11 Things I Wish I Did While I was Pregnant
When I found out I was pregnant with Jada, I was in the middle of having my current home built, getting ready to launch my first website, working full-time, and planning my son's second birthday party. It was a pretty crazy time. Don't get me wrong; it was an incredibly happy time in my life, but still, pretty crazy.
As my pregnancy progressed, things got crazier. Keeping up with my 2-year-old became more challenging, morning sickness lasted a lot longer than I expected, launching a website required lots of late nights, and we also had to pack up and move into our new home. Doing everything I wanted to doing while carrying my little girl was a challenge.
It was such an exciting time, but it went by far too quickly. When I look back at those nine months, there are so many things I wish I did during my pregnancy with Jada. Here are a few of them.
Take more walks. I found out I was pregnant with Jada a month before spring began. I really wish I had taken advantage of those beautiful spring days by walking around my neighborhood and enjoying the cool breeze before the sizzling heat of summer arrived.
Be kinder with myself. I didn't pamper myself much during my pregnancy with Jada. I wish I would have paused and taken some time to get more pedicures and massages. An expectant mom needs to relax, right?
Drink more tea. Tea makes me happy. I'm not quite sure why, but it does. And I especially like to enjoy a cup of tea at night. When I was pregnant with my son, I would drink tea nightly and it settled my stomach. It also helped me sleep well. I have no idea why I didn't do more of this with Jada.
Do some weight training. When I got pregnant, I still wasn't in the shape I wanted to be in. Obviously pregnancy is no time to try and lose weight, but maintaining the muscle I did have would have been a great idea.
Take more pictures. I got so caught up in the day-to-day hustle of life, I failed to take tons of pregnancy pictures. I regret that. There is nothing more amazing than watching your body transform as your prepare to bring life into the world. I really wish I captured that transformation with images.
Related: What I Realized at My 20-Week Ultrasound
Write in my journal more often. I love to write (in case you haven't figured that out yet). But I hardly ever wrote about my pregnancy. The most meaningful thing I remember writing is a blog post about wishing I stopped to enjoy my pregnancy more and apologizing to my daughter for being so busy. I went into labor the next day. I think she knew what I wrote and decided to forgive me and join us out here (I was 2 days late when I wrote that post).
Start a scrapbook. I am convinced that if you don't start a scrapbook the day that you find out you are pregnant it just never gets done. Yep, I'm absolutely convinced!
Take a family baby moon. It's hard to plan a family trip when you are in the middle of a big move and you're expecting a baby, but I really think that trip is so important. I wish we took some time to plan one last trip as a family of three before our new bundle arrived.
Practice yoga. I practiced some yoga with my first pregnancy and it made a difference. I felt more flexible and it definitely worked wonders on my stress level. Some yoga during my pregnancy with Jada would have done us both some good.
Meditate. I believe that meditation helps you find calm and peace, and I really believe our little ones feel what we are experiencing. A little extra calm and peace would have been great for my baby girl (and for me as well).
Eat more chocolate. I once read that if you eat chocolate during pregnancy you are more likely to have a happy baby. I have no clue where I read it, but it was enough to convince me to eat plenty of chocolate the first time around. My son turned out to be such a happy baby. Jada is actually a pretty happy baby too, but I think some extra chocolate could have made her (and me) even happier.
- By Martine Foreman
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