Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Pregnancy is this crazy wonderful time in your life. Wonderful because you are sheltering new life inside of your very body, and crazy because it now feels as though you have absolutely no control over that body. Things are moving and changing in ways that I’m sure you never imagined in your wildest dreams. But through it all every woman has the same goal, to deliver a healthy baby.

The problem is that sometimes it’s hard to keep that goal in sight when you’re dealing with everything that comes along with being pregnant. I mean your body is changing, your hormones are raging, and you want to eat an entire pizza and be sick at the same time. Not to mention that you’re still suppose to work full time and be an amazing wife on top of that. Piece of cake, right?

With all that you have going on, it’s no wonder that your own needs tend to fall to the bottom of the list. This is a bad habit that women have had since the beginning of time. We spend so much time watching after everyone and everything else that we don’t have any left for ourselves. So with that in mind we are going to look at a few simple ways that you can help yourself have a healthy pregnancy.

We’ve broken it down into three main categories, food, exercise, and sleep. Each of these areas are vitally important to having a healthy pregnancy. So we want to give you some simple ways to make things easier on your self.

Food!

Pack Snacks
There is something about getting into a car that makes most pregnant women instantly hungry. You could have just eaten and then you’re suddenly famished as you pull onto the interstate. This in it’s self is not a bad thing. The problem here is that it usually leads to stops at a fast food restaurant that are. You don’t want to stuff yourself full of all those empty calories if you can help it.

So to avoid this always try to have a snack with you. You might keep a couple granola bars or something else non-perishable in your car all the time, and then pack something fresh in your bag. That way you can even give yourself some options. It’s also a good idea to keep snacks in your desk at work or anywhere else that you spend significant amounts of time. That way you can make sure that you have healthy options within reach all the time.

Cook Ahead
You already know that you are NOT going to feel like cooking every night. In fact, the further along you get in your pregnancy, the better Dominos is going to look. To avoid this fate, try cooking ahead. You can make much larger servings of foods that your family likes to eat, such as spaghetti or casserole, and then freeze the extra portions. You will give yourself healthy choices that will help you stay away from the take out menu.

A great way to do this is with Zip-Loc bags. Just fill the bag with a single portion of food and then kind of mush it around so it lays flat. That way you can stack several of them on top of each other and you can just grab one when you want to re-heat it. This will save you hours in the long run and can be a great strategy even after the baby comes.

Exercise

Get Moving
You know that you need to exercise; the problem is that you don’t have the time or the motivation. The key is to try to sneak some in on yourself. Don’t think of exercising as this long activity that you have to do all at once. While that is an option for those of you who enjoy it, you can also break it up through out the day.

The key is to try to get in at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity everyday that you possibly can. So why not break that up into six 5 minute segments? And you can get it in the weirdest places, like walking an extra lap around the grocery store pushing your cart, or even just marching in place during a commercial break. Find something that you enjoy, or keep it fresh by trying new things everyday.

Find a Friend
Exercise is far less painful when you have someone to do it with you. Maybe you and a co-worker could go for a walk at lunch, or you could walk with your husband or mother during the evening? It doesn’t matter whom you choose just having someone along to talk to is the key. That way by the time you finish talking about each other’s day your 30 minutes will be up and you’re done for the day. Who knows, you may just start to enjoy yourself and looking forward to it!

Sleep

Naps
Often times in early pregnancy, the problem isn’t wanting to sleep, it’s having the time to sleep. It doesn’t matter whether you got a full night’s sleep or not, the sandman can strike at any time. The best way to deal with this is to find a place where you can take short 10 to 20 minute naps. It may not sound like a lot, but these shorter naps will actually do more to make you feel refreshed than longer ones that just leave you feeling groggy.

We would recommend carrying a neck pillow with you in your car. That way if your husband or someone else is driving you can catch a quick nap during that time. Other wise you can use the pillow during a break at work, or even at home if you like to nap in a recliner or other chair. Just make sure that you set some kind of alarm. You don’t want to get in trouble for sleeping on the job!

Getting Comfortable
Later in your pregnancy, the will may still be there, but you might have trouble finding the way. Your belly just gets so large that it makes it hard to roll over and even harder to find a comfortable position. A great way to help with this is to invest in a body pillow. They even have ones now that are made especially for pregnant women.

The pillow runs the length of your body, and it helps take some of the pressure off of your back by supporting your belly. Just snuggle right up to it and see if it doesn’t help right away! It’s a good idea to get one with a pillowcase so that you can take it off and wash it. Otherwise they tend to get pretty grungy over time!

There is no question that pregnancy is one of the most amazing times of a woman’s life, but it is also one of the hardest. We know that we haven’t solved all of those problems for you, but we do hope that we’ve made things a bit easier. The most important thing is that you have to take some time for yourself each and everyday. It may be hard at first, but you just have to remember that you’re worth it. And your baby is worth it! Keep that in mind and you will be on your way to having a happy and healthy pregnancy.