Daunted by your first time as a mother? Don’t be. Here are my top ten tips to help you stay healthy, focused and calm during this amazing time of growth.
First Trimester
1. To help combat nausea, eat a small amount of food throughout the day and night. This technique helps stabilize blood sugar levels and reduces nausea and vomiting. Avoid stimulants like caffeine and sugar, as they both disrupt blood sugar levels.
2. Take a pre-natal vitamin that is food-based. This makes for easier digestion and increased assimilation.
3. Plan out an exercise routine. Adjust your current exercise plan so you can stick to it. Moderate exercise will help reduce your stress levels and keep your metabolism in check as the baby starts to demand more calories.
Second Trimester
4. If any digestive problems are lingering like nausea or acid reflux, keep a food diary to figure out which foods may be the trigger. For some women, it is spicy foods, for others it’s acidic. You need to discover for your own body what foods work.
5. Take a pre-natal yoga class. These classes are designed to help you stay limber as your body is changing. The breathing exercises and positions are excellent for birthing.
6. Reach out to a community for support. Whether it’s yoga, meditation, or a child birthing class, it’s important to begin to build a network of like-minded moms to help you through any difficult choices or situations that are new to you.
Third Trimester
7. Begin to speak with your health care provider and partner about your birth plan. How do you imagine the details of your child’s birth? What specifically do you want done if challenges arise?
8. Continue to eat well and get exercise. It may be that exercise at this point is simply a long walk outside, or your pre-natal yoga class. Whatever level of activity feels right for you, be sure to continue to stay active.
9. If you have any swelling in your ankles or legs try a pre-natal massage. During these sessions the fluids are helped returned to your circulatory system. If you can’t spring for a massage, you can facilitate this process by moving your own lymph with a brush or washcloth and by elevating your legs.
10. Get everything ready for the baby’s arrival. In the last few weeks before your due date, be sure to buy diapers, wipes, clothes, bottles, and have them ready to go. When you get home from the hospital you want all your supplies unpacked and ready for use. You may seek a post-partum doula that can help with nursing, cooking and cleaning when you return home with the newborn. Take time now to line up that support so you have a plan for when you return with your new little baby!