completely magical, words cannot describe it. And yet so, so challenging. There are definitely a few more things I wish I had done to help myself and my little family in postpartum, although I did have a positive experience (I am still in it!). I am excited to share more about what I did to prepare for postpartum, what I wish I did a little differently, and what has been supportive for me during this time to continue that feeling of centeredness and peace. Stay tuned for the next post!!

My Pregnancy Journey ~ Part 2!